British Member of Parliament Rupert Lowe has made a public appeal, urging Nigel Farage and Reform UK to put past conflicts aside and cooperate ahead of the next general election. The plea comes after Lowe published a video message on X over the weekend in which he says the patriotic right risks splitting if the parties continue to compete with each other.

Lowe is offering a collaboration between his party, Restore Britain, and Farage’s Reform UK, but at the same time sets out a number of political conditions. Among other things, he wants to see a significantly tougher migration policy, extensive deportations of illegal immigrants, further cultural policy reforms, and substantial cuts to the welfare system.

Farage has responded cautiously positively to the idea of a broader right-wing coalition, but without promising any formal cooperation. At the same time, he has emphasized that Reform UK is already the main challenger to Labour, and that the party will continue to build its own organization.

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Rupert Lowe was elected to the British Parliament for Reform UK and was for a long time one of Nigel Farage’s most prominent representatives. However, the cooperation broke down after a widely reported internal conflict, where Lowe accused the party leadership of ostracizing him and undermining his influence. Shortly thereafter, he left Reform UK and founded the political movement Restore Britain, which was later registered as its own party.

Restore Britain has positioned itself as a party to the right of Reform UK, particularly on migration issues. Lowe has argued for much more far-reaching deportations and believes that Farage’s party has not gone far enough in its proposals to stop immigration.

Competing for the Same Voters

Over the past year, the relationship between the two parties has become an increasingly important issue in British politics. Several opinion polls have shown that Restore Britain has succeeded in winning support among voters who previously leaned towards Reform UK, while Reform for a long time has ranked among the top or shared the lead in national polls.

Both parties have also shown strength in local and by-elections. In the recently held mayoral election in Greater Manchester, Reform UK finished second while Restore Britain took an unexpectedly strong fourth place, something which, according to British observers, shows that the parties are competing for the same voter group.

It is against this background that Lowe is now arguing that a divided right risks benefiting Labour in the next general election.

Migration Has Changed Britain

Immigration to Britain has increased sharply since the Second World War. After the war, labor was recruited primarily from the Caribbean, India, Pakistan, and later Bangladesh to fill labor shortages. In recent decades, immigration has also increased through the EU’s free movement, labor migration from the rest of the world, as well as asylum and family immigration.

According to British statistical authorities, the foreign-born population has grown from around 2–3 million people during the 1980s to over eleven million today, corresponding to roughly 16–17 percent of the population.

Net migration reached record levels during the first half of the 2020s and has since declined slightly, but still remains at historically high levels compared to previous decades.

Illegal Migration Continues

At the same time, illegal migration across the English Channel continues to dominate the political debate. Thousands of migrants cross the Channel each year in small boats from France to seek asylum in Britain.

Despite stricter border measures and several new legislative proposals, crossings continue. The migration issue has therefore become one of the most decisive political questions in Britain and is a main theme for both Reform UK and Restore Britain, which both demand significantly tougher measures against illegal immigration and faster deportations of people who do not have the right to stay in the country.

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