Reform's Rupert Lowe suspended

Remember Lowe wants Tommy Robinson in the fold. Sorry, ex BNP supporters, riot stirrers, should be beyond the pale?

MayBee70

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I’ve heard that Elon Musk is prepared to bankroll a new Party if Rupert Lowe and Ben Habib want to set one up. A splinter group…

This has got to stop. We can’t have foreign interference in our elections. Thank goodness Musk didn’t succeed with his interference in the German elections.

I don't think Musk will get a lot of trust after Ukraine and chain saw craziness

- if Lowe and Habib accept his money my opinion of them will further sink and I would hope it would with most decent people.

With a chain saw.

Iam64

Elon Musk??? Hands up anybody who wants this unstable weird man involved in our politics

Seems like he’s taken over from Murdoch

Elon Musk??? Hands up anybody who wants this unstable weird man involved in our politics

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I’ve heard that Elon Musk is prepared to bankroll a new Party if Rupert Lowe and Ben Habib want to set one up. A splinter group…

This has got to stop. We can’t have foreign interference in our elections. Thank goodness Musk didn’t succeed with his interference in the German elections.

I’ve heard that Elon Musk is prepared to bankroll a new Party if Rupert Lowe and Ben Habib want to set one up. A splinter group…

Just to say that now many more details have come to light the way Rupert Lowe has been ill-treated and thrown under the bus, I have lost respect for the Reform Party and I have now rescinded my membership.

A little bit more information on the differences between Farage and Lowe
in
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3d8nyv00m2o

"This is more than just a clash of personalities too.

There are differences of policy instinct between the two men.

Lowe has advocated mass deportations, something Farage doesn't think is practical or popular.

Lowe has praised the jailed far right activist Stephen Yaxley Lennon, known by his supporters as Tommy Robinson.

Farage refuses to have anything to do with him.

Farage criticised Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky for not wearing a suit at the White House and the Reform leader's critics like to point to admiration he has expressed in the past for the Russian President Vladimir Putin's abilities as a "political operator".

He has also made much of his closeness to and admiration for President Trump, when opinion polls in the UK suggest America's leader is not popular here.

Nigel Farage's parties have bounced back from spats like this one before.
The question this time is whether these are growing pains of a rapidly expanding and professionalising outfit or something more chronically limiting.

It would seem that Lowe, with his support for
To Nigel Farage's admirers, he is one of the politicians of his generation without which Reform and its predecessors would be nothing.

To his critics, he is allergic to rival tall poppies and has a long history of provoking simmering resentments and colossal bust ups

It would seem that Lowe is "further to the right" with his support of Tommy Robinson. (a definite "red line" for me) His idea of mass deportations seems just directly borrowed from Trump's handbook, which is probably why Musk supported him

The short answer is that they couldn’t. A party needs to win at least 326 seats to have an overall majority in Parliament. It would need a seismic shift for that to happen in 2029. Even if my some miracle it did, almost all the MPs would be inexperienced making it hard to form a credible cabinet.

Whatever one thinks about the new Labour government, it did have a wealth of experienced MPs with shadow experience to call on. As Lowe has pointed out, Reform doesn’t even have a front bench of spokepersons.

The Runcorn and Helsby by-election will be a good barometer of public feeling about how Labour are doing so far and what people think about the power struggle in Reform.

I understand that nominations for the Labour candidate have already closed and will be chosen on Thursday.

The Reform candidate came a poor second to Amesbury last year taking votes from the Tories. Labour had a 35 point lead.

In 2019, it was a fairly close contest between Labour and Tories. I did wonder if the latter might chose to run a big name in the by-election, someone who lost their seat last year to see what ground they could recover.

Indigo8

Iam64

I’m getting a bit worried. I’m finding agreement with FGT rather frequently

Hurrah for FGT they have had an epiphany.

I always respected their views but now I actually agree with some of them now. Great to see they clearly have an open mind.

Isn’t it just.
We all need to keep reflecting and if need be, shift our strongly held views

Silverbrooks Not only can Reform not work cross-party, but it seems they can't even work with people in their own party (sorry, company).

How the heck anybody can believe they could run a country is beyond me.

Iam64

I’m getting a bit worried. I’m finding agreement with FGT rather frequently

Hurrah for FGT they have had an epiphany.

I always respected their views but now I actually agree with some of them now. Great to see they clearly have an open mind.

Given the history of these right-wing parties I don't think anyone should be surprised to see yet another one collapse.
These massive male egos don't seem to fare too well when it comes to organisation and co-operation.

Reform isn’t doing itself any favours is it

Lowe has tweeted: I have been informed by a reliable source that 'senior Reform figures' have been briefing journalists that I have dementia. In politics, there is rough and tumble. I get that. But this is sick. What they are doing to me is disgusting.

I don’t like the man, don’t like Reform fullstop, but if true, this is beyond the pale and needs to be investigated.

Casdon

It looks like Mr Lowe was being economical with the truth, it’s very unusual for a lawyer to make a public statement.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7430zw4zqyo

Yes, I'd caught up with that: I cant understand why someone experienced in politics as he is would actually lie about what the Independent KC had said on his case before any investigation had started.

Thank you for that detail, Silverbrooks.

MayBee70

I’m always surprised at how hard many MP’s have to work on various committees, especially when they have so much constituency work to do. And how well they work together in a cross party way. It was first brought home to me when Jo Cox died and Andrew Mitchell( have I got his name right) was so upset.

I’m glad you mentioned Jo Cox because it shows how far we have sunk now that the people who push the dogma that drove Thoman Mair to murder her, now sit in the HoC. Mair believed individuals of liberal and left-wing political viewpoints were the cause of the world's problems and so does Reform (and Rupert Lowe). Witnesses to the attack on Cox said Mair shouted: "This is for Britain", "Keep Britain independent", and "Britain first”.

In The Times, David Aaronovitch asked why "some people – all of them pro-Brexit as it happens" were "so keen to dismiss the first (and accurate) reports of Mair's words?", claiming such people resisted because deep down they feared that aspects of the language or direction of the Brexit campaign they legitimately supported had emboldened extremism.

I always find it ironic that Reform MPs (and Lowe) are very quick to point out what they regard as extremist behaviour in others but don’t acknowledge the tub-thumping nationalism in themselves that drove last year’s riots.

Here is the HoC sitting on 20 June 2016 to pay tribute to Jo. Andrew Mitchell’s contribution is at 14:54.

parliamentlive.tv/event/index/5f06a09d-c1e0-4543-b946-461725b1256e?in=14:35:04

MayBee70

Are any of them on any committees etc?

The membership of each select committee largely reflects the balance of parties in the HoC so the governing party usually has a majority of members on each committee. While the larger opposition parties will usually also be represented on every committee, minor parties are granted far fewer seats. When initial select committee memberships were drawn up in 2020, the 11 Liberal Democrats MPs were given just two select committee seats (on Scottish Affairs and on Public Accounts). However, the Green Party’s sole MP, Caroline Lucas, was also given a place on the Environmental Audit Committee, highlighting the flexibility of the committee allocations. The exact balance of committee places through negotiation between the party whips at the beginning of each parliament. (Source:Institute for Government).

Lee Anderson is the only Reform (or former Reform) MP to have a seat on a select committee so perhaps he didn’t negotiate very well for his fellow members. Of course, it would be helpful if anybody knew what Reform care about so that they might to sit on committees where they had something useful to contribute.

committees.parliament.uk/committees/?Active=Current&House=Commons&SearchTerm=&page=1

Anderson is a member of the Speaker’s Conference Select Committee, a committee established last October to consider the factors influencing the threat level against candidates and MPs and the effectiveness of the response to such threats. Ironic, considering what’s going on in Reform at the moment.

The argument over representation was to do with the Modernisation Committee, a committee set up to consider reforms to HoC procedures, standards, and working practices, chaired by Labour’s Lucy Powell. SNP Kirsty Blackman proposed that one member from each party to be represented on the 14 person committee. Anderson argued that places should be allocated according to how many votes a party received overall in the GE … “not fair - we got more votes that the Lib Dems”. Powell responded that the House is considered in terms of its members not in terms of the popular vote. 72 seats trumps 5.

A random look at minor party or independent representation on select committees shows:

Ellie Chowns (Green Party) now sits on the Environmental Audit Committee. Sîan Berry (Green Party) sits on the committee for the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill. Rosie Duffield (former Labour now Independent) sits on the Women and Equalities Committee. Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru) sits on the Welsh Affairs Committee and the committees for the Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill and Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Bill. Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru) sits on the committee for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Gavin Robinson (DUP) sits on Northern Ireland Affairs Committee and the committee for the International Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill. Sammy Wilson (DUP) also sits on the Speaker's Conference committee and the Environmental Audit Committee.

My own MP, elected for the first time in 2024, sits on six select committees. Although new to central goverment they were very experienced in local government at a senior level which I suspect has been reflected in the number of nominations and appointments. Demonstrating an ability to work cross-party is key, something which Reform has yet to show.

We need to hold off making any kind of judgment until more information comes out. It’s a very unfortunate situation and I see no future for Reform now. The Conservatives must be celebrating.

It looks like Mr Lowe was being economical with the truth, it’s very unusual for a lawyer to make a public statement.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7430zw4zqyo

I’m always surprised at how hard many MP’s have to work on various committees, especially when they have so much constituency work to do. And how well they work together in a cross party way. It was first brought home to me when Jo Cox died and Andrew Mitchell( have I got his name right) was so upset.

Interesting point. Reform claimed it was not allowed to sit on parliamentary committees and that rules had been changed to block thumbnut \reuters fact check proved this to be a lie spread by Lee Anderson!

www.reuters.com/fact-check/parliamentary-rules-have-not-been-changed-exclude-smaller-british-parties-2024-10-15/

Are any of them on any committees etc?

I had no idea they hadn't broadly taken on significant areas of expertise. Health? Defence?