Rupert Lowe and the “rowers” haha

My objection is that he that he makes such a song and dance about it, using the donations for self-aggrandisement and as an excuse to snipe at others when they may be donating without all the fanfare.

I also pointed out that after he claims higher rate tax relief on the donations, it’s costing him considerable less than some might believe, if they think he is giving the equivalent of his MP gross salary which is £98,559. He isn’t. The net cost to him is £37,272 - considerably difference.

He is an extremely wealthy man, In additional to several other sources of income other than his MP salary, he earns over £10,000 a month from tweeting abuse on X. Since being elected in June 2024 and starting to make the donations he has earned £85,534 from X. No other politician earns that from the platform nor even the big Reform names.

Every single day he is breaching the Nolan principles.

Great update Casdon - thanks for the facts
I wonder if any of those admirable people will be castigated for their donations. As Rupert Lowe as been or is that reserved for people whose views and politics don’t align with the liberal left

This lady does and has said so.
www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e82z03l1po
Apparently there are 13 MPs who donate part or all their salary through the government payroll system, but there may be others who do so privately, apparently there is no central record - which I guess is fair enough.

Does anyone know how many other MPs give away their salary
I’ve seen people on this post moaning about ulterior motives but donations to charitable causes is still money in the bank

Lowe and Farage have things in common and I find neither of them sincere or genuine.

Whether Rupert Lowe is a sincere man is a matter of personal opinion and political debate.

If you see him as a person fighting for traditional Christian and national principles who speaks honestly about the economy and immigration- you will view him as sincere.

If you see him as a person who is disruptive, 'one man band' driven by personal grudges after falling out with Reform UK, you are likely to see him as less sincere and genuine. If you see Lowe as promoting extreme and unworkable hard right
policies, and inflexible when he refuses compromises necessary for broader political alliances you will not find him sincere.

I am in the latter category.

Lowe is a hard working sincere man. Unfortunately, also quite an eccentric leading a rag bag party that attracts quite a few nut jobs.

Thanks for the link - much more informative than the Home Office site.

Currently tracking at the lowest number of small boat migrants since 2021, and 40% less total boat crossings, although the average number per boat is increasing every year. There are loads of comparisons on various sites, the one I use most is the BBC News Migration Tracker.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70989jrdweo

That this oft-quoted figure of a 43% reduction does not appear in the official statitics - also doesn't show a comparison with the situation under the dreadful Conservatives.

44,460 arrivals recorded during the previous 12-month period (July 2022 to June 2023).

I’m not sure what you’re trying to prove dayvidg, that politicians use statistics, without lying, but by selectivity, to show a favourable picture?

www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

foxie48

Allsorts but things have happened, there's been a 43% reduction in people arriving by small boat since last year despite the smugglers using much bigger boats. 70K people with no legal right to be in the UK have been removed this year. There has been more police success in tracking down the people smugglers and arresting them. More has happened with this Labour government than in the years of Conservative government, who let the situation grow with their complete inaction.

According to Home Office Accredited official statistics, year ending March 2026 (the latest figures published) -
7.1 How many people come to the UK via illegal entry routes?
there were 44,000 detected arrivals via illegal entry routes, in the YE March 2026 - small boat arrivals accounted for 39,000 (90%) of these
the number of small boat arrivals was slightly higher than the previous year but 14% lower than the peak in 2022.

The last 12 months of the Conservative administration records small boat arrivals at 31,000 (to end June 2024)

I recall being taught at school - Lies, damn lies and statistics

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202608/medium-fte1x4-dt-today.png https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202608/medium-5ta51m-table-1.png

The numbers that FGT quotes are lifted from the Telegraph but she omits to include the caveats in the article that:

• Over half of the foreign nationals claiming UC are from the EU and are therefore allowed to claim UC under the legally binding EU withdrawal agreement.

•The increase in UC numbers is to do with people moving to UC from legacy benefits.

Foxie said:

there's been a 43% reduction in people arriving by small boat since last year despite the smugglers using much bigger boats. 70K people with no legal right to be in the UK have been removed this year.

FGT replied: Well foxie apparently the number of foreigners claiming benefits hit a fresh high just days after Reform promised to ban claims by overseas nationals.

So something doesn’t add up from your inspirational figures!

Almost 1.3 million migrants were claiming Universal Credit (UC) in May 2026, according to figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions, roughly 20,000 higher than a year ago.

Foxie is talking about one thing and FGT is talking about another.

The key percentages are is Table 1. Percentage of people on Universal Credit by Immigration status, Great Britain, May 2026

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-quarterly-statistics-29-april-2013-to-14-may-2026/universal-credit-quarterly-statistics-29-april-2013-to-14-may-2026

Claimants who are CTA – UK, Ireland, Right of Abode and EU nationals make up 93.4% of all UC recipients.

(The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a special travel zone that allows for free movement between the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey).)

The number of people claiming UC whose status is Humanitarian, Refugee, Indefinite Leave to Remain or Limited Leave to Remain (which may or may not be people who arrived on a small boat) is fewer that 500,000.

DWP also make it clear that the figures may also include some people who previously held IDLR status (2.8% of recipients) and have since naturalised as British.

Foxie, I hope you are right but I cannot see all those illegals being sent home as most ripped up passports, all those men on the loose and we know nothing of them. Come here legally, integrate, work, speak English, show respect by being respectful but I am afraid there's a lot of the worst coming.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Well foxie apparently the number of foreigners claiming benefits hit a fresh high just days after Reform promised to ban claims by overseas nationals.

So something doesn’t add up from your inspirational figures!

Almost 1.3 million migrants were claiming Universal Credit (UC) in May 2026, according to figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions, roughly 20,000 higher than a year ago.

Graphite posted a selection of the DWP figures at 9.45 this morning. They cover the ethnicity of Universal Credit claimants.

Where do ‘foreigners’ and ‘migrants’ fit in?

AGAA4 the figures were published by the Department for Work and Pensions, easily verifiable, no spin.

Hence my comment.

Cossy

I don’t pretend to like Lowe, or his extreme right wing rhetoric and misogynistic views BUT …..

I have a grudging admiration for him, he does donate his entire MP salary each month to a different local charity in his constituency.

Also, he mistook some charity raising rowers, rowing around our British coast and reported them as Asylum Seekers trying to sneak in.

When his error was pointed out to him, he wouldn’t apologise, but instead he donated £1,000 to their charity, a very worthy cause, Motor Neurone Disease.

He also does run surgeries and has a half decent voting record in the HoC, in other words he’s doing the job as an MP he’s paid to do and he serves his constituency well.

I’d never ever vote for him, I’m not keen on him as a person nor his political and sometimes personal views, BUT he appears to take his MP role seriously.

I don't think refusing to apologise is anything to admire him for.

FGT the Telegraph is owned by the Axel Springer group in Germany. They also own the German paper Bild well known there for fake news and sensationalism.
I would be wary of believing much that they print.

Cossy 9.32- yes I am aware of that.

Just to add that Lowe gets up early in the morning to start making money from X for racist tweets. This morning’s gem:

Restaurants. Petrol stations. Taxis. Supermarkets. Anyone using their eyes can see that we have imported millions of young foreign men to fill low-skilled jobs that should be filled by young British men and women. These men are primarily from India or similar, and to be frank - struggle to speak English.

I assume when Lowe says British he means white. Why does Lowe think it is an ambition of white Britons to do low-skilled jobs?

Surely every job has to be applied for. Why would an employer favour an Indian who does not speak English over a white Briton?

Britain has a long history of importing overseas labour to do jobs that Britons do not want to do.

MaizieD

He also wants to deregulate gun ownership because, apparently, his father was very upset about having to hand in his guns after Dunblane.

He does not want to deregulate gun ownership.

The gun licensing laws are potentially to be merged to a single licensing system.

Currently you have a firearms arms certificate and a shotgun certificate each has a very different set of restrictions.
The shotgun certificate is not as stringent, you can add, remove or transfer guns with permission.

A firearms certificate had much stricter control, each firearm has to be justified.

To merge the two will create a greater administrative burden on the Police.

To own a shotgun or firearm in the UK is not easy and rightly so, we can have spot checks at anytime, any breach will mean the guns are confiscated immediately.

FGT. You are repeating yet another story from the Telegraph which is not based on fact - just a paper with an agenda which fits yours.

Read the numbers published by the DWP:

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-quarterly-statistics-29-april-2013-to-14-may-2026/universal-credit-quarterly-statistics-29-april-2013-to-14-may-2026

Extracts:

There were 8.4 million people on Universal Credit in May 2026.

Move to Universal Credit claimants [from legacy benefits] made up 73.2% of the increase between May 2025 and May 2026.

Universal Credit claimants are asked to answer optional equality questions when making their claim. In May 2026, 74.8% of Universal Credit claimants had provided information on their high-level ethnic group (5 options) or sub-group (18 options).

Therefore, Universal Credit ethnicity statistics should be treated with caution due to a degree of non-completion.

White is the largest, high-level ethnic group for Universal Credit claimants. 76.6% of those claiming Universal Credit in May 2026 were from the White ethnic group. The Asian/Asian British ethnicity group is the second largest with 9.9% of claimants in May 2026. The Black/African/Caribbean/Black British ethnicity group accounts for 6.0% of claimants in May 2026, while the Other ethnic group accounts for 4.5%. The smallest ethnic group is the Mixed/Multiple with 3.0% of claimants in May 2026.

“CTA – UK, Ireland, Right of Abode”, “EU Settlement Scheme”, and “Indefinite Leave to Remain” together account for 96.2% of the Universal Credit caseload, with the remaining 3.8% being people with other types of immigration status. This is in line with the general principle that only people who are settled in the UK or protected by the EU Exit Withdrawal Agreement should be able to claim Universal Credit.

The numbers from the DT simply don't accord with those from the DWP.

LemonJam

Asylum seekers arriving in small boats are not eligible to claim universal credit as far as I understand.

Of those people claiming Universal approx 37.8% will be in employment (ie low paid work) and around 50% not in work due to long term sickness, disability or caring responsibilities ( ie looking after children, partners or elderly parent).

Of those claiming Universal Credit around 15.5% to 16% at any given time are non British citizens, (i.e. migrants) while roughly 84% to 84.5% are UK, Irish or Right of Abode citizens under Common Travel rules.

Universal Credit and any other mainstream benefits are only paid, if and when, any non-British passport hold obtains both settled status, ie “right to remain@ and “right to work”.

Sometimes “just right to remain” is granted, but without “right to work”, no benefits may be claimed.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Well foxie apparently the number of foreigners claiming benefits hit a fresh high just days after Reform promised to ban claims by overseas nationals.

So something doesn’t add up from your inspirational figures!

Almost 1.3 million migrants were claiming Universal Credit (UC) in May 2026, according to figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions, roughly 20,000 higher than a year ago.

Ah, that may well be so, but what you may have forgotten is, Universal Credit, the means tested benefit, is paid to both working and non-working people and also covers the old housing benefit.

Also any non-british resident claiming UC, whether working or not has to undergo a regular jobcentre appointment, called HRT ( this caused me both great amusement and confusion when I first worked at a jobcentre).

It means Habitual Residency Test, it’s quite a gruelling interview and it checks both working and non-working non/Brits, and primarily serves two purposes, checks that they are settled in authorised accommodation and that they have stable sustainable paid work. If this interview criteria is not fully met, benefits can be stopped.

Stats on their own, without context, can sometimes be misleading or not tell the full story.