Reform and Restore at odds over a deal: Parties' leaders swap insults as Farage says he won't agree to call to ditch Tory defectors

By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE Published: 22:47, 3 August 2026 | Updated: 22:51, 3 August 2026 Efforts to secure a political pact between Reform UK and rivals Restore Britain descended into farce on Monday night. The prospect of negotiations between the two Right-wing parties was sparked on Sunday morning after Restore's Rupert Lowe posted a 12-minute video on social media outlining his requests of Nigel Farage in return for a deal. These included demands for Reform to sign up to mass deportations of both illegal and legal migrants, holding a referendum on the death penalty, banning the burka and excluding ex-Tory ministers such as Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick from any future government positions. Mr Farage yesterday revealed that he had made contact with Mr Lowe, offering exploratory talks. Speaking at a press conference in Westminster, the Reform leader said: 'I did actually reach out yesterday to him. I said, "Look, shall we have a call?" I haven't heard back yet, so I don't know what the sincerity of this is. 'If you look at my history in politics over the past few years, I am prepared to do things and make sacrifices if I believe it's in the national interest. 'I certainly did that in 2019 [when agreeing to stand down candidates for Boris Johnson]. I would do whatever I could for us to have a sane centre-Right alliance that beat Labour at the next general election.' But Mr Farage refused calls to ditch Tory defectors to Reform – who also include Lee Anderson – saying: 'I don't ditch my friends. I don't ditch my allies, whether that's Suella Braverman or Posh George [Cottrell], you know I do not ditch people because somebody else wants me to.' Gunboat diplomacy: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage launching Operation Fortress yesterday And he could not resist taking swipes at Mr Lowe – who he expelled from Reform UK in March 2025 amid accusations of bullying staff and party officials, something Mr Lowe denies. Mr Farage said: 'If you wanted to do a political deal with somebody, you would contact them privately and not do a 12-minute video. It seemed to me that he was more than anything putting out this gesture, saying, "Look, I'm the good guy, Nigel's the bad guy".' While Mr Farage's admission that he had contacted Mr Lowe initially raised hopes of a deal, they were dashed almost instantly when Restore Britain accused Mr Farage of lying. On X, Mr Lowe posted a screenshot of the message supposedly sent by Mr Farage which read 'Will call later', and said no call had been forthcoming. The Great Yarmouth MP added: 'Yesterday's offer was not one I wanted to make, trust me. I don't particularly enjoy trying to work with people who attempted to put me in prison on false allegations. 'My house was raided by armed police because of them. I was willing, and still am, to put that aside to co-operate in order to save the country we all love. 'That's why I did what I did yesterday. The offer remains open to Nigel and Reform. Although outright lying about our private conversations does not help that.' A Reform UK spokesman later said that Mr Lowe's claim and screenshot were 'not worth' responding to. A Restore source said Mr Lowe had been left 'very irritated' by Mr Farage, adding: 'I think he [Farage] was trying to mislead people into thinking Rupert was the one who held things up, which wasn't the case.' Restore Britain was launched as a party by Mr Lowe in March, following his expulsion from Reform the previous year. The party proved a headache for Mr Farage in the Makerfield by-election, receiving much media attention, but ended up winning just 7 per cent of the vote, not enough to close the gap between Reform and Andy Burnham. Yesterday a Restore source suggested Mr Lowe has now accepted the party is not a viable rival to Reform, and must instead change tactics to focus on influencing Reform's policy at the next election. They told the Daily Mail that Mr Lowe 'understands this is the best way of trying to get our policy programme implemented'. They added that the party's hardline membership had been 'overwhelmingly supportive' of the Sunday negotiations offer. Ex-colleagues: Nigel Farage and Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe before their split On Monday night, a senior Reform source acknowledged that many of Mr Lowe's demands would play well with Mr Farage's core vote. But they added: 'The best thing for them to do would be to take this offline, out of the public eye, have a beer, and think about the best way forward and put the country first before their own parties.' The Conservatives said the public spat between the two men 'lays bare just how unserious Reform really are'. Pollster Luke Tryl of More In Common said: 'From an electoral point of view, Reform should focus on winning over waverers rather than pivoting to Restore's politics, which could retoxify the party.'