<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/02/civil-war-british-right-rupert-lowe-nigel-farage-henry-nowak>
"The video of the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak at the hands of Vickrum
Digwa in Southampton is horrifying. But Nigel Farage’s decision to respond to
these events by calling for “pure cold rage” and insisting we recognise that
“white lives matter” is a worrying sign of an increasingly racialised turn in
the politics of the British right.
This shift has not taken place in a vacuum. For a year now, while progressives
have worried about how to beat Reform, Farage’s party has faced a new threat
that has come not from the left, but a party even further to the right. Restore
Britain, a party founded by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, has been deeply
critical of Farage’s outfit for not being radical enough. These criticisms have
put pressure on Reform – and they may push British politics even further right.
The roots of Restore Britain can be traced back to Lowe’s bitter departure from
Reform in March last year. Soon after Lowe described Reform as “a protest party
led by the Messiah”, the party’s chair, Zia Yusuf, alleged that Lowe had made
threats of physical violence against him – and several party employees accused
the Great Yarmouth MP of bullying within his parliamentary office. Lowe has
denied both allegations.
In June last year, Lowe launched Restore as a “political movement” before
transforming it into a fully fledged national political party this February.
While multimillionaire Lowe is its only MP, a small clique of young activists,
including Charlie Downes, Harrison Pitt and Lewis Brackpool, have been some of
its most prominent spokespersons.
The launch of the party was met with enthusiasm across large sections of the
far right, particularly among those who view Reform as insufficiently hardline
on immigration. Last June, during the launch event in his constituency of Great
Yarmouth, Lowe drew applause from supporters after promoting a policy centred
on large-scale deportations, declaring that “millions will have to go”.
In fact, in recent months Hope Not Hate has documented the deeply concerning
array of high-profile extremists who have gravitated to the party, resulting in
an important realignment. Restore has drawn together an uneasy coalition that
includes figures sitting just to the right of Reform, all the way through to
open fascists."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
