UK conservatives and Restore Britain intensify attacks on Reform amid right-wing vote split
Britain's right-wing opposition space is becoming more fragmented as the Conservatives and Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain direct their criticism toward Nigel Farage's Reform UK rather than at each other. The pattern emerges while Reform continues to lead opinion polls and ahead of the Makerfield by-election later this month, where competition on the right is sharpening.
Highlights
- Conservatives and Restore Britain have intensified criticism of Reform UK, viewing it as a greater threat ahead of the Makerfield vote.
- Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Nigel Farage of inflaming racial tensions, while Rupert Lowe condemned Reform's attack ad as 'deeply misguided, ugly and offensive.'
- Speculation of a Tory–Restore non-aggression arrangement increased after Lowe referenced an 'agreement' following his October Public Accounts Committee appointment.
Strategic positioning before Makerfield vote
As first reported by Financial Times, political analysts say the Conservatives and Restore Britain have electoral incentives to concentrate fire on Reform UK because both parties see Farage's movement as the more immediate threat. Recent exchanges support that view, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch criticising Farage for "reinforcing difference" and inflaming racial tensions after his comments on footage linked to the killing of 18-year-old Henry Nowak.Rupert Lowe has also aimed his criticism at Reform rather than the Conservatives. After Reform circulated an attack advertisement falsely claiming Badenoch had said, "I don't want to hear about white lives matter", Lowe said on X that the move was "deeply misguided, ugly and offensive".
The speculation has been reinforced by Lowe's reference in a late-April GB News interview to an "agreement" with the Conservatives after he received a seat on the Public Accounts Committee in October last year, when he was sitting as an independent MP after leaving Reform. Senior Reform figures say that remark, along with Lowe's defence of Badenoch, points to a non-aggression arrangement, although Tory insiders reject any formal pact.
Our earlier report on the political fallout from Henry Nowak’s murder described how Downing Street pushed back against attempts to use the case to inflame division, stressing the family’s request that his death not be exploited. We also noted how the release of police footage and heated reactions from political figures and street protests in Southampton intensified the domestic political tensions around the case.
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