Former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe has just launched a new political party: Restore Britain. It may be tempting to dismiss this as yet another short-lived splinter movement, but I think we should be very cautious.
I am Tory, but, like many others, I have been deeply disappointed by recent Conservative governance. In recent years, many Conservatives had taken to calling Nigel Farage a ‘fascist’ or a ‘far-right bigot’ – though, to be fair to Kemi Badenoch, under her leadership the Conservative party has turned away from identity politics. I do not see myself voting for Reform, but I also do not believe those labels are accurate. More importantly, I think it is dangerous to cheapen these words and dilute their meaning.
We saw this happen in the United States. Everyone was called racist for saying things that simply were not racist. The result was that, when genuinely extreme figures emerged, such as Nick Fuentes, the label no longer carried weight. If everyone is a racist, then being called one stops sounding so shameful.
That is why serious political commentators must stop lazily branding Farage and Reform as racist or fascist. It is profoundly untrue and it creates the very conditions in which real extremism can thrive.
Rupert Lowe, however, is a different story.
I would not call him a racist. But I do believe that, in a unique way not seen in British politics for decades, he risks opening the door to genuine ethno-supremacists and fascists.
He launched his party only days ago, and yet an early – though questionable – poll from FindOutNowUK suggests Restore Britain could already command around 10% of the vote. While this does not mean Lowe’s party is about to win an election, it does mean it could win seats and become a serious political force. We must remember many Conservatives once said Reform would never amount to anything and yet, today, it regularly enjoys close to 30% support in opinion polls. Even its biggest doubters concede it is a huge electoral force.
The mistake may now be repeating itself.
In a strange way, I see a parallel between Rupert Lowe and Donald Trump. Not because they are similar politically — they are not — but because 95% of what they say is palatable to ordinary people. The real danger lies in the consequences of their political style.
I do not believe Donald Trump is a racist. But I do believe that his brand of politics helped create an environment where figures like former Fox News host-turned podcaster Tucker Carlson, and even, to some extent, Nick Fuentes, could be treated as serious commentators.
I do not believe Rupert Lowe is a racist either. But I fear that, in the same way, his rhetoric may open our politics up to people who are.
I do think radical Islam is an issue, one that has not been seriously addressed by any major party in the UK. Lowe believes the answer is to infringe liberal values: ban the burqa, ban kosher slaughter and deport those who do not integrate.
Read in isolation, some of this is not entirely unreasonable. Measures have to be taken against those who fail to respect our laws. What cannot happen is that the social fabric of our country changes so quickly that we risk genuine civil rupture. But the deeper concern is this: rhetoric like this can attract people who are less able, or less willing, to distinguish between Islam as a political ideology and the ethnic minority groups who practice the Muslim faith.
For many, the distinction is clear. Islam, in many parts of the world, is explicitly political. It seeks to impose itself legally in a way that Hinduism, Judaism and other religions do not. That is precisely why the conversation must be nuanced. To put all minorities into one box, to drift into the idea that Britain must be Christian or white, is profoundly un-British. Both Conservatives and Reform voters should be fighting identity politics, not replacing a left-wing version with a right-wing one. We should advocate merit, responsibility and cohesion, as good Conservatives have done for generations.
It is also worth noting the voices gathering around this movement. Charlie Downes, one of its prominent figures, recently questioned Conservatives’ loyalty to capitalism and Zionism. Of course, all ideas can be critiqued. But scepticism toward capitalism is not a conservative instinct. Rather, it is one, in this country, traditionally held by the radical left. If such views are emerging so early in Restore Britain’s life, true conservatives should pause before lending it credibility.
Many good people I know have joined Lowe’s movement. I understand their frustration. I even understand the attraction of something new. But anger at the status quo must not lead us into the mistakes of previous generations and foster an environment in which the most radical ideas rise to the surface.
We must indeed have the difficult conversations about Islam, mass immigration, and borders, but we must do so responsibly and without surrendering our values in the process.
I urge my fellow Britons not to repeat the mistake the American right made. We must not allow the ‘woke right’ to infest our politics.
Official parliamentary portrait of Rupert Lowe MP by Laurie Noble. Edited by the Editor.
