Nigel Farage claims tensions with the MP for Great Yarmouth were running high prior to Elon Musk's unexpected intervention, but high-profile figures in the party's orbit say the X owner's tweet was the straw that broke the camel's back

As Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe become embroiled in a bitter war of words, high-profile figures associated with Reform have traced the row back to Elon Musk's bold intervention in January.

It comes after the MP for Great Yarmouth was suspended from the party on Friday night and reported to the police over alleged threats of physical violence towards the party's chairman.

A statement from chair Zia Yusuf and chief whip Lee Anderson MP also said the party has received complaints from two female employees about alleged serious bullying in Lowe's offices.

Lowe, 63, strenuously denies all allegations against him, claiming they are "untrue and false".

The Reform MP has also accused Farage of a “vindictive witch hunt” and attempting to “drag my name through the mud with zero credible evidence against me”.

“All because I dared to pose a few reasonable questions of Reform’s leadership,” he added.

How did we get here? 

Farage told The Telegraph at the weekend that Lowe's suspension was the culmination of several alleged “outbursts”, “inappropriate language” and ability to “to fall out with all his parliamentary colleagues in one way or another”.

He cited a tense exchange the MP had with Mike Kane, the Transport Minister, in the chamber of the House of Commons just as Parliament was about to enter the Christmas recess.

However, other figures in Reform's orbit offer an alternative explanation for the rift: Musk's unexpected foray into the party's internal politics the following month.

On January 5, the X owner tweeted: “The Reform party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”

The tweet was an apparent reference to Farage distancing Reform UK from Musk’s support for Tommy Robinson, a jailed far-right activist, amid the revival of interest in the grooming gang scandal.

Responding to a suggestion that Rupert Lowe could take over, Musk wrote: “I have not met Rupert Lowe, but his statements online that I have read so far make a lot of sense.”

This endorsement thrust the hitherto obscure MP for Great Yarmouth into the spotlight, leading to increased media attention and scrutiny of his political positions.

It also set the stage for a potential disagreement between Farage and Lowe in terms of the party's direction of travel, with the Reform leader, increasingly mindful of getting his party elected, toned down language that might put off moderate voters while the MP for Great Yarmouth signalled to Reform's base, which played well with Musk.

For example, Lowe's forthright comments about illegal immigrants were well received by the X owner but less so by Farage.

Writing on X, Lowe recently said: “We need to get real. Honestly, every single one of these fake asylum seekers needs to be immediately deported."

Farage, by contrast, has said it is “a political impossibility to deport hundreds of thousands of people”.

Reform UK's former deputy leader Ben Habib is among those tracing the current row back to Musk's brazen intervention in January.

Speaking to GB News on Monday, he said: "When Elon Musk endorsed Rupert Lowe that put a target on his back."

Habib, who was sacked by Nigel Farage in July 2024, added: "That was the beginning of the end of Rupert being in the party."

Party insiders counter that Habib has an axe to grind, but prominent members of the Reform have also cited this tweet as the turning point.

Boris Johnson's former adviser, Tim Montgomerie, who defected to Reform in December last year, after 33 years as a Tory, has described Musk's suggestion that Lowe should be the leader as a "big moment".

With the debate over what lit the fuse set to continue, here's a timeline of the events that followed Elon Musk's tweet:

January 5, 2025: Elon Musk weighs in on Reform's internal politics

January 6, 2025: Rupert Lowe backs Farage despite Musk’s endorsement

March 6, 2025: Rupert Lowe’s Interview with Andrew Pierce escalates tensions

March 7, 2025: Reform UK suspends Lowe over allegations of bullying and threats

March 7, 2025: Lowe denies Allegations, calls it a “Witch hunt”

March 8, 2025: Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe trade blows in The Sunday Telegraph

March 9, 2025: Richard Tice attempts to mediate, Lowe hits back