Nigel Farage has vowed to build a “broad coalition” capable of defeating Labour after Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe offered to cooperate with Reform UK ahead of the next general election.
The Reform leader said the party would need to attract voters from across the political spectrum, as well as millions who have previously stayed at home, to secure power.
“Patriotic voters believe in many of the same things, but only one party truly has the possibility of delivering change,” Farage said on Sunday.
“To deliver that change, I understand Reform UK will need the support of people from other parties, as well as millions who have never voted before. That is the broad coalition I am building.”
Farage said the election would be a “binary choice between Reform UK and Labour,” while pointing to his decision not to stand candidates against Brexit-supporting Conservatives in 2019 as evidence that he was prepared to “put country before party.”
His remarks followed a public appeal from Lowe, a former Reform MP who now leads the smaller Restore Britain party, for the two sides to overcome their bitter differences.
“If you are prepared to work together around serious policies, serious reform, and serious government, then so are we,” Lowe said in a video addressed to Farage.
However, Lowe attached five far-reaching conditions to any pact. These included mass deportations, a ban on the burka, a referendum on restoring the death penalty, and deep cuts to welfare spending. He also demanded that former Conservative ministers, including Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman, be excluded from a future cabinet.
Farage did not endorse Lowe’s proposed terms and made clear that he would not sacrifice senior Reform figures to secure an agreement.
“I will never turn my back on my team,” he said.
Restore has demonstrated some ability to attract voters, winning 9% of first-preference votes in the recent Greater Manchester mayoral by-election and finishing ahead of the Conservatives. Nevertheless, its emergence risks dividing the right-wing vote and allowing Labour or other left-wing parties to win seats despite lacking majority support.
The debate over cooperation comes as Reform seeks to seize the political initiative on border control following the mass crossing into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta.
The party has announced “Operation Fortress,” under which Farage would order the Royal Navy to make the English Channel “impenetrable” to unauthorised migrant boats. A joint command involving the Navy, Royal Marines, RAF, and Army would intercept vessels, provide medical assessments and escort their occupants back to France or Belgium.
The proposal was unveiled after more than 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco, prompting Spain to return tens of thousands across the border.
Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, said the crisis demonstrated what could happen when governments lost control of their frontiers.
“Britain is being invaded. Tory and Labour governments responded with a free ferry service and free hotels,” he said.
“Reform UK will respond by launching the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood rejected comparisons with Spain, arguing that Channel crossings were “different and trickier” because boats pass through both French and British waters. Reform insists its plan would comply with international law and prevent migrants from risking their lives at sea.
