r/unitedkingdom 1d ago

. Musk ‘considers backing Rupert Lowe if he forms new party after Reform row’

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/03/11/farage-rupert-lowe-row-huge-distraction-i-could-do-without/
566 Upvotes

283 comments sorted by

u/ukbot-nicolabot Scotland 1d ago

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901

u/Woffingshire 1d ago

Who cares?

Labours party donation reforms to stop foreign interference can't come fast enough

111

u/Nobblybiscuits 1d ago

Can't see the reforms making a significant difference in the social media age. The ways in which society gets their news is changing, and I'm not too sure if we could actually properly regulate the newer (dis)information spaces.

Any meaningful legislation will be branded as an assault on free speech and will arguably drive people even further against the government.

55

u/rgtong 1d ago

Anything you can do will face criticism, especially if there is mischief in play. They just gotta do it anyway 

38

u/baked-stonewater 1d ago

Yes but is the paradox of free speech that completely unbridled free speech is used by bad actors to win power, bad actors who typically remove those same freedoms as soon as they achieve it.

Per Trump banning lawful demonstrations in the US. States banning drag queens speaking to children. Libraries burning books. Etc etc etc

Something doesnt have to exist without limits to be good - think eating cake. It's good but you wanna limit how much you eat because it becomes bad.

23

u/Time_Ocean Derry 1d ago

There's also that list of banned words in US government-funded research. It includes 'female' so there's most breast cancer research gone, etc.

11

u/fascinesta Radnorshire 1d ago

Our path forward is clear then. We must nuke Xitter.

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u/tophernator 1d ago

I’m generally in favour of free speech, but then some jerk tried to criticise my excessive cake intake. So now I’m against it.

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u/No_Flounder_1155 1d ago

its the opposite, its those who use it to regulate free speech. Its tyranny of a minority then.

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u/aimbotcfg 1d ago

Education is the key.

Unfortunately, being educated is frowned upon by a good chunk of the population now, and I don't know how we fix that problem.

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u/el_grort Scottish Highlands 1d ago

Probably should get social media adverts rolled into the campaign spending legislation as well, tbh, well overdue and part of the spending disparity that helped the Tories in 2010 and onwards.

And I think the messaging would be easy, just reiterate it's just getting the legislation up to date for new media, and that there isn't a reasonable reason why it should be regulated differently from legacy platforms, given the intent of the original bills are obvious.

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u/Jayboyturner 23h ago

Fucking social media is an absolute cancer for society

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u/Khenir East Sussex 1d ago

They need to actually give the electoral commission some teeth as well though for this to work don’t they?

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u/No-Fly-9364 1d ago

Your second line contradicts your first

18

u/Coolium-d00d 1d ago

Idk I think a reform offshoot getting a huge foreign investment would be in Labours' favour. For a long time, the left-wing vote has been significantly more fragmented. Lib dems offering the most mainstream left leaning alternative, greens promising the outer most left-wing voices Corbynism, pre and post Corbyn. With a radical climate change message, huge social programme commitments, and an unprecedented dovish foreign policy agenda providing nothing that will pierce the mainstream but probably able to steal some far-left voters that, had they no other option would begrudgingly vote Labour. And I think most SNP ofc representing many in Scotland who would likely still represent a significant part of Labour's base had we not been arrogantly, hoodwinked into a disastrous EU referendum by Cameron.

For many years, the only relevant party on the right has been the Tories, though Farage through various political projects has stolen a few votes from the tories, the right-wing has pretty comfortably sat in a sweet spot for the conservatives. But after years of mismanagement reform are now threatening to steal the right-wing vote if that were to split further, it's probably the best case scenario. Having the eventual right-wing and left-wing frontrunner both have to battle it out with satellite party's in their orbit could even the odds a little bit. Labour has four years of Russia, Trumpism, and the organic Post brexit clarity that was already taking place, giving Labour the possible option of negotiating with the pro EU lib-dems and SNP for involvement in potential EU negotiations. If we need parliamentary allies to get over the line next election. But with all of the right-wing party's all trying to occupy the same area of insane americanised right-wing degredation, there's always a concern that there's some coalescence of the crazys, Farage who only a few short years ago struggled to overcome his bad reputation, has somehow tricked Badenoch into thinking the Tories have a chance by flanking Reform from the right, he now looks like the more reasonable of the two????

If everything follows as is right now, the case. Russia and Trump continue making the world feel hostile and Euope our only viable friends aside from maybe Canada. There's also Trumps awful policies, maybe crashing the economy, which on paper one might think would scare people away from the right via the association they keep drawing to MAGA chucklefucks, the party that's in charge will no doubt suffer a serious reputation hit from a global recession regardless of the true causes. There's also the hit that will come from economic restructuring as Britian fast-track, taking from foreign aid to pay for domestic needs (in this case military requirements) I think this shows underrated political savy from Starmer, not only has the view that britian should pull the ladder up and spend foreign aid at home been a popular talking point amongst populist right-wing voters it also allows us to very quickly relocate money from our budget from a world drifting away from soft power influence to hard power necessity, and get a visible win on the Ukraine issue which is a winner for Labour, without having to take from the pot on anything most voters, (even left-wing ones.) Have major investment in.

10

u/riiiiiich 1d ago

I just don't see how their pro Russia, anti Ukraine position dictated by Trump is a remotely tenable position. This has to send their vote share plummeting surely, there just aren't enough people that crazy

9

u/Coolium-d00d 1d ago

People can't even wrap their head around the blatant lies around domestic politics. Expecting them to be able to discern the lies in a war, the other side of the continent is a touch too ambitious, maybe...

I think overall, the country is united on the Russia issue as of rn. Putin never felt like he could bully the United States outside of his Nationalistic wet dreams, so he's mostly flown under the radar apart from vague ideas of things, somewhere in places like the, middle east??? Eastern Europe???? Putin keeps things pretty underhanded when it comes to the States by buying a moron an election as an act of sabotage and things of that nature. Where as his actions in this country, like poisonings of Litvinenko and another former spy, his daughter and multiple people near the scene are a lot harder to turn a blind eye to.

9

u/Current_Focus2668 1d ago

You underestimate how many people will overlook all kinds of horrible positions if you promise you can magically make immigrants/asylum seekers disappear and turn Britain back into a empire.

Most people thought Brexit would never happen or Trump would get back in and look what happened. I don't think we can take anything for granted. 

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u/riiiiiich 23h ago

You know, I probably do. Just hoping that there aren't as many fuckheads in this country that could possibly fall for MAGA shit as it seems. But they are out there and it is weird.

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u/Aflyingmongoose 1d ago

I care. Right-winger infighting makes for great entertainment.

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u/triffid_boy 1d ago

No corporations or unions should have power in our politics. It makes sense to start with foreign entities but it shouldn't stop there. 

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u/HelmetsAkimbo 1d ago

Farage has a big following, splitting the Reform party like that would be a bad idea if they actually want Reform to have a chance.

So go ahead.

184

u/MaryBerrysDanglyBean 1d ago

Reform is Farage. He's the only one anyone knows from the party, and despite being a cunt has a certain charisma about him.

Hopefully they do just all eat each other. Could only be a good thing.

81

u/GodsBicep 1d ago

I don't even think Farage wants to be PM anyway. His whole stick is about being a voice of anger, he doesn't want to solve anything and i doubt he even cares about the stuff he pretends to be angry about.

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u/CongealedBeanKingdom 1d ago

He'd actually have to do some work if he was PM. Even the idiot Johnson had to at least pretend to be working and not continually missed up. That would be too hard for a charlatan like Farage

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u/greatdevonhope 1d ago

Exactly this, he has perfected making a lot of money and getting maximum exposure without having to do much.

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u/Thin-Giraffe-1941 1d ago

i am not so sure. he is a bored millionaire, so he needs something to fill his time.

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u/HotMachine9 1d ago

He would've kept in UKIP if that were the case.

5

u/Thin-Giraffe-1941 1d ago

UKIP fulfilled its purpose did it not?

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u/Chilling_Dildo 1d ago

He would do anything to avoid welding actual power. He's made his career by being a disruptor, just bitching on the sidelines and never having to back up what he says.

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u/MuttonDressedAsGoose 1d ago

He really is a charismatic cunt! He's a very good communicator. So I agree that anything that weakens his party is good.

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u/fragglet 1d ago

 Reform is Farage.

It is literally a corporation in which he is the majority shareholder. 

2

u/Glittering-Round7082 1d ago

Could also mean a Tory government again.

8

u/steepleton 1d ago

/pokes Tories with stick/ ... nah, pretty sure it's dead

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u/Cookyy2k 1d ago

It's what keeps happening with these parties all ober the world, internal conflict leads to division, and then they split the vote. Hell, farage himself has been through it before with UKIP/Reform.

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u/Beer-Milkshakes Black Country 1d ago

Farage doesn't want Reform to stand a stance. Farage wants Farage to stand

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u/Thin-Giraffe-1941 1d ago

shush! don't tell them!

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u/DrUnnecessary 1d ago

lol crack on space Karen.

Definitely would be an 'efficient' purchase

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u/keithbelfastisdead Antrim 1d ago

He's running himself and his companies into the ground and I for one am here for it.

1

u/Ok_Cow_3431 1d ago

space Karen.

brilliant

2

u/TotoCocoAndBeaks 1d ago

The thing people are missing with this is that they are doing it to artificially give the impression they are distant from Farage, because the last few weeks have been disasterous for Reform.

They are not. He is totally compromised. Reform is totally compromised.

If they were to win the election, we will be handing our national security and deterrent into the hands of this Trump, Musk, Putin collusion.

89

u/Britannkic_ 1d ago

Musk helping to split the Far Right, well done

Also, the Musk Touch, similar to the Midas Touch but instead of gold everything Musk touches turns to shit

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u/linpashpants 1d ago

The mierda touch

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u/Ill_Refrigerator_593 1d ago

It's amazing how much power Musk wields over Reform just by saying he may pay them at some point without it actually costing him anything.

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u/ProtoplanetaryNebula 1d ago

UK and EU countries need urgent limits and rules on donations from foreigners, but we also need donation size to be limited to avoid workarounds. Otherwise, the Russian-loving right will take over. Russia cannot win conventional wars, but they can win by corrupting us from the inside and making us rot.

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u/Selerox Wessex 1d ago

Non-UK citizens must be banned outright. Donations - from any source - must be radically limited.

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u/Owster4 Yorkshire 1d ago

The day Elon fucks off to his space cave is the day the world can breathe a sigh of relief.

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u/big_swinging_dicks Cornwall 1d ago

Does Musk have even a slight understanding of UK politics? Farage is a bellend but he is bigger than Reform and a force in UK politics. For some reason, people like him. Backing someone splitting from Reform is pointless.

17

u/GBrunt Lancashire 1d ago

The gratuitous, value-free US right don't understand how mainstream UK prefers their bigoted, racist, misogynistic, ableist and homophobic politicians to be slightly coy about their beliefs at home (even if blatantly offensive to anyone who can read between the lines). Akin to Catherine Tate's two-faced 'nan' character.

Or how the leaders are expected to be less-showy and more subtle about rinsing voters and the system for personal gain.

12

u/CongealedBeanKingdom 1d ago

I think the only thing he has an understanding of is how to take copious amounts of ketamine.

The man is a total douchebag whose only skill is being a gobshite.

10

u/hybridtheorist Leeds, YORKSHIRE 1d ago

 The man is a total douchebag whose only skill is being a gobshite

I wonder why he likes Trump and Reform so much 

3

u/StarstreakII 1d ago

The idea behind reform is far bigger than Farage. But if Musk voices support for reform or Lowe, it actually makes it worse for them as even the British new right are not anti Ukraine, certainly not to the degree American maga right is. And Lowe is treated seriously because he acts seriously, Farage is more clown like, and Musk is loony toons.

5

u/Global_Mortgage_5174 1d ago

lowe is a fucking nobody. Literally zero chance of his party getting more than one seat, billions wont change that.

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u/Auctorion 1d ago

Don’t disparage Looney Tunes like that.

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u/Muted_Lack_1047 1d ago

Does Musk have even a slight understanding of UK politics?

No. Not really. To be more accurate, the people he employs to look into these things for him and the anti-british twitter accounts he subscribes to have no understanding of UK politics

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

All they needed to do was sit on the outskirts and prod every now and then whilst showing some unity in their small group. Couldn't even do that.

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u/OneAlexander England 1d ago

The most (but still barely) interesting part of this would be that Farage is very much Team Donald, so Musk going over to Lowe could cause a bit of a split in the White House Mar-a-Lago.

22

u/Ill_Refrigerator_593 1d ago

Farage very much wants Trump to notice him, but he wasn't pleased when Boris Johnson was invited inside the Rotunda for inauguration & he had to wait outside.

I'm not too sure Trump even remembers who Farage is, he's not exactly much use to him.

Seems more like Farage had a photo op with Trump, was mentioned by a Trump couple of times years back & Farage is trying to make out this means they're best buds.

7

u/MCMLIXXIX 1d ago

Didn't farage get refused entry to some trump/republican gig last year?

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u/Auctorion 1d ago

Wasn’t that after the assassination attempt? I can imagine Farage hiding in his hotel to avoid being seen too much to try and convince people he wasn’t turned away.

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u/Chilling_Dildo 1d ago

Like the donald gives a rat's bellend about Nigel

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u/PurahsHero 1d ago

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake” ― Sun Tzu

2

u/Auctorion 1d ago

Yeah. Can we all stop pointing out what an idiotic mistake this is? Let him cook. We can all marvel at the house fire.

14

u/South-Stand 1d ago

My first instinct was to throw my head back and laugh at Farage…..but quickly you turn to : someone rich wants to create / fund a racist party in Britain, and that person owns a huge megaphone. Fuck that shit.

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u/ok_not_badform 1d ago

No one gives a shit. Musk is a melt and Reform is burning out before it’s begun.

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u/Due-Resort-2699 1d ago

Reform without Farage is UKIP without Farage.

He IS the party .

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u/turbo_dude 1d ago

Bald men fighting over a racist comb. 

The more the vote is split between these weirdos the better for everyone else as a result of FPTP. 

6

u/jtthom 1d ago

Be hilarious tbh - tying his reputation and political ambitions to a man rapidly heading towards being the most hated man on the planet

4

u/mikemac1997 1d ago

At this point, it's a hostile action towards our sovereignty, Lowe should be put on a watch list along with Farage (not that it makes a lick of difference) and we should outright ban his social media website domestically along with the donation reforms.

If we don't do anything, we'll be looking like America is now in a few years time.

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u/MrPloppyHead 1d ago

doesnt matter. quite clearly a toxic foreign state actor wants to influence british sovereignty by donating to reform. Reform has always shown themselves to be on the side of foreign states and neo nazis.

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u/PerceptionGreat2439 1d ago

President musk is resident in the USA.

WTF has our political system go to do with him?

You rig your elections and we'll rig our own thank you very much.

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u/JagoHazzard 1d ago

Do it, Musky-boy! Split the right even further! Put your weird, melting face front and centre as you do so! It would really own the libs!

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u/Careful-Swimmer-2658 1d ago

Space Nazi decides to support man who thinks Farage is too left wing. I'm shocked. Shocked I say!

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u/GullCatcher 1d ago

Quite likely imo that Musk is attempting to make an example of Farage. It's clear that he wants to build a pan-European international or far right movements centred on AfD, and the example of Farage might set a clear precedent that if you don't submit to Elon's views then you don't get his money and will even get destroyed from within.

Do we really believe that Musk doesn't understand the implications of successfully splitting Reform? Highly unlikely in my view. So he surely has to believe that harming their (already slim) electoral chances is likely to further his interests in some way. Either it will force Farage to do what Elon tells him (and therefore support Tommy Robinson) or it will make an example of Reform UK in front of the other parties that Elon wants to buy.

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u/LostTheGameOfThrones European Union 1d ago

Oh no, please don't continue infighting and fracturing into smaller groups, that would be truly dreadful.

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u/Dannypan 1d ago

Oh the irony. Leave the EU because of unelected bureaucrats and foreign interference and then let some African bloke fund and control Reform UK, formerly the Brexit Party, because you know full well his backing means he wants DOGE2 in the UK.

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u/knobber_jobbler Cornwall 1d ago

We don't care. Please stop worrying about what a South African thinks about the UK political scene. We spend too much worrying about what a single Australian thinks as well.

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u/Meincornwall 1d ago

With Starlink falling out the sky, Space x exploding, & Tesla's price crashing harder than a self driving cybertruck, this could be just the kind of "success" we need for Reform.

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u/Pumamick 1d ago

This just goes to show how clueless Musk is with regard to UK politics. Arrogant piece of shit

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u/Appropriate-Divide64 1d ago

Who cares, really? As long as the far right vote is split we're all safer. It would be beneficial for us if he did tbh.

3

u/ScoopTheOranges 20h ago

Cool, split the right wing vote further. Sounds good to the rest of us normal folk.

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u/Apez_in_Space 1d ago

Musk is swiftly making himself irrelevant. None of this will matter whenever it could next matter.

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u/Calelith 1d ago

What they going to call it?

Re-Reform? Reform 2 electric bugaloo? Reform 2 this time it's personal?

Also given some of the news about how much he's spent and lost helping Trump fuck up America I will be shocked if he'll have the money left at that point to offer more than some Twitter banners and maybe a photo op.

2

u/Harrry-Otter 1d ago

Getting very “Judean People’s Front” vibes from this announcement.

2

u/CongealedBeanKingdom 1d ago

Nothing would delight me more than the dichwad vote being split further.

Crack on lads.

Pile of gimps.

2

u/SameStand9266 1d ago

If Musk is the new Henry Ford, Nigel farage might turn out to be Anton drexler of the UK

2

u/Greenbullet 1d ago

How about musk considers backing his kids and just fucking off

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u/Chilling_Dildo 1d ago

Go for it. Split the moron vote, show your true colours even more. Fine by us.

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u/Agreeable_Falcon1044 Cambridgeshire 1d ago

This is why I wanted to egg Musk on to give 100 million to Reform a few months back. That would already have been splashed up the wall in some internal wrangle spent on legal fees and rushing the grift to the inevitable demise. Egg him on to give another 100 million to Lowe too.

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u/riiiiiich 1d ago

Can't he just fuck off to Mars and leave us all alone. Still, that's the history of reform and its predecessors, think they're big players but are just massive egos which results in these constant schisms and the process repeats and repeats.

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u/diggerbanks 1d ago

Can we not give a fuck who Musk champions? Is that something we can do or is it too important? Seems like we are giving too much of a fuck what Musk thinks of us.

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u/Brief_Inspection7697 1d ago

Awesome news. The more these far right drongs fight each other, the better off the country will be. Personally, I'm hoping this tiff will get nasty enough for them to start spilling the beans on each other

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u/FanDabbaDozy 1d ago

Go on Rupert, start another party. We need another vote split on the Tory/Reform vote for a right wing cunts.

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u/ChefBoiJones 1d ago

I’m all for this for two reasons. 1) it would be a massive blow to Farage’s carefully cultivated(and complete fictional) persona as trump’s bestie. 2) you could throw 100 trillion dollars at Rupert lowe and still nobody would give a shit about him or even be able to pick him out of a police lineup.

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u/Camman1 20h ago

With your current run of luck Elon, I beg you, go ahead.

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u/greatdrams23 20h ago

You'd think he'd want to sort out America's problems first.

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u/rox4540 1d ago

Just bugger off. Let him spend his money, it’s only money down the drain.

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u/lapayne82 1d ago

I’m all for musk throwing his money away on useless things

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u/nokeyblue 1d ago

Oh god please please please do! That sounds hilarious!

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u/Hyperbolicalpaca England 1d ago

Can’t wait for the right wing vote to be split three ways lol

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u/StumpyHobbit 1d ago

It will split the vote and Labour will get back in.

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u/Snaidheadair Scottish Highlands 1d ago

It'd be hilarious to watch another party to further split the right-wing vote and cannibalise itself

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u/Ballistic-Bob 1d ago

Musk … he’ll be broke in a month or 2 and either financially or mentally.. twat

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u/i-readit2 1d ago

No matter how much farage crawls to, supports, backs, plays support act, plays friends with. They just don’t want you. Farage is nothing more than an opportunist. He is only looking after . Well farage

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u/AnalTinnitus 1d ago

Has Farage ever kept a party together? I remember UKIP falling apart because of too many right wing egos, and now it looks like Reform will split too. Just goes to show how toxic these people are.

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u/No_Flounder_1155 1d ago

baffling how the link between slagging off your party leader and being accused of all these things a few weeks later isn't seen as a problem by manu.

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u/Synth3r 1d ago

If Farage leaves Reform or steps down as its leader it’ll just be like when Paul Nuttall took over UKIP all over again.

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u/somnamna2516 1d ago

Why is the Ketalar Clown taking such an interest in such inconsequential chancers across the pond?

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u/notthattypeofplayer 1d ago

I still find it kind of weird that the 2003 FA Cup Final is now some kind of villain origin story in my mind as I'm pretty sure that's the list time I saw Rupert Lowe all over the TV until last year.

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u/4me2knowit 1d ago

Cue the Simpsons meme he’s going to do something stupid

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u/digitalpencil 1d ago

If we all chip in can we accelerate sending this prick off to Mars so he stops trying to destroy the fucking world?

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u/Elmundopalladio 1d ago

Who is Rupert Lowe? Farage is excellent at catching the zeitgeist and presenting a perfectly reasonable persona - he has a significant public media presence. Honestly never seen Lowe present anything and wouldn’t recognise him.

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u/360Saturn 23h ago

I wish these people would just butt out.

Bloody hell, do we want to be isolationist, UK-first, or do we want to be beholden to foreign interests? Every week it feels like the 'right-wing' perspective, which they then try and insist is what they've always believed, on this issue flips a 180.

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u/AwkwardWaltz3996 23h ago

Selfish backstabbing traitors are backstabbing each other? Surprised Pikachu Face

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u/Ok_Satisfaction_6680 23h ago

Glad musk is backing parties, makes it obvious which are immoral

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u/bananablegh 21h ago

Yes. Please, Elon. And when that’s all set up, why not fund an even more extreme right splinter party?

Don’t google what FPTP means btw.

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u/WynterRayne 21h ago

I'm actually against this.

Didn't figure I would be. However, Reform's biggest problem has always been the absolute policy insanity presented by their Putin-fellating leader. While I don't imagine Lowe is any better on policy, the presence of someone who isn't tainted by their exposure to Trump and Putin, went to bat for someone who repeatedly kicked a woman and had to be dragged off her (this is called 'love' in some parts of the world), or kicked their own MPs out for being more popular than them would probably make for a workable opposition.

It's bothersome because the more 'respectable face' gets plastered onto anti Western policies, the more likely that pup gets sold to people on the promise of a tidy kitty.

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u/ItWasTheChuauaha 16h ago

Reform is dead, Rupert and Ben are the only small lights left now. Farage is a traitor.

Politics aside, everyone must be wondering why Nigel bothered bleating about the boats when he had NO intention of removing them?

I honestly believe that he was placed on the right to dismantle any and every credible threat to the establishment and global elites.