Elon Musk and Nigel Farage are engaged in a bitter row as the billionaire backed rival Restore Britain in the crucial Makerfield by-election showdown.
Farage accuses Musk of trying to split right (Image: Getty)
Elon Musk and the leader of Reform UK are engaged in a bitter row over the latter’s support of Nigel Farage’s rival party, Restore Britain.
It comes as recent polling suggests Restore could take 7% of the vote in the crucial Makerfield by-election, with figures close to Rupert Lowe, the party’s leader, saying it could be much higher.
Now Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has accused the world’s richest man, the billionaire Elon Musk, of trying to divide the right in the UK by supporting Mr Lowe.
Restore Britain has fielded a candidate in the knives-edge Makerfield by election, and is standing on a series of policies including mass remigration and increasing the availability of energy.
The tech-tycoon shared a post by Mr Lowe on his social media platform X, on the subject of the by-election, accompanied by the comment: “Restore Britain.”
It prompted furious backlash from Mr Farage, who was once supported by Mr Musk before a spat between Mr Lowe – then one of his MPs – led to his ejection from Reform UK.
The SpaceX and social media platform owner then disavowed ReformUK and threw his support behind Mr Lowe’s outfit.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Farage said Andy Burnham – the Labour candidate for the seat – would be “delighted”.
He said: “Elon Musk has decided he will try to split the Right of British politics as best he can. This is supporting a party that’s one man with a social media account. Quite what he’s trying to achieve, I have no idea.”
Lowe says Musk backing shows establishment losing (Image: Getty)
Mr Lowe shared on the social media platform that his party was “under brutal assault” by the establishment who “want us gone”.
“They’ve already tried to put me in prison. It will all keep coming and coming. It is going to get a lot worse, the more support we gain. The establishment is getting very nasty with us. Good. It shows we are making progress,” he added.
Responding to Mr Musk’s support, Mr Lowe said: “Elon Musk backing Restore Britain sends a clear message that real change is possible and the establishment is losing control. Makerfield will show Britain the way. We’re not here to patch up a broken system, we are here to restore our country.”