Nigel Farage has warned Elon Musk that his support for Reform rival Restore UK in the upcoming Makerfield by-election will 'split the right'. The right-wing party's leader slammed the Tesla boss for publicly backing Rupert Lowe's insurgent party over the bank holiday.
Farage's Warning
The veteran Eurosceptic also claimed that Labour candidate Andy Burnham would be 'delighted' with the news. Burnham, currently the mayor of Greater Manchester, is hotly tipped to replace embattled Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader if he can return to parliament by winning the seat. But with the Labour politician – who was the MP for Leigh from 2001 until 2017 – only three points ahead of Reform's Robert Kenyon, it looks far from assured. Should Reform bleed more support to Restore UK, which was set up by Lowe after he acrimoniously left Reform in 2025, it would boost Burnham's chances further.
Mr Farage told the Telegraph: '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.'
Polling Data
A recent Survation poll contacted 369 people in the constituency who said they were likely to vote in the by-election, which is being held on June 18. It put Burnham narrowly in the lead with 43%, while Kenyon sat in second with 40%. Businesswoman Rebecca Shepherd is running for Restore UK and attracted seven per cent, more than double Labour's lead over Reform, according to the survey. This has led to calls in some quarters for Restore UK to stand aside to give Reform the best chance of scuppering Burnham's campaign.
Musk's Social Media Activity
Farage spoke after Musk shared a message from Lowe on X. Musk also later wrote 'Restore Britain' in response to an interview by Reform's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick. The controversial tech billionaire has yet to comment specifically on Farage's comments. However, he agreed with a post by right-wing commentator Ben Habib, a former Reform politician, on the subject. He wrote: 'The worst political outcome would be Restore (UK) stepping aside to allow Reform a victory. With its current direction of travel, Reform offers the country no redemption. By stepping aside, Restore (UK) would concrete in Reform's hopelessness. Restore (UK) must fight this election and do the best it can. If it were to gain seven per cent of the vote, as predicted, that would send an earthquake through Reform. Reform might then correct its ways.'
The survey placed the Liberal Democrats on four per cent, the Greens – whose original candidate, Chris Kennedy, withdrew and was replaced by Sarah Wakefield – were on three, and the Conservatives on two.
Background on Restore UK
Lowe founded Restore after he was suspended from Reform last year over claims he had threatened then-party chairman Zia Yusuf. He denied the allegations, and the Crown Prosecution Service has brought no criminal charges. In response to Farage's comments, Lowe said: 'He says that Elon Musk is supporting a party 'that's one man with a social media account'. This is where Farage is so very wrong.'
The by-election was triggered after its previous Labour MP Josh Simons resigned this month.
