Who is Rupert Lowe? Ex-Southampton FC chairman who Elon Musk backs to succeed Nigel Farage

Elon Musk piled humiliation on Nigel Farage by calling for him to be replaced – just hours after the Reform UK leader called him a hero.

Fawning Mr Farage has spent weeks cosying up to the billionaire, who has been tipped to donate millions of pounds to the party. But in a shock intervention on Sunday, Musk claimed the Clacton MP “doesn’t have what it takes”.

It piles pressure on Mr Farage, who steadfastly refused to condemn the mega-rich businessman despite his inflammatory attacks on Labour’s Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips. Musk later suggested that Reform MP Rupert Lowe could be the best bet to succeed him. Musk wrote: “I have not met Rupert Lowe, but his statements online that I have read so far make a lot of sense.”

Mr Farage shot back that the two disagree over Tommy Robinson, who Musk has said should be freed. The outspoken Twitter/X owner, a key advisor to Donald Trump, later said the party should look to Mr Lowe.

The multi-millionaire former Southampton FC chairman is an immigration hardliner who in recent days has claimed that open borders “put British women in danger”. On Sunday he praised far-right rabble-rouser Tommy Robinson, but conceded he was “not right” for Reform.

Tenure as Southampton chairman

The 67-year-old is a former Southampton FC chairman, who served two spells at the helm – from 1996 and 2006 and again from 2008 to 2009. He left when the club’s holding company fell into administration, and was a divisive figure among the club’s fanbase.

Describing the abuse he received from fans, he told The Guardian: “Understandably, having thousands of people chanting such offensive language is not a pleasant position to be in, but we live in a country with free speech and we must respect that. It did put pressure on my health, I won’t deny it.”

There were eight managers during his tenure. There were highs including a place in the 2003 FA Cup Final and European qualification. But the team was relegated in 2005 and he stood down the following year after failing to secure promotion.

Climate change ‘cult’ remarks

The immigration hardliner, who was elected as MP for Great Yarmouth in July, has previously been a Brexit Party MEP before joining Reform UK. In January 2020, following devastating wildfires in Australia, he lashed out at the “cult of climate change”.

Mr Lowe said: “It’s disappointing that climate change has been blamed as the primary cause of these devastating bushfires by both our Parliament and other so-called climate experts. The cult of climate change marches on with no definitive evidence to support or deny the factual accuracy of their assertions.

“Logic suggests that climate change has little to do with this natural catastrophe.”

Tommy Robinson

In a statement on Twitter/X following Musk’s demand, Mr Lowe had warm words about Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. He is currently serving an 18 months prison sentence after admitting 10 counts of contempt of court.

Yaxley-Lennon was previously jailed in 2019 for interfering with the trial of a grooming gang at Leeds Crown Court. His actions nearly led to the trial being scuppered.

Nevertheless Mr Lowe wrote on Sunday: “Tommy Robinson’s role in exposing these gangs should be acknowledged. He is not right for Reform, but I do think that his efforts in revealing these heinous crimes should not be overlooked.”

Immigration

Many of Mr Lowe’s recent social media posts, which appear to have caught Musk’s eye, focus on immigration.

On Saturday he posted: “Open borders put British women in danger.” And last week he wrote: “We must stop harbouring foreign nationals who viscerally hate Britain, who commit serious crimes, who rape our children. If that means being insulted as ‘racist’? Then so be it, the word has lost all real meaning. It should be in no way controversial to deport these people.”

On Sunday he posted: “Musk is not the story. The thousands and thousands of vulnerable white working class girls mass raped by Pakistani men are the story.”

On Saturday he wrote: “There should be no doubt that multiculturalism has failed Britain. If foreign nationals want to live in our country – they need to live by our laws, speak our language, and integrate into our society. The days of tolerating the intolerable in the name of diversity are over.”

Support for Nigel Farage

Mr Lowe’s post did not suggest that he would be challenging Mr Farage for the leadership.

He said: “I thank Elon for his kind comments. I just want to do what is right for my constituency and my country – that is my only interest.”

He went on: “Nigel is leader of Reform. He made Brexit happen, and for that I will always be grateful. I look forward to working with Nigel and the entire team to continue to hold this incompetent Labour Party to account, democratise our own party, win the next election and form a Reform Government.”