Reform fury over 'Muslims for Reform' van as Rupert Lowe is forced to delete tweet and insist he is not behind the Makerfield stunt

By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE Published: 14:42, 18 June 2026 | Updated: 14:45, 18 June 2026 Reform UK has accused their right-wing rivals, Restore Britain, of a 'dirty tricks' campaign on the final day of the Makerfield by-election. Scenes got ugly in the Greater Manchester constituency today as a van bearing the words 'Muslims for Reform' was spotted driving around the constituency and trailing the Reform UK battle bus. The van was heavily publicised by Restore Britain figures, including leader Rupert Lowe, who tweeted an image of it alongside condemnation. Mr Lowe's tweet was later deleted, while Restore insisted they had nothing to do with the stunt. But Reform UK has accused the upstart party of 'dirty tricks', and reported the van to Manchester police. Mr Lowe's now-deleted post on X read: 'Seen in Makerfield this morning. 'We do not want this divisive identity politics in our politics.' Another prominent Restore Britain activist, known as 'Young Bob' also broadcast the 'Muslims for Reform' van to his 162,000 followers, tweeting: 'A victory for reform is a victory for Allah.' Rupert Lowe posted an image of the van, appearing to suggest it was an official campaign prop from Reform UK Another Restore activist shared a video of the van to his 160,000 followers Nigel Farage's party has accused Rupert Lowe of a 'dirty tricks' campaign, while Mr Lowe insists he had nothing to do with it   He added: 'Of course, this is all just a stunt, however I'm here with patriots.' The user also later deleted his tweet, claiming he had 'worded the post wrong' and incorrectly made it appear as if he was behind the stunt. But he doubled down, adding: 'I do find it funny'. Reform UK slammed the stunt, telling the Daily Mail: 'This is clearly dirty tricks from Restore.' 'Rupert Lowe has been caught red handed, which is why he's having to row back.' Meanwhile, Rupert Lowe said: 'If it is a stunt, Restore Britain had absolutely nothing to do with it. 'I deleted the post to avoid confusion. 'If it is a stunt, we absolutely condemn it.' Campaigners from all parties have swarmed Makerfield today as voters head to the polls in this crunch by-election, including 1,000 alone from Reform UK. Big beasts from both Reform and Labour are out on the doorsteps, including Cabinet ministers for Andy Burnham, who is hoping to return to parliament and oust Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. Meanwhile Reform's candidate, Rob Kenyon, went to vote this morning, making a swipe at Andy Burnham who could not vote as he is not a resident in the seat. Nigel Farage issued a final warning to locals thinking of voting for Mr Lowe's rival right-wing party, saying: 'The only way to beat Open Borders Burnham today is by voting for Reform. 'It's your choice. I know what I'd do.' Polls close at 10pm, with the final result expected shortly after 3am. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.