Rupert Lowe accused of hypocrisy after he ridicules 'vote splitting' claims in Makerfield despite making same argument when fighting for his own seat at the election

By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE Published: 18:03, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 18:13, 16 June 2026 Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe has been branded a hypocrite after he criticised those accusing him of splitting the right-wing vote in the Makerfield by-election. Ahead of voters heading to the polls on Thursday, Mr Lowe gave an interview in which he dismissed criticism that he risks handing the seat to Andy Burnham. Several polls say that Restore Britain, his hard-right splinter party targeting Reform voters, could be the deciding factor in the election. Speaking at his party's big action day at the weekend, Mr Lowe said that claims he is splitting the vote don't hold 'any water'. In an interview with the pro-Restore YouTube channel LotusEaters, Mr Lowe insisted: 'My view on that is that splitting the vote is a very recidivist argument and it is made by people who know they are losing that argument. 'So I think democracy is about saying what you're going to do, saying how you're going to do it, getting the electorate to understand what your intentions are, and if they support that then they vote for it. 'I don't think any form of the 'splitting the vote' argument holds any water at all…' But it has now emerged that Mr Lowe himself accused the Conservatives of threatening to split the vote when he was fighting for his own Commons seat at the last general election. Polls suggest Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain party is threatening to hand Andy Burnham a win this Thursday by splitting the right-wing vote  Mr Lowe lashed out at those accusing him of splitting the vote, branding it a 'recidivist argument But Mr Lowe himself attacked the Tories for threatening to split the vote in his own election efforts in 2024 In a resurfaced post on X from 2024, Mr Lowe condemned Tory supporters campaigning in his constituency. Mr Lowe blasted: 'Sad to see these attempts to split the vote and allow a Labour candidate in for Great Yarmouth. 'Look at the odds and polling… the Tories WILL lose. 'Every leaflet you deliver is a leaflet for the Labour candidate.' The Restore leader was condemned as a hypocrite over the U-turn, with a Reform source telling the Mail: 'Hypocrisy like this shows the true colour of the man. 'The only way to give the country the change it needs is to vote for Reform in Makerfield on Thursday.' Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the top Tory who is campaigning for his party to unite with Reform at the next election to prevent a hard-left government, also questioned Mr Lowe's change of mind. Sir Jacob asked: 'Has Rupert Lowe changed his mind on splitting the vote. 'In his own words every leaflet you deliver is a leaflet for the Labour candidate.' The criticism came as the photos emerged of Mr Lowe campaigning in Makerfield alongside a disgraced former Conservative MP. He was snapped by an undercover photographer on the party's Saturday action day standing next to Scott Benton, who was forced from parliament in 2024 after being caught in a lobbying sting. The former Blackpool South MP was suspended by the Conservatives in 2023 after an undercover investigation by The Times filmed him saying he was prepared to leak market-sensitive information to a bogus investment fund. Mr Lowe was snapped standing next to disgraced ex-Tory MP Scott Benton, who is now an organiser for Restore Britain  Mr Benton's involvement in Restore has sparked backlash among hard-right members, who have attacked his support for Israel  He also offered to lobby ministers on behalf of gambling investors - who were actually newspaper reporters posing as business representatives - in exchange for payment. While these are the first photos of Mr Benton with Mr Lowe, rumours of his involvement in the party have previously sparked online outrage from hard-right supporters of Restore Britain, whose objections often focus on Mr Benton's vocal support for Zionism. Hugh Anthony, a prominent nationalist on X and member of Restore, said: 'Scott Benton should never have been appointed, he has caused nothing but arguments and disruption to the party.  Another self-proclaimed member of the party garnered hundreds of likes on the Elon Musk-owned platform after posting photos of Mr Benton's Hebrew tattoos, and of him standing next to the flag of Israel, adding: 'We cannot have any foreign agents or influence. Or we shall simply continue to be subverted by foreigners.' Responding to the new photos of Mr Lowe and Mr Benton, a Reform UK source told this paper: 'It appears Rupert's Tory love-in doesn't stop with Kemi, he's now accepting corrupt ex-Tories who were kicked out of parliament.' Responding to accusations of hypocrisy over vote splitting, Mr Lowe told the Mail: 'At that stage, Reform politicians hadn't imported endless rapists, sex pests and freeloaders.' Mr Benton was approached for comment.  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. 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