Rupert Lowe MP

Greater Manchester mayoral by-election VI: 🔴 Labour: 38% 🟢 Greens: 22% 🟦 Reform UK: 19% ⚫ Restore Britain: 9% 🔵 Conservatives: 8% 🟠 Lib Dems: 3% ⚪ Independent: 1% Labour would beat Greens in second round 64-36. Versus Reform, they'd win 66-34 Implied turnout: 39%

The death of Ann Widdecombe is deeply distressing. I do not know the full circumstances or motivations, but it looks to be an act of appalling and wicked evil. I am calling on Parliament and the Home Office to provide MPs who have received credible death threats receive proper state-funded security. That absolutely includes Nigel Farage, Reform MPs and any other politician who has been threatened in a way that is beyond the usual social media insults. I myself receive countless death threats, and arrests have been made because of those. Personally, I have found Parliament’s response to be unacceptably relaxed about it all - it seems Reform feel the same. I agree. I also believe that the temperature of political ‘debate' needs to be lowered. Of course there will be robust disagreement, and personal insults will inevitably be dragged into that, but too often, it’s too much. In Britain, there is a line. Or at least there should be. In the run up to the Makerfield by-election, the Daily Mail ran two front pages about Restore Britain in a row. On the Sunday, they linked us to a ‘white supremacy’ summit. On Monday, the headline labelled us as the home for ‘neo-nazis’, quoting somebody from Reform - Reform’s London Mayoral candidate also previously stated we were neo-nazi. Various other outrageous insults have been thrown at our party - from Reform, Green, Labour and other political figures. This is not a healthy way of conducting political debate and it certainly fires people up in a reckless way. But the point remains. Any MP, from any party, who is subject to such foul abuse and threats should be protected by the state. Britain is not the same country as it was 20 years ago, even 10. There are a great number of very dangerous people living among us who want us dead. Those who put themselves in serious harm’s way through engaging with the political process should receive proper security - I include Nigel Farage in that. I will be looking to work with cross-party colleagues to implore the Home Office to reassess the current security arrangements for all MPs. It needs to change.