‘Indians, Pakistanis Taking Our Job’: British MP Rupert Lowe’s ‘Racist’ Remarks Spark Row

London:

A British MP has sparked a row with his anti-immigration remarks targeting Indians and Pakistani migrants in the United Kingdom, despite an apparent risk of being labelled racist. Rupert Lowe, who recently launched the right-wing political party ‘Restore Britain’ after splitting from Reform UK, accused “millions of Pakistanis and Indians” of taking the jobs that he claimed should have gone to Britons. 

“I don’t believe we should import millions of Pakistanis and Indians to do jobs that unemployed Brits should be doing,” he wrote on X. 

“If that makes me a racist, then so be it,” he added. 

I don’t believe we should import millions of Pakistanis and Indians to do jobs that unemployed Brits should be doing.

If that makes me a racist, then so be it.

— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) May 28, 2026

In an earlier post, Lowe claimed that visiting parts of North West England seems like being “transported to a foreign country.”

“This has not happened by accident — this was a wilful decision to import millions of low-skilled migrants from the third world by Labour, Reform and Conservative politicians. This is an increasing problem. It is getting worse, not better. Quickly,” he claimed. 

He further targeted the Muslim population in the UK and said he “detests” watching “men walking around with two, three, four women in burqas”. Lowe further claimed the “high streets” of Manchester were becoming “Islamic” and described immigration as a form of “colonisation”.

Go through different parts of the North West, and it is genuinely like being transported to a foreign country.

This has not happened by accident – this was a wilful decision to import millions of low-skilled migrants from the third world by Labour, Reform and Conservative…

— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) May 28, 2026

“This is NOT normal,” he said. “British family-run businesses are driven away, and it’s a takeover. Colonisation. Ratcliffe was right,” the independent MP added, referring to Manchester United co-owner and billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s controversial claim of the UK being “colonised by immigrants”.

Lowe further claimed British women do not feel comfortable walking down these streets any more. “Once their streets. Can you blame them? Men from cultures and societies that treat women like shit are now the majority in these places… Demographic reality is hitting hard. These people have more children. Lots more children, very often at taxpayer expense. This is just a fact. One that nobody else in Parliament will even touch,” he claimed. 

He then called for “Restoring Britain,” and said, “Ban the burqa, sharia courts, cousin marriage, halal slaughter, dominating public prayer. Reverse mass immigration. Deport foreign islamists. End political Islam. We’re told to shut up, and just accept it – even embrace it. No longer. We refuse. Restore Britain will do what needs to be done. I promise you that.”

The Controversy 

Lowe’s remarks soon sparked a controversy, with social media users calling him “racist” and reminding him about Britain’s colonial past. One user wrote, “Why are the jobs not being taken by unemployed Brits? Solve that and then review your ideas.”

Another user wrote, “It sounds racist because it specifically targets nationalities/ethnic groups. However, a country prioritising employment for its own citizens is not racism. That’s the difference.”

A third user wrote, “Should have considered what you invade will follow you home when your country was tearing the royal Crown Jewels from the grasp of a people who have absolutely nothing among many many other vile atrocities.”

What Data Says

According to data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics, 2021 Census, Lowe’s own constituency, Great Yarmouth, has a mere 907 residents of Indian and Pakistani origin combined. That is less than 1 per cent of his constituency’s total 99,750 population.

However, the University of Oxford’s ‘Migrants in the UK Labour Market: An Overview’ report shows the share of employee jobs held by people who were non-UK citizens when they first registered for a national insurance number (‘adult migrants’) has steadily increased over the past decade, rising from 12 per cent in July 2014 (3.5 million) to 20 per cent in December 2025 (6.5 million). 

Moreover, the data showed that between January 2021 and December 2025, Indian and Nigerian nationals witnessed the sharpest increases in employment in the UK. But unlike Lowe’s claim, these workers are not taking jobs from Britons. Most of these jobs are concentrated in sectors with chronic staffing shortages, like the health and care sector.