Restore Britain
UK political party founded by Rupert Lowe in February 2026 to the right of Reform UK.
Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe's insurgent party to the right of Reform UK, is sitting out the 13 August Clacton by-election, saving its resources for a later contest rather than joining the seat's crowded field.
Last refreshed: 12 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Restore Britain convert its 2026 local foothold into a 2028 Westminster challenge?
Timeline for Restore Britain
Mentioned in: Farage wins Clacton back by 12,784 votes
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: Carr takes his Reform seat to the SDP
UK Local Elections 2026Received four of Reform's departing councillors
UK Local Elections 2026: Reform sheds 56 councillors since MayCraig wins Manchester in its first second round
UK Local Elections 2026Declined to contest the by-election
UK Local Elections 2026: Clacton draws a record 34 candidatesBackground
Restore Britain is a UK political party launched by former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe on 13 February 2026, following his expulsion from the Reform UK parliamentary group after a dispute with Nigel Farage.
It chose a proof-of-concept strategy for its 2026 debut, contesting candidates only in the Great Yarmouth area under the affiliated Great Yarmouth First banner rather than fielding a national slate, while seven Kent councillors defected to the new party at launch.
By early May 2026 it had entered the YouGov Westminster voting-intention tracker at 4% nationally, and Great Yarmouth First took nine seats on a hung Norfolk County Council, giving the party its first elected local presence ahead of any Westminster contest.
Restore Britain again sits out Clacton
Restore Britain is sitting out the 13 August Clacton by-election, leaving Nigel Farage's re-election bid uncontested by the insurgent right. Its energy has gone elsewhere: the party has taken in four of the councillors Reform UK has lost nationally since May, and separately holds seven seats on Kent County Council after a February 2026 bloc defection, making it the county's third-largest group behind Reform's 47 and the Liberal Democrats' 12. The two groups are different people: the Kent bloc defected before May's elections, the four national defectors after.
A Restore Britain candidate's 7% share in the 22 May Makerfield by-election was large enough, on Survation's figures, to have tipped a probable Reform hold into Andy Burnham's win, evidence the party's presence can already reshape a right-of-centre contest without winning it outright.