Rupert Lowe
Former Reform UK MP for Great Yarmouth WHO launched Restore Britain after expulsion by Farage in 2026.
Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain gained four Reform UK councillors in Plymouth, Dudley and Gloucestershire in September 2026, and on 1 October stood in two Northumberland County Council by-elections, among its first autumn council contests.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Lowe build a durable party without Farage's institutional machine behind him?
Timeline for Rupert Lowe
Mentioned in: Labour takes Hirst and Amble from Reform
UK Local Elections 2026Craig wins Manchester in its first second round
UK Local Elections 2026Kept Restore Britain out of the contest
UK Local Elections 2026: Clacton draws a record 34 candidatesCalled the contest a 'Reform-sponsored media circus' while confirming a boycott
UK Local Elections 2026: Every party but Binface boycotts FarageMentioned in: Norfolk hung: Reform 40 of 84 seats
UK Local Elections 2026Background
Rupert Lowe is the founder of Restore Britain and the MP for Great Yarmouth. A businessman and former chairman of Southampton Football Club, he won the seat for Reform UK at the 2024 general election. He was later expelled from Reform's parliamentary group after a public dispute with Nigel Farage over party governance, and sits as an Independent MP.
He launched Restore Britain on 13 February 2026 as a populist-right party separate from Reform UK. Its first electoral plan kept to the Great Yarmouth area in May 2026, through the affiliated group Great Yarmouth First, as a proof of concept aimed at 2028. YouGov first listed the party at 4% nationally on 5 May.
By the autumn Restore Britain had defectors on councils in Kent, Plymouth, Dudley and Gloucestershire, and was standing in council by-elections outside Norfolk.
Lowe grows his party from Yarmouth
Lowe launched Restore Britain on 13 February 2026 as a proof of concept for 2028 rather than an immediate national campaign. For the May local elections it fielded candidates only in the Great Yarmouth area, through the partner group Great Yarmouth First, which registered on 4 March; seven Kent councillors had already defected to it. On 5 May the party entered YouGov's Westminster tracker at 4%.
The autumn brought wider reach. Four Reform UK councillors in Plymouth, Dudley and Gloucestershire moved to Restore Britain in September, and on 1 October it had candidates in the Hirst and Amble by-elections, both won by Labour.
Lowe avoids the Clacton contest
On 7 July, Lowe's Restore Britain joined Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and The Greens in refusing to contest the Clacton by-election triggered by Nigel Farage. Their leaders called the contest a stunt designed to serve Farage rather than voters.
When nominations closed on 17 July, the ballot carried a record 34 candidates and none from Restore Britain. Several of the absent parties were reported to be saving themselves for a second, later contest. For Lowe, staying out meant his party's first parliamentary test would not come on a date set by his former leader.