Britain’s centuries-old two-party arrangement is in freefall, giving way to what some have dubbed a six or even seven-party system.
And now, to add even more political instability to the mix, former-Reform MP Rupert Lowe – who was kicked out of Farage’s party for being too right-wing, believe it or not – has thrown his hat in the ring, with the launch of ‘Restore Britain’.
Restore is explicitly trying to outflank Reform to the right, especially on the question of immigration. Lowe is calling for net-negative migration, and the deportation of millions “for the foreseeable future”. He is attempting to tap into the extremely reactionary layer who believe Farage has ‘gone soft’ on immigration and multiculturalism.
Within weeks of its launch, the party has already amassed support from ‘big’ names on the far right, like EDL founder Tommy Robinson, failed media personality Katie Hopkins, and failed actor Lawrence Fox.
Ben Habib, the leader of another far-right fringe group Advance UK, also flirted with the idea of merging with Lowe’s party.
Even a small handful of capitalists have backed Lowe’s outfit, including the world’s richest man Elon Musk – who has flooded his X page with effusive praise for the new party – alongside entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne, of Dragons’ Den fame.
Join Rupert Lowe in Restore Britain, because he is the only one who will actually do it! https://t.co/sa5VkSRWXD
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 14, 2026
14 former Reform councillors have also defected to Restore, and, according to Lowe, the party has reached 100,000 members, at least on paper.
In Restore’s video launch, Lowe declared his first priority was the large-scale deportation of immigrants without legal status:
“Restore Britain will not just stop mass immigration, we will reverse it. Every single illegal migrant will be securely detained and then deported… If that means millions go, then millions go”
Restore’s policies are a reactionary banquet: from fighting “political Islam” and banning remittances, to ending so-called ‘asylum hotels’ – the misleading name given to privately-run asylum accommodation – with existing asylum seekers proposed to be moved into tents on military bases.
This might sound hair-raising and extreme. And it is! But this divisive rhetoric is just the most odious and glaring example of the same reactionary culture war that is being whipped up by the establishment media, and the mainstream politicians – most notably Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood.
Splitting the right?
Some political commentators have suggested that Restore could ‘split the right’, thereby posing a threat to Reform.
Farage has repeatedly tried to distinguish himself from the far right, distancing himself from the 2024 riots, as well as figures like Tommy Robinson and Lowe himself – whom Farage saw as a liability within Reform.
With the launch of Restore, Farage has attacked Lowe once again, calling mass deportations “too far”. Another leading Reform figure has labelled Restore as “neo-Nazi”.
While there is certainly a reactionary layer within Reform, significant sections of this unstable, heterogenous social coalition are mostly concerned about class questions.
To appeal to these sections, Farage has previously paid lip service to ‘raiding the banks’, nationalising key utilities, and leading a people’s revolt against Westminster. Although the Reform leader has now walked back on a lot of these promises, and is speaking in much more establishment-friendly language.
Immigration and multiculturalism are far from the biggest question for many voters; such questions are trumped by cost-of-living worries, wealth inequality, and collapsing public services. Even a significant chunk of Reform voters have positive views on multiculturalism and asylum seekers.
Policies like mass deportation only appeal to the most racist, fringe elements. To gain any relevancy on the already-crowded right wing, Lowe is happy to appeal to the absolute dregs of society – to outright fascist and racial supremacists, who want all non-white people out of Britain.
Such layers are too toxic for Farage, as he gets closer to power. Moreover, he doesn’t need their support to maintain his dominance in the opinion polls. But Lowe is happy to gather up this detritus, for his own personal gain.
Reform under pressure
Anger is boiling in Reform-led councils. Unable to balance their budgets, these councils are making the same austerity cuts as Labour and the Tories – like scrapping school buses for disabled children and axing adult social care; and raising council tax, despite promising not to.
One Reform defector in Kent, where Restore now has seven councillors, said that “when Reform was elected in May, it had two pledges, cut waste and put the residents of Kent first. Instead, £200k is being spent on political assistants and DOLGE, a department the administration itself admits ‘hasn’t cut waste’… Reform UK in Kent has forgotten who sent them there.”
Pressure is indeed mounting on Reform councillors, which is leading to a string of resignations and bust-ups. Some of those leaving Reform might seek refuge in Lowe’s new party. But Restore doesn’t have any solutions to austerity either. Anti-migrant attacks and culture wars aren’t going to solve the economic crisis, locally or nationally.
These defections to Restore will largely go unnoticed. Most people aren’t paying attention to local politics, and most potential Reform voters will adopt an attitude of ‘wait and see’. They would rather see what a national Reform government would have to offer before seeking an alternative in Restore (or elsewhere).
It’s therefore unlikely that Restore Britain will become a major force in British politics any time soon.
Reform? Restore? Revolution!
As the social crisis intensifies, and the establishment continues whipping up a culture war to deflect blame from their system, racism and reaction will grow among certain alienated and frenzied sections of society.
Alongside this, Reform will continue to lean into reactionary culture-war rhetoric, now that they are backpeddling on their more ‘radical’ economic pledges, and welcoming leading Tories into their ranks.
But most people aren’t interested in Lowe’s crazy talk about mass deportations. This also applies to the capitalists themselves, who are desperate for political stability and a ‘safe pair of hands’ for their system.
The ruling class also relies upon a constant supply of cheap immigrant labour to exploit. Regardless of what mavericks like Musk say, the policy of mass deportation is ruled out as far as the serious British capitalists are concerned. They won’t give Lowe any serious support.
If Restore turns out to be more than a flash in the pan, and does stick around, it would take massive events for it to achieve any electoral significance.
More specifically, it would take the experience of a crisis-ridden Farage government, which could push a section of Reform leaders and supporters further down the path of culture war and reaction.
But even then, Lowe’s outfit would remain a minority. The failure of a Farage government would, in all likelihood, pave the way for a sharp swing to the left in British society.
Reform’s contradictory populist alliance would therefore unravel in both political directions – left and right – with workers searching for a genuinely radical solution to the crisis. Forget Reform and Restore – they’d be searching for revolution!
