Between 18 June and 30 July 2026, Restore Britain fought two major contests in Greater Manchester: the Makerfield parliamentary by-election and the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election. Both were triggered by the same chain of events, and in both the party finished ahead of the Conservatives.
Why the two elections were held
The Makerfield by-election came about when Labour MP Josh Simons resigned his seat so that Andy Burnham, then Mayor of Greater Manchester, could enter Parliament and stand for the Labour leadership.
Burnham won Makerfield. Under the rules for combined-authority mayors who hold police and crime commissioner powers, becoming an MP disqualified him as mayor. That triggered the mayoral by-election.
Makerfield by-election, 18 June 2026
Restore Britain's candidate was Rebecca Shepherd, a local businesswoman confirmed on 18 May 2026. It was the party's first parliamentary contest.
The result:
- Andy Burnham (Labour Co-op): 24,927 votes (54.8%), elected
- Robert Kenyon (Reform UK): 15,696 (34.5%)
- Rebecca Shepherd (Restore Britain): 3,111 (6.8%)
- Michael Winstanley (Conservative): 997 (2.2%)
- Sarah Wakefield (Green): 308 (0.7%)
- Jake Austin (Liberal Democrats): 163 (0.4%)
- Eight other candidates: fewer than 100 votes each
Turnout was 58.8%, and Burnham's majority over Reform was 9,231. Restore Britain finished third of 14 candidates, more than three times the Conservative vote.
The next morning Rupert Lowe wrote on X: "We had no infrastructure in Makerfield. No branch, nothing. The first branch meeting had to be turned into our campaign launch." He added: "Restore Britain is now officially on the map."
Greater Manchester mayoral by-election, 30 July 2026
The mayoral by-election used the supplementary vote, in which voters mark a first and a second preference. Restore Britain's candidate was Marlon West.
First-preference results:
- Bev Craig (Labour Co-op): 251,449 (47.1%)
- Sian Astley (Reform UK): 111,928 (21.0%)
- Geraldine Coggins (Green): 64,968 (12.2%)
- Marlon West (Restore Britain): 46,289 (8.7%)
- Phil Eckersley (Conservative): 41,021 (7.7%)
- Richard Kilpatrick (Liberal Democrats): 14,702 (2.8%)
- Marcus Farmer (Independent): 2,969 (0.6%)
In the second round Bev Craig beat Sian Astley by 309,525 votes (66.3%) to 157,178 (33.7%). Turnout was 25.1%. Restore Britain finished fourth of seven, 5,268 votes ahead of the Conservatives.
Where Restore Britain did best
Marlon West's share varied widely across Greater Manchester's ten boroughs:
- Tameside: 13.5% (5,912 votes)
- Rochdale: 12.5% (4,796)
- Oldham: 12.0% (4,381)
- Wigan: 10.1% (5,661)
- Bolton: 9.9% (4,820)
- Salford: 9.2% (4,225)
- Bury: 8.9% (3,570)
- Stockport: 7.0% (4,977)
- Manchester: 5.3% (4,811)
- Trafford: 5.1% (3,136)
The party passed 12% in Tameside, Rochdale and Oldham, and did least well in Manchester and Trafford. In Wigan, the borough that includes Makerfield, West took 10.1%, higher than Shepherd's 6.8% six weeks earlier, although the two areas are not the same.
What the results show
Taken together, these are the largest electoral tests Restore Britain has faced under its own name.
- Ahead of the Conservatives both times. In Makerfield the gap was 3,111 votes to 997. Across Greater Manchester it was 46,289 to 41,021.
- Behind Reform UK both times. Reform took 34.5% in Makerfield and 21.0% in the mayoral race, well ahead of Restore Britain.
- A higher share in the larger contest. The party's share rose from 6.8% to 8.7%. The two elections used different voting systems and had very different turnouts, so the figures are not directly comparable.
For context, YouGov's voting-intention poll of 12–13 April 2026 put the party on 4% nationally.
Update (September 2026): On 2 August 2026, three days after the mayoral result, Rupert Lowe offered Nigel Farage an electoral alliance on five conditions. Reform UK ruled out a pact on 10 August. See Restore Britain vs Reform UK for how the two parties differ, and the timeline for every result so far.
Sources
- Wikipedia: 2026 Makerfield by-election (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia: 2026 Greater Manchester mayoral by-election (opens in a new tab)
- Rupert Lowe on X, 19 June 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- YouGov voting intention, 12–13 April 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Euronews: Rupert Lowe offers alliance with Nigel Farage, 2 August 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Jewish News: Reform UK rules out deal with Restore Britain, 10 August 2026 (opens in a new tab)