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What Is Restore Britain? A Guide to Rupert Lowe's Party (2026)

A complete, sourced guide to Restore Britain: how Rupert Lowe's movement became a registered party, what it stands for, how big it is and how it has done at the ballot box.

Published Updated 7 min read

Restore Britain is a UK political party led by Rupert Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth. It began in June 2025 as a membership movement, became a national political party in February 2026 and was entered on the Electoral Commission's register in March 2026.

This guide sets out what the party is, what it says it stands for and how it has performed so far. Every figure is dated and sourced. This site is an unofficial supporter guide; the party's own website is restorebritain.org.uk (opens in a new tab).

Restore Britain at a glance

  • Leader: Rupert Lowe MP
  • Launched as a movement: 30 June 2025
  • Became a political party: 13 February 2026
  • Registered with the Electoral Commission: 20 March 2026, number PP18382, on the Great Britain register
  • Headquarters: Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
  • Treasurer: Liam Porter
  • Membership fee: £20 a year
  • Reported membership: about 130,000 paying members (The Times, 16 June 2026)
  • Elected representatives: 1 MP and 39 councillors, counting Great Yarmouth First's (Open Council Data UK, checked 5 October 2026)
  • Polling: a 4.3% moving average of polls that name the party (PollCheck, 3 October 2026)

Who leads Restore Britain?

Rupert Lowe won Great Yarmouth for Reform UK at the July 2024 general election. In March 2025 Reform suspended him after its chairman, Zia Yusuf, made allegations against him, which Lowe denied. The Crown Prosecution Service said in May 2025 that there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.

Lowe sat as an independent until March 2026, when he took his seat as Restore Britain's first MP. He is also the party's registered leader and nominating officer.

From movement to party

Restore Britain launched on 30 June 2025. Its launch FAQ described it as "a non-party issue-based membership organisation" that would not stand candidates, and said its policy platform would be ratified by the membership, with "every policy" put to a member vote.

Its first policy proposals appeared on its website from launch day onwards, including deporting all illegal migrants, net negative immigration and restoring the death penalty. In October 2025 it published the first of its policy papers, "Mass Deportations: Legitimacy, Legality and Logistics".

On 13 February 2026 Lowe posted on X: "I am today launching Restore Britain as a national political party." LBC reported that it would operate as "an umbrella political party, with locally based political parties as its partners". The Electoral Commission registered the party on 20 March 2026, allowing it to field candidates in England, Scotland and Wales. See our registration explainer and the full timeline.

What does Restore Britain stand for?

The party's join page describes it as a party for people who believe in "low tax, small government, secure borders, national pride, traditional Christian principles, free speech, and direct democracy".

Its platform is organised around 10 Objectives, published on its website:

  1. Reverse Mass Immigration (immigration and deportation)
  2. Reward the Nation's Grafters (economy and tax)
  3. Put British Interests First (foreign policy)
  4. Rebuild Britain's Industry, Infrastructure, and Energy Security (energy)
  5. Restore Britain's Social and Cultural Foundations
  6. Make Britain Safe Again (law and order)
  7. Restore the National Health Service (NHS)
  8. Restore Civil Liberties (free speech)
  9. Restore a Pro-British Education System (education)
  10. Safeguard Election Integrity (elections)

Its headline positions, as stated on its policy pages, include deporting all illegal migrants, abolishing the current asylum system, ending benefits for foreign nationals, a binding referendum on restoring the death penalty, abolishing inheritance tax and ending postal voting on demand.

The party's papers page lists 12 publications between October 2025 and September 2026. They include "The Wealth of Our Nation", a 64-page economic plan released on 3 August 2026, which we explain here. For every area, see our policy guide.

How big is Restore Britain?

The party's early membership figures are its own claims. Lowe said it passed 50,000 members on 15 February 2026, 80,000 on 20 February and 100,000 on 28 February.

The most recent independently reported figure comes from The Times, which on 16 June 2026 put the party's membership at about 130,000 paying members. There is more detail in our membership article.

Standard membership costs £20 a year. The Cromwell Club, for major donors, asks for an annual donation of £2,500.

Elected representatives

Restore Britain has one MP, Rupert Lowe, listed as Restore Britain in Parliament's current record (opens in a new tab). Checked on 5 October 2026, Open Council Data UK, which tracks the party holding every council seat, listed 29 Restore Britain and 11 Great Yarmouth First seats. That is 40 seats held by 39 people, because Great Yarmouth First's leader, Jon Wedon, sits on both Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk County Council. Many were first elected for other parties, most often Reform UK, and later joined. Examples include seven Kent County Council members in February, two Plymouth city councillors in September and Gloucestershire's Michael Rees in late September (our defections report). Great Yarmouth's deputy mayor, James Bensly, also left the Conservatives for Great Yarmouth First and Restore Britain (details).

Election results so far

  • 7 May 2026, local elections: Great Yarmouth First, the local partner party chaired by Lowe, won all 10 seats it contested (details).
  • 18 June 2026, Makerfield by-election: Rebecca Shepherd won 3,111 votes (6.8%), finishing third of 14 and ahead of the Conservatives.
  • 16 July 2026, Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner by-election: Mark Rhoades Buckton won 13,319 votes (10.9%), finishing sixth of seven. Reform UK's Colin Sutton won (Returning Officer's declaration (opens in a new tab)).
  • 30 July 2026, Greater Manchester mayoral by-election: Marlon West won 46,289 first-preference votes (8.7%), finishing fourth of seven and ahead of the Conservatives.
  • 20 August 2026, Penistone East, Barnsley: David Wood won 218 votes (6.5%), finishing fourth of eight. Labour won (Barnsley Council's result (opens in a new tab)).
  • 27 August 2026, Guston, Kingsdown & St Margaret's-at-Cliffe, Dover: Jez Hermer won 284 votes (10.7%), finishing fifth of six. The Greens won (Returning Officer's declaration (opens in a new tab)).
  • 1 October 2026, four council by-elections: Restore Britain won no seats, with shares from 5.3% in Long Whatton & Diseworth to 10.3% in Hirst. It finished third in Claremont and Hirst and fourth in Amble and Long Whatton & Diseworth (official results and candidate calendar).

We cover both by-elections in our results explainer.

Coming up:

  • 8 October 2026, Holborn and St Pancras by-election: Tyler Johnson stands for the party in Sir Keir Starmer's former seat (preview).
  • 8 October 2026, Amber Valley; 15 October, Shepshed; 22 October, Leeds: Edward Oakenfull, Alec McKenzie and Bradley Holmes respectively are confirmed on these local ballots (the official notices).
  • 29 October 2026, Mid Argyll by-election: George Love stands in the party's first election in Scotland (details).

How is Restore Britain polling?

YouGov's latest published voting-intention poll available when checked on 5 October, with fieldwork on 27–28 September among 2,310 adults in Great Britain, put Restore Britain on 3%. More in Common's 25–29 September survey of 2,041 adults put it on 6%. In late September, polls by British Polling Council members ranged from 1.5% to 7%; PollCheck's moving average of polls that prompt for the party stood at 4.3% on 3 October. Each poll is listed in our September round-up.

An MRP poll by Electoral Calculus and Find Out Now, carried out from 4 to 11 September 2026 among 5,549 adults, put Restore Britain on 7% and projected it would win one seat, Great Yarmouth. That poll was commissioned by Restore Britain. Two independent MRPs published the same week differed on the seat: YouGov's projected a Reform UK win in Great Yarmouth, More in Common's a narrow Restore Britain win. There are more figures on the numbers page.

Restore Britain and Great Yarmouth First

Great Yarmouth First is a separate local party, founded in December 2025 with Lowe as chairman and registered in March 2026. Its leader is Jon Wedon. On 29 April 2026 the Electoral Commission approved a joint description, "Restore Britain – Great Yarmouth First", which the two parties can share on ballot papers.

How to join Restore Britain

Membership is handled only by the party's official join page (opens in a new tab), at £20 a year. Anyone donating more than £500 must be on the UK electoral register. This site is independent and takes no payments. There are step-by-step instructions on our join page.

Sources

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