At a glance
Restore Britain would defund the BBC and turn it into a subscription service, and would freeze quango budgets while bringing every quango under direct ministerial oversight. The party also proposes removing DEI across government and replacing several public bodies, from the College of Policing to the financial regulators.
Key points
- Defund the BBC, scrap the licence fee and make the BBC a subscription service
- Freeze total quango budgets for a full Parliament, with some bodies abolished and most scaled back
- Bring every quango under full ministerial oversight so that elected ministers answer for its spending
- Abolish DEI across all government departments, with particular emphasis on the Ministry of Defence
- Replace the College of Policing with a National Police College
- Abolish the FCA and PRA in their current form, and the Financial Ombudsman Service
Overview
Restore Britain has not published a single policy paper on the media or public institutions. Its positions come from several places: the BBC commitment in its Restore Britain's Social and Cultural Foundations (opens in a new tab) objective, the quango proposals in its economic plan The Wealth of Our Nation (opens in a new tab), and reforms to specific bodies in its papers on policing and financial regulation.
The common thread is accountability. The party argues that too much public money and power sits with bodies voters cannot hold to account, whether a broadcaster funded by a compulsory licence fee or quangos it describes as “largely unaccountable”. Its answer is to cut their funding, bring them under the direct control of elected ministers, or abolish them.
Much of the detail is still to come. The Wealth of Our Nation says a future paper will set out which quangos would be abolished, cut or protected, and the party has not yet published a plan for how the BBC would move to subscription. This page summarises what the official material says so far.
How it would work
The BBC and the licence fee
The party's objective on social and cultural foundations, published in February 2026, is headed “Defund the Rotten BBC”. It proposes making the BBC a subscription service and letting it “wither on the vine”.
In June 2026 Rupert Lowe said on X (opens in a new tab) that a Restore Britain government would defund the BBC, scrap the licence fee and make it a subscription service from “day one”. The party has not yet set out how that transition would be managed.
Quangos
The Wealth of Our Nation (opens in a new tab) (August 2026) cites TaxPayers' Alliance estimates that around 438 quangos spent between £376 billion and £391 billion in 2023–24, roughly a third of public sector spending. Restore Britain would freeze their budgets in aggregate for the lifetime of a Parliament, which it estimates would save about £8 billion a year, or £40–45 billion over the Parliament, assuming 2% inflation.
Every quango would be brought under full ministerial oversight and “taken in house”, and each would be reviewed for how its budget and remit have changed over the past ten years. The paper says some would be abolished, most would face significant cuts and a small number would have their budgets protected, with the specifics left to a future paper.
The same plan would freeze most departmental budgets, excluding defence, health and debt interest, for three years. In August 2026 Rupert Lowe also said (opens in a new tab) that a Restore Britain government would review regulation passed over the past decade, and in time the past 25 years, with a presumption in favour of repeal.
DEI, policing and universities
The party's Put British Interests First (opens in a new tab) objective says a Restore Britain government would abolish every trace of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) across all government departments, adding that “nowhere does this matter more” than in the Ministry of Defence.
Its policing paper (opens in a new tab) (July 2026) would abolish the College of Policing in its present form and replace it with a National Police College, withdraw the Police Race Action Plan and related strategies, and replace them with a single Equality Before the Law and Impartial Policing Standard. See law and order for more.
On universities, the party's education objective (opens in a new tab) argues that there is “no such thing as a neutral institution” and says publicly funded universities should be openly pro-British. This is covered on the education page.
Financial regulators
The Return of Caveat Emptor (opens in a new tab) (September 2026) would repeal large parts of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and abolish the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority where systemic risk is absent. Their role would pass to common law enforcement, industry self-regulation, market discipline and, for banking and systemic risk, the Bank of England. The Financial Ombudsman Service would be abolished.
Questions and answers
Would Restore Britain close the BBC?
Its stated policy is to end licence fee funding and make the BBC a subscription service, rather than to close it outright. The party's objective says the BBC should then be left to “wither on the vine”.
Which quangos would be abolished?
The party has not yet said. The Wealth of Our Nation promises a future paper naming which bodies would be abolished, cut or protected. In the meantime it commits to an aggregate budget freeze and full ministerial oversight of every quango.
Is the £8 billion quango saving independently costed?
No. It is the party's own estimate in The Wealth of Our Nation, based on holding budgets flat while assuming 2% annual inflation.
Where are the party's views on online regulation?
Online regulation falls under its civil liberties objective, which would repeal the Online Safety Act. See free speech and civil liberties.
Sources
Restore BritainOfficial
Objective: Restore Britain's Social and Cultural Foundations (opens in a new tab)Published
Restore BritainOfficial
The Wealth of Our Nation: Restore Britain's Economic Philosophy (PDF) (opens in a new tab)Published
Restore BritainOfficial
Objective: Restore a Pro-British Education System (opens in a new tab)Published
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