'We're stronger together': How Britain's further-right is animating Makerfield

Restore Britain challenging Reform in this week’s byelection will change our national politics

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/73858/how-britains-further-right-is-animating-makerfield

https://archive.ph/YLtHz



In February, on the Saturday before the Greens triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, I met a Bolton-born self-described ethno-nationalist in Denton’s Jubilee Square. It was the final campaign rally held by Advance UK, a party to the right of Reform UK, in support of its local candidate, Nick Buckley. John, 65, was wearing a sandwich board. When he was younger, John was “more of an ethno-nat, but… I've realised we're not going to get rid of everybody,“ he said, before pausing our chat to protest Reform’s notorious, teal-coloured empty double-decker, which was parked at a bus stop. Back in February, Advance UK and its further-right peer Restore Britain were treated as eccentricities of our electoral system; their supporters, like John, eccentrics too. Not even Reform seemed worried by these parties’ level of support. But now, ahead of another critical byelection, the picture has changed.

In Makerfield, Restore is giving Reform a genuine electoral shakedown. The party is polling at 8 per cent of Makerfield’s vote—ahead of the Greens on 2 per cent—and that can only eat into the Reform vote, where every percentile is needed to beat Labour’s Andy Burnham on his home turf. Restore’s leader Rupert Lowe, the 68-year-old MP for Great Yarmouth, Reform alumnus and former investment banker, is promising that “Restore Britain’s support in Makerfield is going to shock the establishment”. Which brings us back to sandwich-board John, who shared with me a vision that’s gaining support on Britain’s nationalist right. “I’m aiming towards a supermajority, maybe 90 per cent [of] white demographics,“ John explained. “I’m happy to stand beside Ben Habib, even though he’s multi-race himself, because he's for the country,“ he continued, referring to Advance’s British-Pakistani leader, also ex of Reform, who is posh-sounding and “a gentleman“, according to several attendees at the Denton rally.

On 3rd June, Habib announced that he would cease his own party’s activities, given Restore’s rise in the Makerfield polls. Welcoming Habib’s decision, Lowe cited the “growing momentum” behind Restore, now at over 120,000 members, whereas Advance peaked at around 30,000. (Advance’s Buckley returned only 154 votes in Gorton and Denton). In Makerfield, Restore’s candidate is Rebecca Shepherd, a local businesswoman who is new to politics. Out in Makerfield on Monday (15th June), I met an eager Restore campaigner handing out leaflets. He was explicit that the party is aiming to split Reform’s vote in order to show that Restore won’t accept the “new Tory party”. “People who don’t follow politics much don’t realise that Reform are Tories with new branding,” he said. “They got fed up after 14 years of Tories, and I respect them for jumping ship, but [voters] don’t see what they’re falling for.” Restore’s operating logic, according to the campaigner, is to show both the Conservatives and Reform that they won’t settle for anything short of “full-scale political change”. When I asked about the recent Makerfield polling, he said it was selling Restore short. Double digits? “Oh, we’ll smash double digits.” If that lets Burnham win, to teach Reform a lesson, so be it.

Reform-adjacent posts online frequently have comments beneath them along the lines of “Defect Now, Restore Britain”. Reform was once Elon Musk’s favoured British political party; now that honour is reserved for Restore (there has been speculation that Musk is artificially inflating Lowe’s social engagement). Radical-right activist Laurence Fox, who founded the Reclaim party, has also backed Restore. Despite Advance’s gesture of support towards Restore, the pair are not perfect allies. In leaked private voice memos, Habib described Restore as “full-tilt racist”. (Recently leaked Advance emails also show the party’s then COO and northwest regional director, Tim Power, trying to mount a counter-coup against Habib. Power, who launched a petition to halt any potential merger with Restore, is no longer with Advance.) Other officials from the now shuttered party have also been suspicious of Restore. Its national director, Howard Cox, described himself to me as a “dear friend” of Lowe, before sharing concerns about the people surrounding Restore’s leader: “too drastic, too radical, and—yep, I'm gonna say the R-word—being racist.”

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