Restore Britain’s Surge and the Ethnonationalist Controversy Inside the New Party

Restore Britain, founded by former Southampton FC chairman Rupert Lowe in February 2026 after his ejection from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in spring 2025, has quickly become a notable force in English politics. The party captured roughly 7 percent of the vote in the Makerfield by-election that returned Andy Burnham to Parliament and about 9 percent in the subsequent Greater Manchester mayoral contest, out-performing the Conservative Party in both races.

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Lowe split from Reform UK following a personal fallout with Farage and assembled a team largely drawn from the “online right,” a network of hard-right commentators and influencers. Co-founder and campaign director Charlie Downes, aged 25, has faced criticism from Jewish groups for suggesting Farage was “bought” by Jewish supporters and for stating that Muslims are “less British” than Christians.

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• Makerfield by-election (June 2026): 7 percent of the vote.

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• Greater Manchester mayoral election (June 2026): 9 percent of the vote, beating the Tories.

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• The same poll placed Restore on a left-right spectrum no further right than the Conservatives or Reform UK.

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Several Restore affiliates openly promote ethnonationalist ideas. Policy-team member Josh Ferme, a contributor to a controversial right-wing podcast, has called Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch a “foreigner” and asserted that only people with English ancestry qualify as English. In June, Ferme posted on X: “The ‘debate’ is settled: English is an ethnicity. A piece of paper does not make you English; having English ancestry does.”

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Harrison Pitt, a senior policy fellow for Restore, has repeatedly framed the party’s goal as achieving “demographic security” for “native peoples of Britain.”

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• Rupert Lowe’s public stance: Lowe has said he “detests” far-right ethnonationalism, while also warning that projections of a future decline in the white British population constitute “demographic vandalism.”

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• Jewish groups: Condemn Downes for insinuating Farage was bought by Jewish supporters and for his anti-Muslim remarks.

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• Louis O’Geran, More in Common: Warned that increased exposure of Restore’s activists’ ethnonationalist views could alienate “undecided floating voters.”

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The July 2026 More in Common poll indicates that the British public largely sees Restore as no more right-wing than the Conservatives, yet commentators such as Katwala and O’Geran argue that the party’s ethnonationalist rhetoric could erode its support if widely publicised. No systematic data currently measures how voter intentions shift after exposure to these internal statements, leaving a gap in understanding the party’s future electoral prospects.

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• “The ‘debate’ is settled: English is an ethnicity. A piece of paper does not make you English; having English ancestry does.” — June

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• “Correct. There are humane options besides twiddling our thumbs for the next few decades until we are overrun beyond saving. We would betray our ancestors and endanger our descendants if in the time we have left we sought only to improve the terms of our pre-emptive surrender.” — Harrison Pitt

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No forthcoming events, hearings, or scheduled actions were mentioned in the available sources.

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