The name Rupert Lowe will probably be unfamiliar to many Americans. To look at him, the former Reform U.K. member of parliament is the quintessential English gentleman — a farmer who breeds pedigree cattle amid the rolling hills of Gloucestershire, looking every bit the part in a waxed jacket and muddy Wellington boots.
Behind the pastoral image, however, lies one of Britain’s most controversial political figures.
Restore proposes what Lowe describes as ‘the most ambitious program of mass deportations ever seen’ in Britain.
No friend of Farage
Reform U.K. suspended Lowe in March 2025 over allegations of workplace bullying before eventually expelling him from the party. Lowe has always maintained the allegations were politically motivated, arguing he was forced out because he took a harder line on immigration than the party leadership. He has since accused Nigel Farage of running Reform with a “messianic” leadership style that sidelines anyone viewed as a threat.
Following his expulsion, Lowe spent the next year sitting in the House of Commons as an independent MP for Great Yarmouth. During that political exile, he quietly laid the groundwork for a comeback, launching Restore Britain as a pressure group before registering it as a political party in early 2026. On March 23, Lowe officially entered parliament as Restore Britain’s sole MP.
The new party occupies territory to the right of Reform, embracing policies — including mass deportations — that Farage has been reluctant to endorse.
That split soon attracted one of the world’s most influential political voices.
‘Weak sauce’
After initially expressing support for Reform, Elon Musk publicly broke with Farage, saying he “doesn’t have what it takes” and describing his leadership as “weak sauce.” Musk instead backed Lowe, dramatically increasing Restore Britain’s online profile.
Within months, the party claimed more than one million social media followers and roughly 130,000 members — surpassing the Conservative Party’s reported membership. In July, Lowe became the first British politician to appear on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” introducing his movement to millions of viewers outside Britain.
If Reform seeks to channel public frustration, Restore Britain aims to dismantle the political consensus that has governed Britain for decades.
Its central objective is reversing what supporters call the “Boriswave” — the surge in migration that followed Brexit. Between 2021 and 2024, roughly 2.6 million people arrived in Britain. Under current law, many migrants become eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years, opening a pathway to welfare benefits and eventually British citizenship.
Ready to remigrate
Restore proposes removing access to state benefits for ILR holders in an effort to encourage voluntary departures while also promising what Lowe describes as “the most ambitious program of mass deportations ever seen” in Britain. The party’s proposed “remigration” policy would prioritize deporting foreign nationals who commit crimes, rely on welfare, cannot speak English, or live in social housing.
Restore also advocates ending voting rights and eligibility for public office for foreign nationals at every level of government. Supporters argue the proposal would reduce sectarian politics and ensure elected officials remain primarily accountable to British citizens rather than recent immigrant communities.
The party points to cases such as Labour MPs Tahir Ali and Mohammad Yasin, who urged Pakistan’s prime minister to support construction of an international airport in Mirpur, as examples of lawmakers prioritizing overseas interests while representing British constituencies.
Kissing cousins
Restore also pushes beyond Reform on cultural issues.
One example is cousin marriage. Although Farage has expressed support for bans adopted elsewhere in Europe, he has stopped short of proposing one for Britain.
Restore explicitly supports banning the practice. The party argues that cousin marriage reinforces clan-based social structures, slows integration, and contributes to elevated rates of inherited genetic disorders within some communities. Critics of the practice frequently cite data from the Born in Bradford study, in which researchers have documented unusually high rates of certain inherited conditions associated with consanguineous marriage.
The party has taken similarly uncompromising positions elsewhere. It supports banning the burqa and niqab in public and ending religious exemptions that permit halal and kosher slaughter without prior stunning, arguing both policies are necessary to strengthen national cohesion and reinforce what it considers British values.
RELATED: Pakistani cousin marriage has no place in UK
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‘I don’t care’
Another issue that has helped define Restore Britain is Britain’s long-running grooming gang scandal, in which organized groups of men sexually exploited and raped vulnerable children. Many of the country’s most notorious cases — including Rotherham, Rochdale, and Huddersfield — involved gangs of men of Pakistani heritage.
Although the government’s statutory inquiry followed Baroness Louise Casey’s independent review, Lowe has sought to make the scandal central to Restore’s political identity. The party funded its own inquiry, pressed ministers to preserve evidence for the official investigation, and argues that years of institutional reluctance to confront the offenders’ backgrounds reflected a broader failure of Britain’s political establishment. Supporters credit Lowe with helping keep public attention on the issue, while critics contend Restore has used it to advance its wider political agenda.
Such positions have predictably drawn fierce criticism.
The Daily Mail and the Telegraph have both published investigations into Restore Britain’s candidates and supporters. Critics argue the scrutiny reflects legitimate questions about the party’s leadership and membership. Restore supporters see something different: an establishment campaign designed to halt the movement before it can gain traction.
Academic and former Reform candidate Matt Goodwin likewise dismissed many of those leaving Reform for Restore, describing them in an interview with Spiked as “the wrong kinds of people, who hold the wrong kinds of ideas.” He characterized many critics of Reform as “amateurs, egomaniacs, zoomers with very little political experience.”
Lowe’s response has since become something of a rallying cry for his supporters.
“I don’t care.”
Elon musk, Joe rogan, Nigel farage, Reform uk, Restore britain, Rupert lowe, Remigration, Immigration, Grooming gangs, Letter from the uk