Last week, Rupert Lowe announced the registration of Restore Britain as an official party and pitched the move as a decentralised grassroots movement. The next day, Ben Habib of Advance UK posted a public invitation to unite on social media.
After eight days of unanswered silence, Lowe finally responded by suggesting a total absorption of the Advance UK team into his own ranks. Habib then released a scathing video that served as a pointed critique of Lowe’s leadership.
Elon Musk had previously encouraged his followers to back Lowe as a unique man of action. The endorsement garnered over 23 million views and helped membership climb to 80,000 according to accounts on X.
This explosion of online interest happened exactly as the internal foundations began to crumble.
The Common Origin of the Defectors
Both men are alumni of the same political movement. Lowe parted ways with Reform UK following allegations of conduct and Habib walked away because of an uncompromising stance on deportations and a distaste for centralised control.
In a strange coincidence, both organisations arrived on the same date in June 2025.
Reform grew through the aggressive recruitment of disillusioned Conservatives. Defections climbed dramatically as eighty-one Reform councillors joined from the Tory ranks.
Figures like Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick switched after the Conservative vote crashed to its lowest point in modern history. The new parties are attempting to siphon that momentum from the outside.
The Structural Cause of the Collapse
The breakdown uncovered an unstable ideological coalition that creates a fundamental identity crisis for Restore Britain. A merger would have forced a confrontation with internal prejudices regarding the Pakistani heritage of Habib.
For his part, Habib detailed a lack of procedural rules and an absence of accountability in the other camp.
An independent investigation into Advance UK found similarly opaque leadership and invisible local branches. His critique served as a convenient exit from the very unification he had publicly proposed.
A Long Habit of Splitting
Splits are a staple of British right-wing politics. Groups like UKIP and the Brexit Party followed a recurring cycle of internal division. Observers say the 2024 election made the political environment more volatile than ever before.
Voters perceive a potential dilution of the Reform brand. Such new groups often function as focused anti-Farage projects and they inherit the baggage of their predecessors.
Digital Fame Without a Solid Foundation
The viral reach of the parties came long before they were actually ready. Habib noted that his 37,000 members came from social media. He personally committed £100,000 to the effort as the party raised an additional £600,000 in funds.
The Musk endorsement brought massive attention to a group without a written rulebook.
The incident is playing out as real wages have flatlined for years. Paychecks in most local areas are worth less than they were in 2008 once adjusted for inflation.
Economic optimism bottomed out in 2025 and a majority of the public anticipates a worsening economy. Environmental factors drove the forecast of a Reform landslide.
The hurdle remains the lack of internal systems that neither leader has put first.
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