Nigel Farage is facing a new threat from the hard right as Rupert Lowe’s Restore party gains traction online, potentially splitting the vote in the upcoming Makerfield by-election. Farage has accused Elon Musk of trying to “split the right” by supporting Restore, which has only one MP but a significant Facebook following.
A Survation poll in Makerfield put Restore candidate Rebecca Shepherd in third place with 7% of the vote, ahead of the Greens. Pollster Scarlett Maguire noted that Restore often comes up unprompted in focus groups, and Lowe has twice as many Facebook followers as the prime minister.
Farage’s aggressive attacks on Lowe may be counterproductive, drawing more attention to Restore. The by-election is seen as a test of whether Reform UK can hold off the challenge from its right flank, with Labour’s Andy Burnham potentially benefiting from a split vote.
If Restore takes enough votes from Reform, it could hand the seat to Labour. Burnham would then claim victory over Reform, but it might be Farage who defeated himself by misjudging the threat from Lowe’s algorithm-driven campaign.
