Seven former Reform UK councillors on Kent County Council have defected to a new party, Restore Britain, launched last week by Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe. The group will form an official Restore Britain faction on the council.
The councillors named in a graphic accompanying Lowe's social media announcement are Maxine Fothergill, Robert Ford, Paul Thomas, Dean Burns, Isabella Kemp, Brian Black, and Oliver Bradshaw. Six of them were expelled from Reform UK last year.
A Reform UK source dismissed the defections, stating: 'Restore are welcome to our dregs. Let's not forget that six of these councillors were expelled. If this is Restore's bar for councillors then it must be very low indeed.'
Lowe, currently sitting as an independent in Parliament, initially launched Restore Britain as a political movement after being suspended from Reform UK. Announcing the new members, he said: 'I am delighted to announce that seven Kent County Councillors have today joined Restore Britain, and they will form an official Restore Britain group on the council. This is a very important day for our party. There will be many more to come.'
