Musk Dumps Farage, Backs New Right-Wing UK Party Restore Britain

Elon Musk told his 200 million-plus followers on X to back a brand-new British political party on Saturday – and it wasn’t Nigel Farage’s. The Tesla billionaire endorsed Restore Britain, a party launched on February 13 by former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, calling Lowe “the only one who will actually do it.”

That one line tells you everything about where the UK’s populist right is heading. The man who once called Farage “weak sauce” has now put his weight behind a rival party sitting even further to the right – one that promises mass deportations, strict benefit cuts, and a return to what it calls traditional British values.

The split could shake up an already fractured political landscape. Reform UK leads national polls at around 30%. But if Musk’s backing pulls even a few points away from Farage, the math changes fast.

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Who Is Rupert Lowe?

Lowe is the independent MP for Great Yarmouth. He won the seat in 2024 as a Reform candidate, but was expelled from the party last March after allegations that he made physical threats against Reform chairman Zia Yusuf. Lowe denies the claims and has called them “vexatious.”

The fallout with Farage was messy and public. Leaked WhatsApp messages showed Farage calling Lowe’s behaviour “disgusting” and “contemptible.” Lowe fired back by calling Reform a “protest party” led by “the Messiah.”

He set up Restore Britain as a political movement in 2025. On February 13, 2026, he turned it into a registered national party. The launch video took a direct shot at Reform, promising to exclude “failed ministers” and anyone “tainted by failures of the past” – a clear jab at the wave of former Tory MPs who have defected to Farage’s party.

📊 Key Stat: In the 2024 election, 46 UK seats were won with a margin of less than 2% – meaning even a small new party on the right could flip results in dozens of constituencies. (Source: UK Fact Check)

Why Musk Matters

Musk’s involvement in British politics has been building for over a year. He backed Ben Habib’s Advance UK party in August 2025, calling it the vehicle that would “actually drive change.” He publicly suggested Lowe should replace Farage as Reform leader. And he helped fund Tommy Robinson’s legal costs.

Now, with Restore Britain’s launch, Musk has a new horse in the race. His endorsement post on X was liked 145,000 times. For a startup party with no seats beyond Lowe’s, that kind of reach is worth more than any campaign budget.

Advance UK, led by Habib, announced almost immediately that it would merge with Restore Britain. The combined operation would bring together Advance’s claimed 40,000 members and network of councillors with Lowe’s online following and Musk’s amplification machine.

Farage built Reform into Britain’s most popular party. Now the question is whether a Musk-backed rival on his right flank can do to him what he once did to the Conservatives.

The Other View

Farage and Reform have reason not to panic – yet. Restore Britain has one MP. It has no track record, no ground game outside Great Yarmouth, and a roster of early supporters that includes some figures who could scare off mainstream voters.

Carl Benjamin, a YouTuber who ran for UKIP in 2019 and became notorious for comments about a female MP, has joined the party. So has Katie Hopkins. These names may fire up the online base, but they also hand ammunition to opponents who want to paint Restore Britain as a fringe operation.

Polling also suggests there’s a ceiling. Find Out Now’s January MRP had Reform winning 335 seats in a hypothetical election, even without tactical voting adjustments. A party to the right of Reform polling at 2% would barely dent that. The question is whether Musk’s backing pushes that number higher.

Reform’s response so far has been muted. Farage hasn’t publicly addressed Musk’s endorsement of Lowe. The party’s focus is on the Gorton and Denton by-election on February 26, where a win would give Reform six MPs and match the SNP’s Commons presence.

What’s Next

The real test for Restore Britain isn’t the by-election – it’s whether the party can build a ground operation outside social media. Lowe has said he’ll run “hundreds of candidates” at the next general election. The party plans to work as an “umbrella” with locally branded partners, starting with Great Yarmouth First in his own seat.

Two dates to watch. The Norfolk county council elections, originally due soon, have been postponed – pushing back the first real electoral test. And the next general election must happen by August 2029, giving Restore Britain time to build but also time to implode.

If Musk keeps boosting the party and Advance UK’s merger goes through, Reform could face the same kind of right-flank challenge that destroyed the Conservatives’ poll numbers. The Gorton and Denton result on February 26 will give the first real read on whether voters on the right are splitting – or sticking with Farage.

Sources: GB News,Electoral Calculus MRP January 2026