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Perceived honesty, immigration and Rupert Lowe are Restore’s biggest attractions
Restore Britain are one of the newest entrants to the British political scene, being founded as a party in February, following leader Rupert Lowe leaving Reform UK last year after a series of disputes with Nigel Farage.
The party, which positions itself to the right of Reform UK and has been endorsed by Elon Musk, has consistently polled at between 3-4% in our voting intention tracker in recent months, attracting a base primarily made up of 10% of those who voted for Nigel Farage’s party at the last election.
Despite spurning Reform UK, those backing Restore have a very similar political agenda to those favouring its primary competitor. As with 86% of current Reform UK voters, a full 90% of Restore supporters see immigration as one of the most important issues facing the country, relative to no more than 37-38% saying so of any other issue (the cost of living in both cases).
The only significant differences between the two groups on this question are that those favouring Restore are less likely to see defence (22% vs 34%), welfare benefits (16% vs 23%) or the NHS (10% vs 20%) as among the most pressing concerns facing the country, and more likely to have crime (33% vs 25%), political reform (12% vs 4%) and poverty (8% vs 2%) in their top issues.
So, with this clear overlap between the two parties, what is it that makes Restore’s voters favour Rupert Lowe’s outfit?
What attracts Restore Britain’s supporters to the party?
The main themes throughout Restore Britain voters’ reasonings about supporting the party are trust and exclusivity.
A clear majority (57%) say that Restore being the only party honest about the issues facing the country is among the main reasons they intend to vote for them, while belief that they are the only party to stand up for people like them and that they are the party closest to their values are both key to Restore’s appeal for 28% of their supporters.
Roughly half of the party’s supporters (48%) say that Restore being the party they trust to manage immigration, is one of the factors central to their choice, while 37% cite Rupert Lowe’s leadership as one of the party’s main appeals.
“It’s time for a change and they offer a fresh perspective” is one of the best descriptions for why 23% of Restore supporters intend to vote for the party, with the same proportion saying of the party’s support for traditional social values.
A particularly high level of enthusiasm is also present in Restore’s support, with just 11% identifying “while I don’t love Restore, all the other parties are worse” as one of their main reasons for supporting the party, relative to 19-32% of voters for the five main parties correspondingly saying so of their choice.
Likewise, 61% of Restore voters say they have no reservations at all about their party of choice, compared to 43% of those currently intending to back Reform UK and 21-28% of those planning to vote Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem or Green.
Among the minority of supporters with a reservation, the biggest concerns are that Restore are unlikely to win in their constituency (a top concern for 18%) or lack experience and aren’t ready for government (11%).
How much is support for Restore Britain a rejection of Reform UK?
This kind of exceptional enthusiasm among Restore Britain supporters extends to how they view the party’s leader. As many as 88% hold a *very* favourable opinion of Rupert Lowe, alongside a further 9% who see him somewhat favourably. By comparison, Nigel Farage is seen very positively by a relatively meagre 49% of current Reform UK voters, while just 16-18% of Labour or Lib Dem supporters feel the same about Keir Starmer or Ed Davey.
As much as this exceptional adoration of Lowe explains ‘why Restore’, it’s their opinion of Nigel Farage that explains ‘why not Reform’. Just 30% of Restore supporters hold a positive opinion of the Reform UK leader, while 67% view him unfavourably. This leaves Farage with a net score of -37 among Restore voters, comparable to opinion towards him among the public as a whole (-40).
In fact, Restore supporters are roughly as likely to have a favourable opinion of Kemi Badenoch (37%), while a lower 55% see the Conservative leader unfavourably.
Ultimately, just 36% of Restore voters say they would be willing to consider voting for Reform UK at a future election, though a lower 23% are open to backing the Conservatives, in spite of more holding a positive view of Badenoch.
See the full results here and here
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Photo: Getty