Reform UK Blames Political Rivals Restore Britain for Enabling Green Party By-Election Triumph

A bitter dispute has broken out on the British right after Reform UK blamed its rival, Restore Britain, for fracturing the right-wing vote and handing a crucial local election victory to the Green Party in Dover.

Nigel Farage’s party had entered the Dover District Council by-election as the favourite to capture the seat from the Conservatives. This confidence was fuelled by a dominant showing in the May 2025 Kent County Council elections, where Reform swept all seven Dover-area divisions from the Conservatives.

However, in the race for the Guston, Kingsdown, and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe ward, Green Party candidate Ingrid Dodd narrowly clinched the seat by a mere 34 votes. Both the Greens and Reform UK captured roughly a third of the total vote share. Though Restore Britain finished much further down the ballot, its support proved large enough to deny Reform UK a critical win. The Conservatives and Labour finished in third and fourth place, respectively.

The thin loss triggered immediate re-criminations, with Reform UK telling its right-wing competitors to, "take a look in the mirror". George Madgwick, speaking for Reform UK, placed the blame squarely on Restore Britain, accusing them of clearing the path for a Green Party victory. Conversely, Restore Britain candidate Jez Hermer told a local news outlet that he was delighted with his party’s showing and the overall election result.

The tight contest is expected to breathe new life into discussions about whether the two right-of-centre parties should coordinate ahead of the next general election. Restore Britain was set up in February by Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe, who launched the outfit after being expelled from Reform UK following a dispute with Farage. Lowe has championed a formal electoral pact in which the parties would stand down candidates for one another in key seats. Earlier this month, Farage remarked that he kept an, "open mind", regarding such an arrangement.

However, any potential alliance faces incredibly steep hurdles. Lowe has stated he will only agree to a deal if Farage adopts five signature Restore Britain policies. These include launching mass deportations, banning the burka and potentially the niqab to halt what his party calls "Islamification," outlawing kosher and halal meat, holding a public referendum on restoring the death penalty, and making dramatic cuts to the welfare budget. Lowe's terms also rule out any coalition that includes former Conservative ministers.

Meanwhile, prominent Reform figures have urged right-of-centre voters to unify behind Farage to prevent vote-splitting nationwide. The former home secretary, who crossed the floor to Reform UK in January, warned Restore Britain supporters to, "get real", arguing that failing to unify would simply pave the way for a second term for the Labour Party.

At the same time, any prospect of a grand right-wing coalition involving the Conservatives has been decisively ruled out. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch recently shut down the idea of partnering with Reform UK, branding the proposal, "monstrous".