A North Northamptonshire local councillor has quit Restore Britain just two days day after defecting to it from Reform, describing Rupert Lowe’s new party “far more sinister than I first thought”.
Cllr Darren Rance, who represents Brickhill and Queensway, announced on Wednesday that he and fellow councillor Jack Goncalvez were leaving Reform to join Restore Britain, the hard‑right party announced by Rupert Lowe last week.
Celebrations
The move blindsided his Reform colleagues, who only learned of the defection when Restore activists began circulating celebratory messages online.
But by Friday morning, his defection had unravelled.
Rance posted a public mea culpa on social media, saying he had been “bombarded with desperate messages from Restore” and had joined “reluctantly”, only to discover within 24 hours that the organisation’s internal culture and supporter base were nothing like what he had been promised.
“From messages I received from both Restore supporters and those opposed, it’s clear that what this organisation stands for is far more sinister than I first thought,” he wrote, adding that he hoped Reform would take him back.
Homeless
Reform group leader Martin Griffiths quickly signalled that Rance would be welcomed home.
Goncalvez, meanwhile, remains politically homeless, sitting as an independent because Restore Britain is not yet a registered political party.
Meanwhile, in Kent, where Restore has by far ts largest block of renegade councillors, the newly formed Restore Britain group on Kent County Council will elect a leader next week.
Among the contenders is Cllr Maxine Fothergill, who is pitching herself as the steady hand the fledgling group of seven councillors needs. The group comprises seven out of eight councillors who left Reform, or were booted out, back in November after falling out with council leader Linden Kemkaran.
But one of the original group of defectors is not buying into the Restore project.
Cllr Bill Barrett, formerly of Reform and representing Ashford Rural South, has declined to join the new Restore grouping and will continue to sit as an independent.
Barrett has said he believes it is “highly likely that more at KCC will join [Restore]. I think it’s just the beginning.” Yet he made clear that he wants no part of it.
“While I wish my colleagues at KCC who have moved to Restore Britain the absolute best, such a move wasn’t for me,” he said.
Too right wing
In remarks which echo at least in part those of Darren Rance in Northamptonshire, he said “Restore is too right‑wing for my political appetite, and really, in my heart, I am an old‑fashioned, centrist, politician.”
In total, thirteen councillors across the country have so far joined Restore either from Reform, or having already left Reform
