Activists campaigning for Rupert Lowe’s Restore party attended a summit of white supremacists alongside neo-Nazis just weeks before canvassing for votes in this week’s knife-edge Makerfield by-election, the Mail on Sunday can reveal, as Lowe insisted he does not care if his party’s presence in the race hands victory to Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham.
Among those campaigning for Restore in the constituency on Saturday was Callum Barker, described as a “hardened neo-Nazi,” who attended the Remigration Summit in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, two weeks earlier. Remigration is a far-right concept referring to the mass deportation of non-white minority populations, rooted in the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory that claims global elites are deliberately working to replace white populations with immigrants. Barker has previously posted images referencing “1488,” a combination of numerical shorthand used within white nationalist movements to signal a 14-word slogan and the phrase “Heil Hitler.”
Also present at the summit was Lucy White, another Restore activist, who interviewed prominent American white supremacist Jared Taylor on stage, describing him as “a true pioneer, a true legend.” A third activist, 19-year-old Lorcan Barker, who posts online under the name “Angloid,” addressed a panel at the same event. All three have previously been photographed alongside Lowe. Lorcan Barker recently posted a video accusing Reform UK of having “gone woke” after Nigel Farage said mass deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants was not a realistic policy.
Steve Laws, another prominent Restore supporter who has been described as a neo-fascist and ethnic cleansing extremist, also attended the summit and posted online on Saturday celebrating the party’s campaign progress in Makerfield. Laws said last week: “We all know Jews should be deported. I don’t care where they go. But they can’t stay here.” A Restore Britain spokesman dismissed the revelations about the summit as “totally irrelevant” and a “hit piece.”
The Remigration Summit was organised by Martin Sellner, an Austrian activist banned from entering the UK, who has previously admitted placing swastika stickers on a synagogue at the age of 17 while a self-described neo-Nazi, though he has since sought to distance himself from that period of his life. Sellner has publicly praised Restore Britain, saying: “It is crucial for Restore to establish a sharp profile and criticise Farage and Reform from the Right.” Taylor, the figure interviewed by White, has previously written that Western civilisation “disappears” when, in his words, “blacks are left entirely to their own devices.” Also in attendance was Belgian extremist Dries Van Langenhove, who in 2024 received a suspended one-year prison sentence for operating chatrooms containing neo-Nazi material and praise for Adolf Hitler, and was separately convicted of Holocaust denial, with a judge saying he had “revelled in Nazi ideas that cause much suffering.”
The revelations come at a politically critical moment. Polling puts Labour just five points ahead of Reform UK in Makerfield, with Restore Britain on around 8 per cent — a share of the vote that, if it shifted to Reform, could be enough to deny Burnham the seat. Luke Tryl of pollsters More in Common said this weekend: “Andy Burnham is on track for Makerfield win — thanks to Restore Britain.”
Despite this, Lowe was defiant when asked whether he was concerned about helping Burnham towards Downing Street and a Labour government further to the left. “I don’t think it makes any difference whether Andy Burnham wins,” he told the Mail on Sunday. “The people in power are the Labour Party. Most of them are completely incompetent, they haven’t done anything and they know they are going to lose their seats at the next election.” He added that Restore’s actions did not “make a jot of difference.”
Farage, meanwhile, urged right-leaning voters to unite behind Reform to prevent a Labour victory. “I understand voters want radical change — I do too,” he said. “Now is the time to come together and stop Andy Burnham and Labour, this is our only opportunity. Reform is the only party promising wholesale change from the establishment status quo that can win.”
Lowe was elected as a Reform MP at the 2024 general election before leaving the party amid public disputes with Farage and founding Restore last year. He denied that personal animosity towards Farage was driving his decision to split the right-wing vote, saying: “Nigel doesn’t want to lead. He’s managed opposition, that’s all. I can’t understand why he did what he did to me. It was a surprise. I was driving the party’s support. I’m a team player.”
This is not the first time Restore has faced questions over links to extremism. Last month, the Mail revealed the party had reinstated Dundee member James Munro, who had previously been expelled after photographs emerged of him holding a neo-fascist flag and making a Nazi salute. Munro said at the time: “This picture was from about ten years ago. It was a different time. There were no legitimate avenues for young men in nationalism, so back then you had to get dirty.”
Should Burnham win the seat, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to face immediate moves to force him from office, despite having insisted he intends to remain and fight any leadership challenge. Burnham has signalled he would pursue a more left-wing agenda than Starmer if he reaches Downing Street, with Ed Miliband tipped as a potential Chancellor and allies indicating sweeping tax rises would form part of his platform.
