Rupert Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP and leader of newly formed political party Restore Britain, has confirmed that all of his party’s candidates are required to speak English as part of a rigorous vetting process ahead of the local elections on 7 May.
Lowe, who split from Reform UK earlier this year to launch Restore Britain as a harder-line alternative on immigration, made the remarks in the context of candidate selection, saying the requirement was a basic standard of effective representation. Supporters have welcomed the pledge as common sense, drawing comparisons with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s own comments in 2024 about the importance of English for community cohesion. Critics have questioned whether the policy amounts to a coded mechanism for limiting diversity among candidates, a charge the party rejects.
Restore Britain, formally launched as a national party in February 2026 after operating as a pressure group, positions itself to the right of Reform UK on immigration. Its core platform includes mass deportation of illegal migrants, prioritising British workers in employment and housing, reversing what it describes as decades of uncontrolled mass immigration and restoring what Lowe calls “British culture” and “Christian principles.” The party has been actively fielding candidates in Great Yarmouth through its local affiliate Great Yarmouth First, and Lowe has claimed strong support in the area ahead of polling day.
The English language requirement forms part of what the party describes as a selective and rigorous vetting process. Several would-be defectors and applicants have reportedly been turned away during candidate screening.
Lowe, a businessman, former Southampton FC chairman and farmer, won the Great Yarmouth seat in 2024 as a Reform UK candidate before departing to establish Restore Britain. The party is competing in this week’s local elections while continuing to build its national infrastructure, positioning itself as a distinct force on the right of British politics at a moment when both Labour and the Conservatives are suffering sharp declines in the polls.
