Reform & Restore fight over who lost Makerfield worse
In the Makerfield by-election, the three parties of the right failed to win enough votes between them to match Labourโs result. Rather than reflecting on what this means, however, Reform UK and Restore Britain have decided to argue over who lost hardest:
You got less than the BNP in 2010.
You threw everything you had at it, day and night and got only 3000 votes.
It was an unmitigated disaster. https://t.co/rSi63Fe6Sp
โ Rt Hon Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) June 19, 2026
Come on now, thereโs no need to argue!
Youโre all losers, and thatโs what matters.
Let them fight
The rise of Reform UK has seen the Conservatives fall from being the most successful party in Europe to one which just failed to win its deposit back in the Makerfield by-election. Farageโs party has a problem, however, and itโs that Restore Britain is trying to do the same thing to Reform that Reform did to the Tories.
As we reported, Nigel Farage blamed right-wing voters for choosing Rupert Loweโs party over his own:
My response to the Makerfield by-election result. pic.twitter.com/aESL0zbDKm
โ Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) June 19, 2026
Farage asked these voters โwhat do you want?โ; hereโs what we told him:
They want a party which more obviously follows through on the bigoted rhetoric, Nigel; not a party which slags off the Tories and whips up prejudice against minorities only to accept Tories of colour into their ranks
Farageโs whiny, bitter response isnโt a strong look, and Restore is capitalising on that:
Farageโs first reaction to the result is to arrogantly patronise Restore Britain voters in a video just released.
It wonโt work.
โ Restore Britain (@RestoreBritain) June 19, 2026
As highlighted above, Reformโs criticism of Restore is that they polled lower than the far-right British National Party did in 2010:
โ Restore Sussex (unofficial) (@Restore_1066) June 20, 2026
Restore voters have a counter to this which is arguably pretty strong:
We didnโt win our 1st election โ fair enough. But a hell of a result for a 180 day old!
Farage took 10yrs, 5 byelection to get 3rd.
We did it in 4 months.
Took him 18 more yrs to win a seat.
Weโre not happy that Restore has grown so fast, but it is undeniable that it has.
Restore is also highlighting that Reform isnโt best placed to make the โdonโt split the voteโ argument given what Reform did to the Tories:
You aren’t entitled to our votes, Paul. https://t.co/bvfvAklBVz
โ Carl Benjamin
(@Sargon_of_Akkad) June 18, 2026
Some of the other right-on-right violence is just funny, like Restoreโs Katie Hopkins going all in on Reformโs Isabel Oakeshott:
TEMU Kate Adie is back from the front lines of Dubai (her luxury high rise) to slander RESTORE voters.
I fear if Temu Kate Adie cries, tears will come out from behind her ears. pic.twitter.com/6zy87IATeF
โ Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) June 19, 2026
Both of these women are dreadful, and although weโre more than happy to point that out, it saves us a job when they attack each other.
Far right on the night
Suella Bravermanโs husband described Reform as a party of the โcentre rightโ:
Do not be fooled. The Restore Britain Party exists for one purpose: to divide the centre right vote, weaken Reform, and clear a path for the Conservatives back into power at the next General Election. That is the strategy. Everything else is theatre.
โ Rael Braverman (@raelbrav) June 18, 2026
As we reported, Reform threatened to build detention centres in areas which donโt vote for Reform:
Reform has denied its new policy constitutes a โthreatโ. The reason itโs being interpreted as one is because Reform has argued people shouldnโt want detention centres in their area. Therefore, itโs clearly a threat by the partyโs own logic.
This is not โcentre-rightโ politics.
And the reason Reform is losing voters to Restore is because the latter party is taking Farageโs far-right rhetoric to its logical endpoint.
Braverman also said this:
Next time predict winning the election, genius https://t.co/gfCK1eLMPO
โ Willem Moore (@willem_moore_uk) June 19, 2026
Reform tactics
As we reported, Reform has been absolutely rinsed by tactical voting in successive by-elections, including Caerphilly, Gorton & Denton, and Makerfield. The problem is now twofold for them, in that:
- Centre-to-left-leaning voters are prepared to vote tactically to keep Reform out.
- Right-wing voters areย notย prepared to vote tactically, and will simply go with their party of choice โ be it Reform, Restore, or the Tories.
To be fair to right-wing stubbornness, it has got them what they want in the past. The reason Brexit happened is because right-wing voters showed they were willing to vote for UKIP unless the Tories backed the EU Referendum. And there are instances in which the left would do better in the long run if we consistently voted in line with our convictions.
To be fair, there are signs the left have learned this. The Greens managed to unseat Labour in Gorton & Denton after all, and with a little nerve, they might repeat the same move in the Greater Manchester mayor race:
Who’s feeling fired up for the Greens to win the Mayor of Manchester?
This is it. It’s on!
โ Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) June 20, 2026
Featured image via The Canary
By Willem Moore