Reform UK councillors who were booted out of the party at Kent County Council have joined a new rival political party en masse.
MP Rupert Lowe announced this evening (February 17) that seven defectors had joined his new party, Restore Britain.
Rupert Lowe says he is seen as a potential rival to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Photo: Tejas Sandhu/PA
Posting to social media, he said: “I am delighted to announce that seven Kent County Councillors have today joined Restore Britain, and they will form an official Restore Britain group on the council.
“This is a very important day for our party. There will be many more to come.”
Among those joining the party are Isabella Kemp (Sheppey) and Maxine Fothergill (Sevenoaks rural north), Brian Black (Maidstone rural south), Paul Thomas (Maidstone south) Oliver Bradshaw (Maidstone central) and Robert Ford (Maidstone rural west) – each having been expelled from Reform UK.
The seventh councillor to join the party is former Reform UK councillor Dean Burns, who mysteriously departed from his deputy cabinet role at KCC at the end of last year.
Reacting to the post on X, Mr Bradshaw said: “I am proud to be representing Restore Britain on KCC.
“Reform UK has failed in its promises to the Kent residents.”
I am proud to be representing Restore Britain on KCC. Reform UK has failed in it’s promises to the Kent residents.
— Oliver Bradshaw (@OliverJBradshaw) February 17, 2026
The new right wing party has published a series of policy proposals on its website.
They range from “restoring the British pub” by reforming business rates and reducing VAT, to abolishing Britain’s asylum system under a new sweeping piece of legislation to be called the “Great Clarification Act”.
Another proposal seeks to establish a new multi-agency unit to investigate “suspicious businesses” – particularly “cash-heavy, clone-like chains of barbers, vape shops and dessert cafes”.
At present Kent County Council is made up of 81 councillors, of which Reform UK leads on 47, followed by the Liberal Democrats who are the official opposition on 12.
The new Restore Britain party group will now be the third largest group – with seven seats – two more than the Conservatives (5) and five more than Labour (2).
It will be hoping to attract more dissatisfied members to enlarge its position on the council and potentially form the opposition, with its national leader Mr Lowe pledging that on defections “there will be more”.
Reform UK declined to comment when approached by KentOnline. Its leader at KCC Linden Kemkaran has also been contacted.
Rupert Lowe, who represents Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, launched Restore Britain, which he said would be a “national political party”, on Friday night (February 13).
His own suspension by Reform UK came after allegations he made threats of physical violence against then party chairman Zia Yusuf but the Crown Prosecution Service later said there was insufficient evidence for a “realistic prospect of conviction”.
KCC leader Linden Kemkaran has been approached for comment by KentOnline
Reform UK won a landslide election at KCC last May, all but wiping out the Tory incumbents, taking 57 of the 81 seats available.
But since then there numbers have dwindled under the 50 mark following a number of high-profile expulsions.
In November, Cllr Kemp was expelled for the “leaking of confidential information” while Cllr Fothergill had failed to disclose a “serious matter” during her vetting procedure.
Cllr Kemp’s dismissal was allegedly linked to the leaking of a virtual meeting which was published on October 18 by the Guardian, in which Kent County Council (KCC) leader Linden Kemkaran is seen swearing and shouting at her members.
In one clip, Cllr Kemkaran is heard defending a decision on local government reorganisation, telling her councillors they would have to “f***ing suck it up”.
A Reform Party investigation concluded Cllr Kemp had created and administered a WhatsApp group “in which making a screen recording of the meeting was discussed”.
It was also alleged that “Cllr Kemp had encouraged a colleague to be dishonest about a vote of no confidence, and had failed to disclose that such recordings were being made”.
The party’s investigation found “insufficient evidence” to conclude Cllr Fothergill was responsible for the leak but found she had allegedly failed to tell bosses of “past or current issues that may embarrass or discredit Reform UK”.
The statement from party HQ said that in 2017 Cllr Fothergill was “sued for defamation and entered into a Consent Order requiring the payment of damages and a public apology in open court”.
She has always protested her innocence over the leak allegations.
Cllr Kemp, who has denied any involvement in the Guardian leak, said at the time: “I was expecting it so there’s not much to say, really.
“When I offered to hand in my devices to the party for forensic examination and they refused, I knew there was never going to be a proper investigation.”
In October, Cllr Ford was suspended amid an investigation into allegations of misconduct following a complaint by “several women”.
It followed an “unofficial complaint” from multiple female members of staff, a statement from Reform UK previously said.
Speaking to KentOnline at the time, Cllr Ford says he denied the allegations against him, adding he did not know the details of what the complaint related to.
In the same month, Reform UK expelled Cllrs Black, Thomas and Bradshaw from the party alleging “a pattern of dishonest and deceptive behaviour”.
Reform leader Nigel Farage is hoping his party’s lead in national opinion polls will translate into success at an upcoming by-election on February 26. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA
Reform has enjoyed an uninterrupted lead in national opinion polls since May 2025, polling ahead of all other parties more than 170 times, according to Press Association analysis.
Labour led the polls in the months immediately after the July 2024 general election, with the Conservatives in second place and Reform third.
But Labour’s share of the vote began to slide towards the end of 2024 while Reform’s numbers increased, with the Tories also seeing a fall.
The latest poll averages, for the week ending February 15 2026, show Reform on 29%, Labour and the Conservatives tied on 19%, the Greens on 15% and the Liberal Democrats on 13%.