Reform councillor blasts 'cult' around Nigel Farage as he defects to Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain
Kieran Mishchuk, a councillor for the Swale Borough Council in Kent, announced he was joining Restore Britain, led by former Reform member Mr Lowe
A former Reform councillor has defected to Rupert Lowe's new right-wing party after claiming there is "a cult around Nigel Farage”.
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Kieran Mishchuk, a councillor for the Swale Borough Council in Kent, announced he was joining Restore Britain, led by former Reform member Mr Lowe.
The move comes just weeks after Councillor Mishchuk, one of Kent’s youngest politicians, was seen on a TV documentary promoting the party alongside his grandma.
But the Milton Regis representative has now slammed Reform's leader for not having "the same conviction" as Mr Lowe, who he claimed was running “the true anti-establishment party”.
“I just prefer Rupert Lowe," he said.
"I like Rupert Lowe, I believe him. I don’t get the same sort of conviction from Nigel as I do in Rupert. ”
Councillor Mishchuk, who was elected to represent Milton Regis at Swale House at a by-election in December 2024, added that he had been questioning his place in Reform “since I got elected”.
He joins seven other former Reform councillors who have joined Restore Britain on the Kent County Council, making them the third-largest party.
But Councillor Mishchuk is the first district councillor for the party in Kent.
Multimillionaire Mr Lowe was elected as the Reform MP for Great Yarmouth at the 2024 general election.
He had the whip removed in March last year after allegations of bullying in his parliamentary office arose.
Lowe denied the allegations and claimed they were made to remove him for factional reasons.
The businessman added that he disagreed with Mr Farage on the issue of “mass deportations” and his support for the removal of more than a million people from the country.
His new Restore Britain party is considered to be more radically right-wing than Reform UK.
Asked about Councillor Mishchuk's defection, A Reform UK spokesman said: "We are disappointed Cllr Mishchuk has chosen to betray his electors and the many activists who dedicated their time, money and expertise to get him elected in order to join a movement that is not even registered with the Electoral Commission."