It’s been a week of rudeness, rows and revelations in the Makerfield byelection. Not between Andy Burnham and his challengers for the seat – but between Reform UK and its even more rightwing rival, Restore Britain.Here are the key moments in a week in which the populist right turned on each other:Saturday 23 MayRow over level of Restore’s supportThe leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, a former Reform UK MP who was ejected from the party in the wake of bullying allegations, released canvasing returns from Makerfield claiming to show 24.6% support for Restore’s candidate, Rebecca Shepherd, on a sample size of 1,010. Later, a Survation poll of 369 people showed Restore on 7%, Reform on 40% and Labour’s Andy Burnham on 43%. Nigel Farage appeared rattled, seizing on the Survation poll and claiming that Reform’s candidate, Robert Kenyon, “is the only candidate who can stop Andy Burnham. This is a two horse race – nobody else comes close”.Sunday 24 MayMusk appears to endorse RestoreElon Musk appeared to endorse Restore for the Makerfield byelection by reposting a tweet from Lowe on his X platform adding: “Restore Britain”. It led to Lowe’s complaint about “dishonest polling” being viewed more than 32m times.
‘This is so pathetic’: Reform and Restore Britain lock horns in Makerfield byelection buildup
Spurred on by Elon Musk, the two rightwing parties spent the week taking potshots at each other. We look back at who hurled which insult at whom
TL;DRAI
Reform UK and Restore Britain traded public attacks in the Makerfield byelection buildup; a Survation poll showed Labour at 43%, Reform at 40%, Restore at 7% — despite Restore claiming 24.6% canvassing support. Musk's X endorsement of Restore reached 32M views, demonstrating how platform ownership converts directly into political amplification power independent of ground-level reality.
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