MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Anyone who really cares about Britain won’t vote Restore

Does anyone in the Makerfield constituency really want to vote for a hopeless party whose members are dealing with real fascists and neo-Nazis?

But it appears that a significant number of people are preparing to do so.

Let’s hope the revelations we’ve published today about the company held by the Restore Britain party will change their minds.

To his credit, Reform UK’s Nigel Farage has always steadfastly steered clear of any association with the frightening, anti-democratic and bigoted types who sometimes seek to hang out on the fringes of patriotic politics. This is one of the main reasons for its continued success.

Restore, on the contrary, has not been very diligent in gaining the support of fanatics since its founding.

It’s hard to see what good purpose Restore Party’s existence serves or will serve in the future.

But Makerfield byelection polls show Restore garnering enough votes to snatch victory from Reform and hand it to left-wing Red Hope Andy Burnham. So what good will this do for England?

Voting for Renewal rather than Reform sends no message, does no good, and helps no worthy cause.

Picture: Rupert Lowe, formerly of Reform UK and current leader of Restore Britain

It succeeded in installing Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street with a massive majority in 2024, with many British patriots and conservatives dismissing the vote as a frivolous and irresponsible gesture.

Who now thinks, after the experience of Starmerism, that a Tory government would be worse than the one we had?

Many of those involved in this spasm are now among those who view the Starmer government with horror and hatred.

How often do they think about their own roles in Sir Keir becoming Prime Minister and Rachel Reeves becoming Chancellor?

Of course, the Tories were hard to support and had done a lot of stupid things. But what logic or reason would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the best way to deal with this is to elect an incompetent and greedy Left government?

Similarly, what could justify denying a victory for the Reformation at Makerfield when such a victory was so close at hand?

This is not partisanship, just a smart tactic. We have repeatedly argued here that the Right must vote wisely in the next general election to avoid such a disastrous outcome.

If conservative citizens in 2024 viewed voting as a serious and considered task, we would all be much better off now in many ways.

This week the same arguments apply in favor of a Reform vote in Makerfield. The Conservative Party cannot win there, but Nigel Farage’s party can, and indeed almost certainly will; Of course, if they are responsible voters.

In one of the most important by-elections in modern history, the people of Makerfield will have a choice on Thursday between helping Labor’s Left elect an even more Left leader or delivering a significant political victory to the rapidly resurgent Right.

Reform UK is the only sensible way to vote. Supporting the discredited Restore under these circumstances would be absurd and disastrous, and patently wrong.