Restore Britain has named Rebecca Shepherd as its candidate for the Makerfield parliamentary by-election, becoming the first party to confirm a contender for the seat left open by the resignation of Labour MP Josh Simons.
Shepherd is 53. The party said she knows first-hand the pressures facing local businesses and working families across the area, while Rupert Lowe said she would fight for the interests of the community, rather than political careers.
The announcement gives the new party an early foothold in a contest that follows Simons’ exit and will now draw attention to how quickly Restore Britain can turn its short existence into an electoral test. Lowe set up the party in February after leaving Reform UK, making Makerfield one of the first places where it has moved from creation to candidate selection.
That matters because the by-election is not just another local race. It is the first chance for Restore Britain to present itself as more than a breakaway project, and it comes in a constituency where the vacancy was created by a Labour resignation rather than a routine political turnover.
The party’s framing of Shepherd leans heavily on local hardship and practical representation. By describing her as someone who understands the strain on businesses and families, Restore Britain is trying to draw a line between itself and the kind of politics Lowe says he wants to leave behind. His message was plain: Shepherd would fight for the community, not for political careers.
For now, the contest has a clear marker. Restore Britain was first to name a candidate, and that means its campaign will be judged early on whether it can keep that head start and make Makerfield a credible proving ground for a party that only came into existence in February.
