Councillor asks to rejoin days after leaving Reform

A Reform UK councillor who defected to Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain party has reapplied to join Nigel Farage's party days later.

North Northamptonshire Council's Darren Rance was one of two to quit Reform last week, but within two days he announced on social media he was then quitting Restore.

Reform UK, which won control of the council last year, confirmed he had applied to rejoin the party and his application would be reviewed in line with their standard defection process.

Restore Britain has been contacted and has refused to comment. The party was set up earlier this month by Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, following his suspension from Reform UK last year.

Rance, who represents the Brickhill and Queensway ward in Wellingborough, currently sits as an independent on the council, because Restore Britain is not yet recognised by the Electoral Commission.

Rance posted on Facebook that it "only took me a day to work out that Restore does not stand for the values I believe in or was elected to serve".

He wrote: "I would like to apologise to my Reform colleagues and hope that I am readmitted."

The other councillor who quit Reform was Jack Goncalvez, who represents Rushden Lakes ward.

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