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  "path": "/2026/06/17/restore-britain-voters-makerfield-dont-know-candidate-is-28817746/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-17T21:26:47.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "News",
    "Politics",
    "Andy Burnham",
    "Labour Party",
    "Nigel Farage",
    "Reform UK",
    "Sir Keir Starmer",
    "Manchester",
    "Keir Starmer",
    "right-wing vote could be split by Restore Britain",
    "here",
    "supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo",
    "Local Democracy Reporting Service",
    "check our news page",
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  "textContent": "Several Restore Britain voters said they don’t know much about the party’s Makerfield candidate, Rebecca Shepherd (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)\n\nVoters in Makerfield leaning towards the hard-right Restore Britain were quizzed about the party’s local candidate, who has remained elusive event to many supporters.\n\nResidents in the ward on the outskirts of Wigan, Greater Manchester, are preparing to head to the polls tomorrow in the bitterly contested race for the by-election seat.\n\nThe election result could be decisive for the future of Labour under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – whether or not the Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham wins or not.\n\nReform UK’s leader Nigel Farage has previously said the party will throw everything it has at the by-election, with the right-wing group’s candidate Robert Kenyon now trying to vie voters.\n\nReform voters opting for Restore Britain instead could split the right-wing vote in Makerfield (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)\n\nBut the right-wing vote could be split by Restore Britain, an ultra-nationalist political group with extreme views on immigration, which has gained traction in recent months, becoming a headache for Reform.\n\n##  Everything is changing, all the time\n\nCut through political noise and understand how the Westminster chaos actually affects your life with Metro's politics newsletter Alright, Gov? Sign up here.\n\nRestore Britain, led by its only MP, Rupert Lowe, has put forward Rebecca Shepherd as its Makerfield candidate, a 53-year-old local businesswoman\n\nBut when residents planning to vote Restore appeared unsure who the candidate is when quizzed about the upcoming election.\n\nTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo\n\nUp Next\n\nPrevious Page\n\nNext Page\n\nLocal man named Sean, 56, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: ‘It’s a lady, I think.\n\n‘I don’t know much about her. I’m voting because of what the party stands for. And because of Rupert Lowe.’\n\nAdam Rayley, 35, a roofer, admitted he doesn’t ‘know much about the candidate.’\n\nRestore Britain’s leader, Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe, campaigned for his hard-right party last weekend (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)\n\nHe said: ‘I just feel like Restore’s views are most like my own. They have the same views.\n\n‘I’m not racist, but I feel like the immigrants coming in now aren’t checked. Our borders are wide open and we’ve got our own families and homes to care for. I’m struggling myself, I’m a full-time carer for my girlfriend, and we’ve got three kids altogether. And there’s nothing for us. I do feel strongly on that.’\n\nJoanna Lapniewsky, 64, an ex-Army officer and cleaner who works at the Restore HQ at the local community centre, said she has never seen the candidate but has been told that ‘she’s really down to earth.’\n\nOnly one person told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that they have seen Shepherd from a distance on her way to ‘stables somewhere in Wigan.’\n\nResidents said leaflets stuffed through their letterboxes have mainly come from Reform and Labour.\n\nPolling stations in Makerfield will open at 7am and close at 10pm on Thursday, with a nerve-wrecking count ahead for the town.\n\n##  Full list of Makerfield by-election candidates\n\n  * Jake Austin, Liberal Democrats\n  * Andy Burnham, Labour Party\n  * Dan Clarke, Libertarian Party\n  * Alan ‘Howlin’ Laud Hope, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party\n  * Sarah Wakefield, Green Party\n  * Peter Ward, Rejoin EU\n  * Michael Winstanley, Conservative Party\n\n\n\n******Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.******\n\n**For more stories like this,** check our news page.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Restore Britain voters in Makerfield ‘don’t know who their candidate is’"
}