Far-right ‘Advance’ implodes in war between leader and COO

The proto-fascist ‘Advance UK’ party appears to be imploding after warring emails from the group’s leader and chief operating officer (COO) to members. The war has been triggered by party leader Ben Habib’s plan to de-register the party.

COO Tim Power wrote to members denouncing Habib’s attempt to disband Advance and merge it into far-right umbrella group GBPAC (Great British Political Action Committee). Habib has said that the UK extreme right field is too “crowded” because of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain. But Power told members he had stepped in and cancelled a member ballot about the de-registration because Habib has no constitutional authority to take the planned actions, which Power says would be unlawful:

Shouty shambles

Powell also says that he has locked Habib and his allies out of the party’s systems to prevent them resurrecting the ballot. The full email, including a few ‘shouty’ all-caps headers, reads:

Dear Fellow Member,

I am writing to inform you that the membership ballot launched on 5 June 2026 has been cancelled. I want to explain clearly why this decision was taken and what it means for the Party. My name is Tim Power. I am the Chief Operating Officer of Advance UK Party Limited. I have no connection to the Great British Political Action Committee.

WHY THE BALLOT HAS BEEN CANCELLED

1. No Constitutional Authority

The Constitution of Advance UK – published at advanceuk.org.uk/constitution – is a contract between the leadership and every member of this Party. The ballot was not conducted in accordance with that Constitution.

The Party was registered with the Electoral Commission on 4 December 2025 (registration number RPP825-995-485). From that date, Article 15.2 required a Board of at least three directors. The Party has had only one director since April 2025. Article 15.4 expressly states that a sole director below the required quorum may not take any decision other than to appoint further directors or call a general meeting. The ballot was constitutionally prohibited.

Any decision to de-register the Party or merge it with another organisation requires a special resolution – a 75% supermajority – of a properly constituted College of Electors under Articles 1.7 and 2. The College has never been properly constituted. Its members were never elected by the General Members as Article 28.1 requires. A 48-hour online poll cannot substitute for this process.

Any winding up of the Party requires a properly convened Members’ resolution under Article 5. That requirement has not been met.

2. The Party’s Assets Cannot Lawfully Be Transferred to GBPAC

Advance UK is a company limited by guarantee. This means the Party’s assets – its funds, its membership database, its intellectual property and its brand – are held for the benefit of the Party’s objects as a registered political party. They do not belong to any individual and cannot simply be transferred to another organisation.

Article 4.1 of the Constitution states that the Party’s income and property must be applied solely in promoting the Party’s objects. Article 5 states that on any winding up, remaining assets must go to a body with objects similar to those of the Party – that is, a registered political party participating in democratic elections.

GBPAC is not a registered political party. It does not stand candidates in elections. Its objects are materially different from those of Advance UK. Transferring the Party’s assets to GBPAC would therefore be unlawful under both the Constitution and the Companies Act 2006, regardless of what any membership vote said. No vote – however conducted – can authorise an unlawful transfer of assets.

3. Breach of Contract With Members

Every member who joined agreed to abide by the Constitution – and the leadership made the same commitment. Proceeding with a proposal to wind up or merge the Party in breach of that Constitution would place the Party at serious risk of legal liability for breach of contract with its members and significant legal costs defending applications for injunctive relief.

4. Conflict of Interest

The proposal to merge with GBPAC was advanced by the Party’s Leader, who is also the Chairman of GBPAC. Under Article 18 of the Constitution and sections 175 and 177 of the Companies Act 2006, this conflict of interest was required to be declared and managed before any steps were taken. That did not happen.

5. Ballot Integrity

The ballot was administered without an agreed protocol and without verification that all members received it. We have received reports of members who did not receive the ballot email. The ballot data is anonymous – votes cannot be verified against the membership register. There is no way to confirm that votes came from genuine paid-up members, that no member voted twice, or that the result accurately represented the membership. A vote on a matter of this significance cannot be anonymous and unverifiable. Additionally, the system administering the ballot was accessible to individuals with a direct connection to GBPAC the organisation that stood to benefit from one of the options on the ballot.

6. Member Data Protection

Any transfer of member personal data to GBPAC would require the individual consent of each member under UK GDPR. No such consent has been obtained. Proceeding without it would expose the Party to serious financial penalties. I have secured all Party IT systems to protect member data until proper safeguards and appropriate consents are in place.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE

I have cancelled the ballot and secured all Party digital systems including the membership database and communications platforms. The full ballot audit log has been preserved as evidence.

THE PARTY NEEDS TO REFLECT AND SORT ITSELF OUT

I want to be honest with you. What has happened over the last few days has exposed serious governance failings within this Party – failings that should have been addressed months ago and were not. A Board of Directors should have been properly constituted. A Treasurer should have been appointed. A College of Electors should have been properly elected by you, the membership, for the first time.None of that happened. And the result is that the Party arrived at this moment without the governance structures it needed to handle a decision of this magnitude properly.

Advance — Civil war

Powers’s email triggered an email from Habib, insisting that Powers had said was a lie, Powers was no longer part of the party and the ballot is still going ahead. If Habib’s claim is true, Powers’s attempt to ‘secure all Party digital systems’ doesn’t seem to have been very competent:

The proof of whether coup or counter-coup was successful will be in the eating, presumably. Not that the demise of any far-right group is anything to be lamented, of course. But its fascist members will probably care far more about when they will next be able to go out waving flags and spewing hate.

Featured image via Christopher Furlong/Getty Images