Will the Greens tip the political scales amid Restore

As we reported on 14 February, Reform-reject Rupert Lowe has formed his own party called ‘Revive’.

Or was it ‘Repeat’?

Hang on a minute…

…oh, it’s actually ‘Restore’.

We’re sure it won’t cause a problem that the ‘Reform’ and ‘Restore’ are basically the same word.

And sarcasm aside, it does look like the Lowe vehicle has legs:

This the first opinion poll, hypothetical or otherwise, to show the Green Party polling at 20% 😲

— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@LeftieStats) February 14, 2026

Greens rising

Firstly, we should note this is just one poll. Secondly, the polling is in comparison to the 2024 election. Thirdly, it’s unarguable impressive that Lowe’s Rehash Party has entered at 10%.

If the above played out, it’s possible Reform would not be able to form a majority government. This would give Lowe leverage to offer support as a coalition partner. Here’s how the above would shake out if the parties had to split into two groups.

Reform / Restore / Conservative: 48%
Green / Labour / Lib Dems / SNP/ Plaid: 51%

There would be obstacles to this happening, of course. Farage has shown an openness to absorbing the Tory Party; Rupert Lowe, however, is currently saying he wants nothing to do with the people at the top of Reform or the Tories. Knowing what we know about Lowe, however, we’ve no doubt he would likely take the opportunity to block Farage from taking the top spot.

Of course, that wouldn’t necessarily be possible either way, because the non-hard-right parties would win a majority of the vote share. The problem with the UK electoral system is that vote share doesn’t neatly map to seats, as this diagram from Stats for Lefties shows:

🗳️ POLL | Reform lead by 11pts

➡️ Ref: 30% (+2)
🔵 Con: 19% (-1)
🔴 Lab: 17% (-2)
🟢 Grn: 15% (+2)
🟠 Lib: 14% (-1)

— Seats —
➡️ Ref: 361
🟠 Lib: 84
🟢 Grn: 54
🔵 Con: 47
🟡 SNP: 44
🔴 Lab: 33

Poll: @TechneUK, 13 Feb (+/- vs 16 Jan) pic.twitter.com/wfoin5cgCf

— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@LeftieStats) February 13, 2026

As you can see, the Lib Dems got more seats than the Greens or Labour in that calculation despite having a lower vote share. This dated and undemocratic system of ours could work in the favour of Farage and Lowe, or against them.

We appreciate we’re doing a lot of speculating based on a single poll — especially one relating to a brand new party. The purpose of all this isn’t to predict the next election; it’s to point out that predicting what happens next is increasingly impossible.

The UK electoral system is not designed to have eight competing political parties, and yet here we are.

So what’s the alternative?

Proportional representation

Make Votes Matter detailed the differences between First Past the Post (our current electoral system) and Proportional Representation:

With First Past the Post, Parliament does not reflect the way we vote. It denies millions of people representation of their choosing.

In the 2024 general election, the Green Party, Reform UK and Scottish National Party received more than 23% (6.7 million) of votes between them, yet they shared just 2.7% of seats (18).

When so many voters are denied a voice, Parliament fails to reflect the people it is supposed to represent. Millions of us go without a say in crucial national decisions – excluded not only from government, but from holding government to account. This isn’t just bad for democracy; it’s bad for our entire politics and society.

With Proportional Representation political diversity is reflected in Parliament, not suppressed. PR makes sure the share of seats each party gets matches the share of votes they receive. It would mean that if a party gets 20% of the vote, it wins 20% of the seats. Parliament would accurately represent the people’s range of views and perspectives.

Best served Lowed

Really, Lowe should have called his party ‘Revenge’, because that’s what this is. He can’t stand that Farage gave him the boot, and now he’s going to destroy Nigel’s chances of becoming PM.

Regardless of what happens between Reject and Repeat, however, it’s clear that the Greens are doing well from what’s happening.

Featured image via Barold/the Canary