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Advance UK
Political party in the United Kingdom From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Advance UK, formerly the Integrity Party, is a far-right political party in the United Kingdom led by Ben Habib, the former Deputy Leader of Reform UK. The party was publicly launched in it's current form in 2025, following Habib's departure from Reform UK in November 2024 due to internal disagreements and a fallout with Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf.
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History
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Integrity Party
Ben Habib had reportedly fallen out with Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf after his removal as deputy leader of Reform in July 2024.[8] In reaction, he set out his intention to form a party to the right of Reform.[9] Habib later stated that Elon Musk had urged him to set up a party in early 2025.[10]
In April 2025, he assumed control of the Integrity Party, a legal identity registered with Companies House in November 2024.[11]
Pre-registration
On 30 June 2025, Habib announced Advance UK online and set a target of 30,000 members before registration.[9] The limited company behind the Integrity Party was renamed as Advance UK Party Limited.[5]
Restore Britain, a far-right pressure group was established by Rupert Lowe later that day.[12]
In July, Richard Inman – an event organiser for prominent far-right[13] activist Tommy Robinson and a former UKIP National Executive Committee (NEC) member – joined Advance UK.[14] In early August, Tommy Robinson announced he was joining the party, in a video recorded in late July.[15][16]
On 26 August, Elon Musk declared his support the party, stating "Advance UK will actually drive change. Farage is weak sauce who will do nothing".[17]
Later that month, Advance UK announced that four former parliamentary candidates for Reform, and one former branch chair, were defecting.[18]
At Tommy Robinson's 'Unite the Kingdom' rally in London on 13 September 2025, Advance were listed as a sponsor.[19][20] Habib was a speaker at the rally, which saw an estimated turnout 110,000 to 150,000.[21][22]
Habib told The Observer, there was no longer a division between right and left in UK politics, but between "those who believe in global principles and so-called liberalism, and those who actually believe in a nation state, borders and sovereignty".[19]
On 18 September, the Electoral Commission published notices that Advance UK was seeking political party registration.[23]
Launch
The party was due to hold an official launch event at the Crowne-Plaza Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne on 27 September. However, after online criticism, the hotel management cancelled the booking on "health and safety grounds", according to Newcastle City Council.[24] Habib told supporters on Twitter that the party would still launch in Newcastle.[25]
In November, Wootton Bridge Community Centre on the Isle of Wight - where over 100 Advance UK supporters had met - was reviewed by the Charity Commission over alleged political activity.[26]
On 4 December, the party was registered with the Electoral Commission to run candidates in Great Britain.[27]
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Ideology and policy
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Sean O'Grady of The Independent described the party as amongst the fringe far-right and 'quite possibly' extremist.[5] The party has also been described as 'far-right' by The Guardian,[4] The Evening Standard,[28] The National,[29] among other outlets,[30][31] while the Daily Mirror has described it as 'hard-right'.[32] The Spectator[33] and The Telegraph[34] have more broadly labled it as 'right-wing'. Suzanne Breen in the Belfast Telegraph referred to the party as right-wing.[35] The Joseph Rowntree Foundation outlined Advance UK's founding conference in the North East as 'a troubling development' and described the party as right-wing.[36]
In the Financial Times, Anna Gross wrote that Habib was working to prevent Nigel Farage from winning the next UK general election, and that the more hardline Advance UK could take votes from those who consider Farage too moderate.[37] Further, Alex Kane of The Irish News suggests that Advance was 'in danger of becoming an anti-Farage party rather than a genuine alternative to Reform.'[38]
In April 2025, Habib announced that the Integrity Party would abolish quangos created under Tony Blair and enact "Liz Truss style" tax-cuts.[11]
Advance professes principles such as sovereignty, freedom of speech, democracy, and equality before the law. It also stands for "Christian constitutional values" and rejects the influence of institutions such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Economic Forum.[9]
Habib, who previously signed the Reform UK-TUV pact, told the News Letter that he "hopes anything his new party does in Northern Ireland will be with the TUV". He also said that "Farage doesn't stand" for the Acts of Union.[39]
Patrick English, director of political analytics at YouGov, said that Advance UK "certainly might have the potential to be disruptive but they'll need to work very hard to find people capable of fronting it".[18]
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Organisation
The party plans to create a 'college' of representatives that will vote for proposed policies, and is intended to guide the party's board of directors and the executive, consisting of the party leaders.[40][41] The arrangement has been described by Sean O'Grady in The Independent as complicated and likely to lead to internal friction.[41]
Among the list of announced members of the college include Katie Waissel and Howard Cox.[42]
In a Sky News article discussing right-wing and extreme bias on Twitter, Habib described the platform as vital for Advance UK. He also stated all of the party's membership had come from Twitter, podcasts, YouTube, and other social media platforms.[3]
Advance UK Wales
Nation.Cymru reported that the party's Welsh branch is led by former inmate Richard Taylor, who previously stood for the Brexit Party in 2019, and Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party during the 2021 Senedd election.[30]
In Cardiff, anti-fascist group Stand Up to Racism persuaded the venue to cancel the Wales launch booking in October 2025.[43] The Brunswick Arms in Swansea was boycotted and sent a petition by local residents, after it hosted a meeting.[44]
See also
- Right-wing antiglobalism
- UKIP, a far-right UK political party.
- Traditional Unionist Voice, a right-wing unionist party in Northern Ireland.
- 2025 British anti-immigration protests
References
External links
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