Jump to content

Great Yarmouth First

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Great Yarmouth First
LeaderJon Wedon
ChairmanRupert Lowe
FounderRupert Lowe
Founded2025
HeadquartersMillennium House
Gapton Hall Road,
Great Yarmouth
NR31 0NL
Political positionFar-right[1][2]
National affiliationRestore Britain
Colours  Navy blue
Norfolk County Council[3]
9 / 84
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
1 / 39
Website
www.greatyarmouthfirst.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata

Great Yarmouth First (GYF) is a far-right localist political party in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. It was founded by the constituency's Member of Parliament, Rupert Lowe, in December 2025, and was registered as a political party in early 2026. Its leader is Jon Wedon. It is a local affiliate party of Restore Britain.

History

[edit]

In December 2025, MP Rupert Lowe launched a new local political party within his constituency, known as Great Yarmouth First.[4] At that time, it was yet to register with the Electoral Commission (EC). On 3 December 2025, Lowe stated 500 people had already joined the party whose year's membership fees have been funded by Lowe.[5] At the time Lowe was emerging from a public feud with the leadership of Reform UK arguing for mass deportations and for allegedly bullying Zia Yusuf resulting in a police investigation and him being suspended by the party's whip.[6][7][8] In February 2026 The Guardian described the party as far-right, and noted the public support of "ethnonationalist" Steve Laws.[2]

On 28 February, it was reported that GYF had its application to be registered as a political party denied the previous month by the EC because it was "incomplete" forcing the party to apply a second time.[9] The same day Lowe announced five candidates who would contest for seats on Norfolk County Council in the 2026 local elections.[10] On March 4, GYF successfully registered as a political party.[11] As Lowe became more involved in organising his national Restore Britain party he transferred leadership of GYF to Jon Wedon; his MP's constituency office manager who became GYF's director.[12]

Entry to elected office (2026)

[edit]

GYF contested ten seats in the 2026 local elections, nine seats for Norfolk County Council and one for Great Yarmouth Borough Council. Their candidates won all ten seats by significant margins.[13][14][15]

GYF's sweep of Great Yarmouth spoiled Reform UK's efforts to win outright control of the Norfolk County Council, winning 40 seats but needing 43 for a majority, coming in second place in eight constituencies GYF won.[16] Wedon, who was elected as councillor for Lothingland and to the Great Yarmouth Borough, stated in his victory speech that "we will give Great Yarmouth the loudest voice it has ever heard round that county council table and we will really start to make no apologies for the positive vision we want to take forward for Great Yarmouth".[17] and said GYF has not ruled out working with Reform, stating "Rupert has been open about how he will work with anybody if it benefits the good people of Great Yarmouth".[18]

The party abstained from the vote to name Reform's David Bick the leader of Norfolk council, allowing his nomination to go through.[19] Bick would go on to say that GYF and Reform where "very much on the same page" in terms of policy and that GYF "have demonstrated a lot of collaboration and common sense" while still denying that any formal cooperation agreement between the two parties was reached.[19]

Elected Councillors

[edit]
Norfolk County Council
Name Division Election Date
Jonathan Wedon Lothingland 7 May 2026
Barry Gravenell Gorleston
Michael French Breydon
Callum Ward-Kendall Yarmouth Nelson & Southtown
Steve Grimmer Yarmouth North & Central
Daniel McGrath South Caister & Bure
Glenn Hurren North Caister & Ormesby
Jason Hughes The Fleggs
Kevin Huggins Magdalen
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Name Ward Election Date
Jonathan Wedon Caister South 7 May 2026

Views

[edit]

GYF claims to represent voters who feel "apoplectic towards politics" and for those who "feel underrepresented, they don’t feel that maybe the current politicians represent their views and issues" while also claiming a "Rupert Lowe factor" towards their popularity.[20] The party is anti-immigration.[2] Norfolk's Council leader David Bick has stated that GYF supports their (Reform's) positions of reviewing all spending relating to net-zero efforts.[19]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ ""UK elections as they happened: Reform surges in England as nationalist parties triumph in Scotland and Wales"". Financial Times. 9 May 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026. Great Yarmouth First, an offshoot of the far-right Restore Britain party, has won nine seats in Norfolk county council.
  2. 1 2 3 Quinn, Ben (15 February 2026). "UK far right lines up behind Rupert Lowe in challenge to Reform". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Councillors for Great Yarmouth First". Open Council Data UK. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Great Yarmouth First on Facebook".
  5. ↑ "Rupert Lowe launches new political party for Great Yarmouth". BBC News. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  6. ↑ Francis, Sam (11 March 2025). "Police investigate MP Rupert Lowe over alleged threats". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2025. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  7. ↑ Heren, Kit (7 March 2025). "Reform UK civil war as party suspends Rupert Lowe after complaints of 'serious bullying' by female employees". LBC. Archived from the original on 7 March 2025. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  8. ↑ Croft, Ethan (8 March 2025). "Lee Anderson: Reform UK cannot go on with Rupert Lowe as MP". The Daily Telegraph.
  9. ↑ "Rupert Lowe's new party has application rejected by the Electoral Commission". Eastern Daily Press. 26 February 2026. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  10. ↑ "Hollywood star lookalike among party's election candidates". Great Yarmouth Mercury. 28 February 2026. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  11. ↑ "MP aims to 'win every single seat' after new party gets officially registered". Great Yarmouth Mercury. 4 March 2026. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  12. ↑ Durand, Henry. "Great Yarmouth First candidate accused of 'offensive' texts". Great Yarmouth Mercury. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Results from Great Yarmouth divisions for Norfolk County Council elections, May 7, 2026". Great Yarmouth Borough Council. 8 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ↑ "Norfolk County Council election results 2026". Norfolk County Council. 8 May 2026. Archived from the original on 9 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "England council results". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  16. ↑ Moseley, Paul. "Five takeaways from the elections in Norfolk". BBC. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  17. ↑ Gordon-Farleigh, Neve (8 May 2026). "Reform UK misses out on Norfolk County Council majority". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  18. ↑ Moseley, Paul (13 May 2026). "The Norfolk party backed by Elon Musk that battered Reform". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 Moseley, Paul. "What happened at first meeting of Reform-controlled council?". BBC. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  20. ↑ Robinson, Ben. "Norfolk local elections 2026: Clean sweep for Great Yarmouth First". Great Yarmouth Mercury. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Yarmouth_First&oldid=1370367377"