Ben Habib, a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Brexit Party, served as the Deputy Leader of Reform UK from October 2023 to July 2024.^[5] He stood for Reform UK on two occasions, first at the 2024 Wellingborough by-election and later at the 2024 general election in the successor seat of Wellingborough and Rushden, where he came third on 21.5 per cent of the vote.^[5]

Habib faced criticism after a Talk TV interview in April 2024, after he suggested Britain should ‘absolutely’ let migrants drown in the English Channel.^[6] In July 2024, he expressed concerns after his removal as Deputy Leader, and later criticised Reform UK's new constitution as "undemocratic".^[7][8]

Following the falling-out between Habib and Farage, on 28 November 2024, Habib announced he was leaving Reform UK.^[5][9] Habib cited ideological differences with Farage, such as Habib's support for mass deportations, as well as the structure of the party.^[9] After leaving, Habib said he wished to create a new party that would be to the right of Reform UK.^[5] He later stated that Elon Musk had urged him to set up a party in early 2025.^[10]

In March 2025, Habib called Reform MP Rupert Lowe's suspension 'an injustice', accusing Farage and Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf of 'trumping up complaints against' Lowe after Musk suggested Lowe should become Leader of Reform UK.^[11][12]

In April 2025, Habib took control of the Integrity Party, an organisation which had been created by Christian Russell and Richard Shaw in 2024, and stated that he intended to make sure the party was properly set up and organised before it was registered.^[13][14]

On 30 June 2025, Habib became leader of the party, launched as 'Advance UK'. He stated that he would both apply for registration with the Electoral Commission, and donate £100,000 to the party, once it had reached 30,000 members.^[5][15] The limited company behind the organisation was also renamed to Advance UK.^[16] Restore Britain, a far-right pressure group, was established by Rupert Lowe later that day.^[16]

Sean O'Grady wrote that Advance UK had a "complicated" and ostensibly "unworkable system of governance", whereby party members could elect 'the college', which would vote for proposed policies, and was intended to guide the party's board of directors and the executive, consisting of the party leaders.^[16] According to The Telegraph, those recruited for 'the college' included Katie Waissel and Howard Cox.^[10]

In July 2025, Habib told the News Letter that he hoped to work with Jim Allister, the leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), in Northern Ireland. Habib had originally signed an alliance between Reform UK and the TUV, and suggested that Farage didn't stand for the Acts of Union 1800.^[17]

In early August, prominent far-right^[18] activist Tommy Robinson announced he would be joining the party.^[19][20] Later that month, four former parliamentary candidates and one branch chair defected from Reform UK.^[21] On 26 August 2025, Elon Musk declared his support for the party, saying: "Advance UK will actually drive change. Farage is weak sauce who will do nothing."^[22] Patrick English, director of political analytics at YouGov, said that the party "certainly might have the potential to be disruptive but they'll need to work very hard to find people capable of fronting it".^[21]

On 13 September, Habib led a speech at the 'Unite the Kingdom' march held in Central London, which had been organised by Tommy Robinson. Advance UK was listed as a sponsor of the event,^[23] which drew between 110,000 and 150,000 attendees.^[24][25]

In late September 2025, shortly before the party’s inaugural launch event in Newcastle, the council-owned Crowne Plaza Hotel cancelled the booking on health and safety grounds following online criticism, including from North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, over its association with Tommy Robinson.^[26][27] Habib responded by insisting the launch would still proceed, stating that “no threats or smears” would stop the party from launching and that its members had “a right for political association and gathering”.^[27]

In November 2025, Sky News published analysis of right-wing and extreme bias on X. Habib was interviewed, in which he described the platform as "vital" to Advance UK, and said all of its members had come through X, podcasts, YouTube, and other social media.^[28] Following an endorsement from Musk, membership had increased to more than 37,000, whilst the party was seeking registration with the Electoral Commission.^[28]

On 4 December, Advance UK was registered to stand candidates across Great Britain.^[2] Suzanne Breen wrote that, in Northern Ireland, the party had 600 members, and was preparing to organise there.^[29]

On 31 December, The Independent reported that both Advance UK and Britain First were selling official merchandise manufactured in China and Pakistan.^[3]

By 7 January 2026, seven regional organisers had been announced by Advance UK, including Michelle Ballantyne, the former Leader of Reform UK Scotland.^[30]

The party's Welsh branch was led by Richard Taylor, who had previously advocated for the expulsion of Islam from the United Kingdom. Taylor resigned from his position on 31 January 2026, citing personal reasons.^[31][32]

On 7 February 2026, the party held a conference, proposing its immigration policies, at the Emmanuel Centre, an evangelical church in Westminster.^[33][34] The Emmanuel Centre was criticised by groups including Christians for a Welcoming Britain for hosting what they described as a "far-right political conference".^[35] During the event, Habib told The Guardian that he had put £100,000 into the party and it had raised £600,000 from other sources.^[34]

Following the announcement of Restore Britain as a political party on 13 February 2026, Habib stated that Advance UK would consider a merger with the new political party.^[34][36] Hope not Hate outlined how the more extreme factions within Restore were strongly opposed to having someone of Pakistani heritage in a leadership role.^[37] The merger proposals later failed, with Habib calling Lowe a "dictator" for not having drafted a party constitution.^[38]

On 3 June 2026, Habib announced his intention to de-register Advance UK as a political party, and merge into the Great British Political Action Committee (GB PAC), a right-wing advocacy group of which Habib serves as chairman.^[39] At the time, Advance UK had over 30,000 members and held 4 council seats, but had struggled to gain traction since the emergence of Restore Britain.^[40] Lowe supported the move on X writing that Habib and Advance UK supporters would be “welcome in our Restore Britain family.”^[40]

Four days later, Lorna Smyth, the regional director for Northern Ireland, resigned over the decision to de-register the party.^[41]

Later that month, leaked emails revealed that Tim Power, the party's chief operating officer (COO), had tried to block the merger, and launch a counter coup against Habib.^[42][4] The party was voluntarily deregistered on 10 July 2026.^[2]

On 4 February 2026, former charity worker Nick Buckley was announced as the Advance UK candidate for the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election.^[48] He placed seventh with 154 votes, five votes fewer than the Official Monster Raving Loony Party candidate.^[49]

Advance UK stood 17 candidates across 16 wards^[50] in the 2026 United Kingdom local elections, none of whom were elected.

Advance UK contested the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, but won no seats.^[51]