The leader of the Restore Britain party, Rupert Lowe, has earned over 100,000 pounds sterling from publications on the social network X since being elected to parliament in 2024. If the current pace is maintained, his income from social media posts could exceed the salary of a member of parliament.
According to the register of financial interests of deputies, Lowe, who regularly publishes anti-immigration posts on Elon Musk’s platform, earned an average of 931 pounds sterling per hour of work on X this year. This includes a payment of 11,724.97 pounds sterling for just five hours of work on June 10. If this pace continues until the end of the year, his total income will nearly equal or exceed the annual parliamentary salary, which is 98,599 pounds sterling.
Payments came through the monetization program for authors introduced by Elon Musk. It allows premium users with over 500 verified subscribers to monetize their accounts on the X platform, which has faced increasing criticism since its acquisition by Musk in 2022.
Statements by Lowe and charity
Lowe responded to criticism by stating: “If I wanted to make money, I wouldn’t have gone into politics. I give my entire net parliamentary salary to local charities in my constituency — being a politician is the most expensive job I’ve ever had.” His posts have a significant number of interactions, which increases payments under the monetization program.
Just five of his posts on August 24 gathered 683,000 views and over 70,000 likes on the platform. One of the posts, which received 20,000 likes, called for the deportation of foreign citizens living in social housing. It stated: “The truth is that if a foreign citizen lives in social housing and cannot financially support themselves, they should not just be evicted from the building — they should be deported from the country.”
Another post, which received 24,000 likes, was a response to a message about his earnings on X. In it, Lowe noted: “The Guardian is attacking me for receiving money from X. Believe me, if I wanted to make money, I would NOT be in politics. I give my entire net parliamentary salary to charity. This is, without a doubt, the most expensive job I’ve ever had!”
Political activity and criticism of X
Lowe controversially left the Reform UK party in March 2025 amid accusations of harassment and threats, after which he founded his own party, Restore Britain. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stated that Lowe does not face criminal charges. The party, which currently has its main base in Lowe’s constituency, Great Yarmouth, holds even more right-wing positions than Reform UK, particularly on immigration. It also enjoys the support of tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has repeatedly publicly supported Restore Britain on the X platform.
The X platform has faced increasing criticism since its acquisition by Elon Musk. The government has threatened to ban the platform due to abuses of its Grok/AI function. Several government agencies have also abandoned the use of X, including Culture Minister Lisa Nandy, who announced her departure from the platform because X “facilitates abuse and misinformation.”
Source: The Independent UK
