Tyler Johnson - Restore Britain candidate for Holborn and St Pancras | Reform Watch

Profile and accountability tracker for Tyler Johnson, Restore Britain candidate for Holborn and St Pancras. Restore Britain.

Role: Restore Britain candidate for Holborn and St Pancras

Party: Restore Britain

Tyler Kurtis Johnson is Restore Britain's candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, held on 8 October 2026 after Sir Keir Starmer stood down as the constituency's MP. He was announced as the party's candidate by Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe on 15 September 2026, in the party's first parliamentary campaign in London. Johnson is a London-based solicitor. According to reporting by Legal Cheek, he trained at the law firm Clyde & Co and qualified in 2024, working in corporate finance before moving in-house. His LinkedIn profile lists him as legal counsel at CNOOC International, the global arm of CNOOC Limited, which is controlled by the Chinese state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation, where he has worked since July 2025 on new ventures and operations across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Central and South America. His employment has drawn scrutiny because CNOOC's parent company was added to United States government lists, including a Pentagon list and a US economic blacklist, over concerns raised by US authorities about links to the Chinese military and conduct in the South China Sea. Rupert Lowe publicly restated his support for Johnson when asked about the employment.

Recorded incidents (showing 1-2 of 2)

Tyler Johnson employed by company controlled by Chinese state-owned oil group

Category: undisclosed interest

Tyler Johnson, Restore Britain’s candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, is employed as legal counsel at CNOOC International, the global arm of CNOOC Limited, which is controlled by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. His LinkedIn profile describes work on new ventures and operations across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America. CNOOC and its parent have been placed on US lists, including action by the Pentagon and a US economic blacklist, over concerns raised by US authorities about links to the Chinese military and conduct in the South China Sea. Rupert Lowe, the Restore Britain leader, announced Mr Johnson’s candidacy and has publicly reiterated his support when questioned about the employment. Mr Johnson declined to comment. The employment has prompted scrutiny of the party’s candidate vetting and potential links to a foreign state; no formal disciplinary action or change to his candidacy has been reported.

Campaign team includes figures with reported records of racist and antisemitic remarks

Category: extremism

Location: Holborn and St Pancras, Camden, London

An investigation by Stand Up To Racism, reported by the Morning Star on 15 September 2026, said that key figures involved in Tyler Johnson's Restore Britain by-election campaign in Holborn and St Pancras had histories of racist and antisemitic remarks and involvement in far-right activity. According to the reporting, Johnson's principal nominator, Patrick McGinnis, published a video titled "Jewish ideas are destroying our country, not Islamic ideas", in which he blamed "Jewish ideas" for a range of social and economic problems, and has claimed that "the media is owned by zionists". Lewis Holmes, described by the campaigners as an organiser of the by-election campaign, is reported to have called small-boat migration an "invasion", called for "third worlders" to be deported and posted antisemitic and conspiracist content. The group said campaign photographs in the constituency also featured Michael Newland, a former leading figure in the British National Party, and Callum Barker, previously an activist in the Homeland organisation and a figure in anti-refugee protests in Epping. Stand Up To Racism co-convener Weyman Bennett said the evidence could not be dismissed as "a handful of embarrassing social-media endorsements". The allegations concern people working on or nominating the campaign rather than statements attributed to Johnson himself. No response from Johnson to the findings was recorded in the reporting reviewed.