Zia Yusuf resigns as Reform UK chairman

Farage mentioned Yusuf was “a huge factor” within the occasion’s success in final month’s elections, when Reform received a by-election, two mayoral races and gained 677 new councillors.

Nonetheless, he instructed GB Information he believed Yusuf had “had enough” of politics, which may be “totally unrelenting”.

Farage mentioned he had “suspicions” Yusuf would possibly stop after he appeared “very disengaged” when the pair spoke on Wednesday morning however was solely given a “10-minute warning” his resignation was coming.

Requested about studies that some within the occasion discovered Yusuf tough to take care of, Farage mentioned “not everyone got on with him”.

He added: “Were his interpersonal skills at the top of his list of attributes? No. But I always found him, with me, very polite.”

In a put up on X, Yusuf wrote: “11 months ago I became chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30% [in national polls], quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.

“I not consider working to get a Reform authorities elected is an effective use of my time, and hereby resign the workplace.”

Earlier, Yusuf had criticised Sarah Pochin – who won last month’s Runcorn and Helsby by-election – for urging Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burka “within the pursuits of public security” during her Prime Minister’s Questions debut on Wednesday.

He said it was “dumb for a celebration to ask the PM if they might do one thing the occasion itself would not do”.

Pochin’s call appeared to go down well with Reform’s other MPs, although a party spokesman said it was “not occasion coverage”.

In response to Yusuf quitting, Pochin said he had been “an awesome pal and colleague”, adding that “the professionalisation he dropped at Reform UK may have an enduring legacy”.

Yusuf, who was previously a member of the Conservative Party, became Reform UK’s chairman shortly after last year’s general election.

A former banker who sold his tech start-up company for more than £200m, Yusuf has described himself as a “proud British Muslim patriot”.

He donated £200,000 to Reform during the general election campaign and as chairman he was given the job of professionalising the party, wooing donors and increasing Reform UK’s activist base.

Yusuf was seen as central to Reform’s operation and had been spearheading the party’s so-called Doge teams to cut wasteful spending in the councils it now controls.

The acronym refers to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency in the US.

Tech entrepreneur Nathaniel Fried, who was brought in to lead the Doge unit, said he was stepping down with Yusuf.

“I’ve an enormous quantity of respect for the work that the councils are doing to avoid wasting taxpayer cash, and cut back wastage,” he wrote on X.

However he added that Yusuf “obtained me in and I consider it’s acceptable for me to go away with him”.

Yusuf’s unexpected resignation came after he had spent recent days trumpeting the Doge initiative, which was only formally launched this week.

He has previously hailed Farage as the UK’s “subsequent prime minister” who “will return Britain to greatness”.

Prominent Reform supporter Tim Montgomerie said he was “a giant fan” of Yusuf but added: “He was a younger man in a rush – he upset fairly lots of people who did not need the occasion to professionalise, to modernise.

“He faced a lot of prejudice, not necessarily from inside the party but on social media, I think that affected him.

“I believe the row over the burka query that the brand new MP requested yesterday could have been the final straw for him.”

He mentioned Reform was “wanting like a celebration with too many inner tensions, however there’s time to place that proper”.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said: “By sacking himself, Zia Yusuf appears to be main the ‘UK Doge’ by instance. You need to admire his dedication to the trigger.

“It’s already clear Reform UK cannot deliver for the communities they are elected to stand up for. Instead, they have copied the Conservative playbook of fighting like rats in a sack.”

A Labour Get together spokesperson mentioned: “If Nigel Farage can’t manage a handful of politicians, how on earth could he run a country?

“He has fallen out with everybody he has ever labored with. Reform are simply not severe.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Reform shouldn’t be a political occasion. It’s a fan membership.”

Reform has seen its support in national polls grow since last year’s general election, when the party won 14.3% of the vote share and secured five MPs.

However, it has been dogged by infighting which culminated in Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe being expelled from the party.

It came after he was accused of harassing staff members and threatening “bodily violence” against Yusuf.

Lowe denied the claims and last month the Crown Prosecution Service said he would not face criminal charges in relation to the allegation of threats, after he was referred to the police by the party.

Responding to Yusuf’s resignation, Lowe said: “The query is – how did a person with no political expertise be given such huge energy inside Reform?”