Zia Yusuf dramatically resigned as Reform UK’s chairman tonight as the Nigel Farage-led party descended into fresh chaos.
The multi-millionaire businessman said he no longer believed that working for Reform to win power at the next general election was ‘a good use of my time’.
His shock departure came just hours after he hit out at one of Reform’s own MP’s for a ‘dumb’ question in the House of Commons about banning the burqa.
He publicly questioned why Sarah Pochin, Reform’s recently-elected MP for Runcorn and Helsby, had challenged the Prime Minister about the issue on Wednesday.
There were also reports that Mr Yusuf had recently been ‘sidelined’ within Reform, including claims that some of his responsibilities had been passed elsewhere.
Mr Farage this evening said he was ‘genuinely sorry’ at Mr Yusuf’s exit, adding the tech entrepreneur was a ‘huge factor’ in Reform’s success at May’s local elections.
‘Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough,’ the Reform leader added. ‘He is a loss to us and public life.’
The latest Reform drama comes after Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe was kicked out of the party in March after he criticised Mr Farage’s leadership.
Zia Yusuf has dramatically resigned as Reform UK’s chairman as the Nigel Farage-led party descended into fresh chaos
Mr Farage said he was ‘genuinely sorry’ at Mr Yusuf’s exit, adding the tech entrepreneur was a ‘huge factor’ in Reform’s stunning success at last month’s local elections
‘Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough,’ Mr Farage, pictured with Mr Yusuf in February, added
Mr Yusuf announced his resignation on social media on Thursday night, posting on X/Twitter: ’11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform.
‘I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30 per cent, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
‘I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.’
In his own social media post, Mr Farage said: ‘I am genuinely sorry that Zia Yusuf has decided to stand down as Reform UK Chairman.
‘As I said just last week, he was a huge factor in our success on May 1st and is an enormously talented person.
‘Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough. He is a loss to us and public life.’
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Yusuf took a swipe at Ms Pochin for declaring her support for a burqa ban during Prime Minister’s Questions this week.
Ms Pochin asked Sir Keir Starmer if he would support outlawing the burqa – which is worn by some Muslim women – ‘in the interests of public safety’.
But Reform officials sowed confusion by later revealing that banning the burqa is not the party’s official policy.
In a hint at an internal party row, Mr Yusuf posted on X: ‘I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do.’
The Reform chairman, a Muslim, said that Ms Pochin’s question was ‘nothing to do with me’ as he was ‘busy with other stuff’.
‘Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn’t policy,’ he added.
In another post, he wrote: ‘Just to be clear, I learnt about the question and the party’s position re it not being policy for the first time on my X feed. I’m busy with UK DOGE.’
Earlier this week, Mr Yusuf announced the launch of Reform’s first Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) unit.
The party pledged this will look at ‘wasteful spending’ in local councils, in a mirror of Tesla boss Mr Musk’s cost-cutting efforts in America under Donald Trump.
Mr Yusuf’s shock departure came just hours after he hit out at Sarah Pochin, one of Reform’s MPs, for a ‘dumb’ question in the House of Commons about banning the burqa
Ms Pochin’s question during PMQs on Wednesday triggered disquiet in the Commons and cries of ‘shame’ from other MPs.
She asked Sir Keir: ‘Given the PM’s desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our European neighbours, will he in the interests of public safety follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others and ban the burqa?’
The PM did not answer Ms Pochin’s question but instead took the opportunity to attack Reform’s economic plans – as set out by Mr Farage last week.
After PMQs, Lee Anderson, one of Ms Pochin’s fellow Reform MPs, also gave his public backing to a burqa ban.
Yet, despite two out of the five Reform MPs supporting a ban, a party spokesman said it was ‘not party policy’ – although they added it was an issue that ‘needs a national debate’.
Mr Farage sowed further confusion over Reform’s stance by using his GB News show to question the use of all face coverings in public places, saying the ‘debate actually goes beyond the burqa’.
‘I don’t think face coverings in public places make sense, and I think we do deserve debate about that, which I see the burqa as being a part,’ Mr Farage said.
‘It’s a tough one. It is a very difficult debate, but it’s a debate.’
Mr Yusuf took a swipe at Ms Pochin for declaring her support for a burqa ban during Prime Minister’s Questions
After PMQs on Wednesday, Lee Anderson, one of Ms Pochin’s fellow Reform MPs, also gave his public backing for a burqa ban
At the 2010 general election, Mr Farage stood for UKIP – his former party – on a manifesto that called for a ban on both the burqa and niqab.
But he later disowned UKIP’s 2010 manifesto as ‘drivel’ when he returned as the party’s leader after the contest.
Responding to Mr Yusuf’s resignation, a Labour spokesperson said: ‘If Nigel Farage can’t manage a handful of politicians, how on earth could he run a country?
‘He has fallen out with everyone he has ever worked with. Reform are just not serious.
‘The Reform chair has done a runner so that he doesn’t have to front up Farage’s £80billion in unfunded cuts, which would spark a Liz Truss-style economic meltdown.
‘Farage’s plans would put up every single mortgage in the country and hammer family finances, while forcing them to buy private healthcare.
‘Working people simply can’t afford the risk of Reform UK.’
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: ‘By sacking himself, Zia Yusuf seems to be leading the ‘UK DOGE’ by example.
‘You have to admire his commitment to the cause. 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.’
