LONDON — Zia Yusuf dramatically resigned as chairman of the resurgent Reform UK party on Thursday in a bitter blow to leader Nigel Farage.
Yusuf, the co-founder of concierge service Velocity Black, was seen as a crucial hire for Reform as Farage attempted to professionalize his movement.
Reform UK is currently polling in first place at 30 percent — seven percentage points ahead of the ruling Labour Party, according to POLITICO’s poll of polls.
Last month, Reform UK won more than 600 councilors at the local elections and took the Runcorn and Helsby constituency from Labour in a by-election.
Farage has claimed Reform can replace the Tories as the party of the right and has the potential to enter government.
LONDON — Zia Yusuf delivered a devastating blow to leader Nigel Farage on Thursday when he abruptly resigned as chairman of the revived Reform UK party.
Hours after delving into a dispute regarding the party’s stance on the burqa, Yusuf, who assumed the important position days after the general election in 2024, posted on the social media platform X to announce his resignation.
“I hereby resign the office, as I no longer think it is a good use of my time to work to get a Reform government elected,” he declared.
Sarah Pochin, the party’s new MP, had previously come under fire from Yusuf for questioning Prime Minister Keir Starmer about whether the U. The K. would outlaw the burqa during a Wednesday House of Commons discussion.
Yusuf responded to the Pochin question Thursday morning by saying, “It has nothing to do with me.”.
Yusuf, who co-founded Velocity Black, a concierge service, was considered an important Reform hire as Farage tried to make his movement more formal. The party’s hopes for electoral success will be viewed as having been hampered by the departure.
Yusuf wrote in his X post, “I have worked full time as a volunteer to quadruple the party’s membership, take it from 14 to 30 percent, and deliver historic electoral results.”.
Farage praised the former chairman for being a “huge factor in our success” and swiftly posted that he was “genuinely sorry” about Yusuf’s abrupt departure. “”.
“Zia has obviously had enough,” Farage continued, “because politics can be a very demanding and challenging game.”.
The poll conducted by POLITICO shows that Reform UK is currently leading the polls with 30 percent, seven percentage points ahead of the ruling Labour Party.
During the local elections last month, Reform UK won over 600 councilors and defeated Labour in a by-election to take over the Runcorn and Helsby constituency. According to Farage, Reform has the ability to become the next party of the right and could even take power.
The departure of Yusuf follows the suspension of Rupert Lowe, a prominent member of the party, in March due to allegations of threats against Yusuf, which Lowe refuted. More recently, Lowe stated that Farage should never be prime minister.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, Lowe won’t be charged with any crimes in May.
