Reform chairman QUITS & says helping Farage become PM is ‘not a good use of my time’
REFORM was plunged into chaos tonight after its chairman Zia Yusuf dramatically quit the party.
In a parting shot, he said he no longer believed trying to get Nigel Farage elected as PM was a “good use of my time”.
Mr Yusuf’s shock resignation - just weeks after masterminding their local elections triumph - came after an internal row about banning the burqa.
The multi-millionaire ex-businessman had attacked the party’s newest MP Sarah Pochin as “dumb” for asking Sir Keir Starmer to outlaw the Muslim face covering in the Commons.
But insiders said tensions at the top of Reform had been brewing for some time, with the chairman feeling increasingly sidelined.
In a statement, Mr Yusuf said: “Eleven months ago I became Chairman of Reform.
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“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.”
Mr Farage said he was “genuinely sorry” to lose his colleague, adding: “Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough. “He is a loss to us and public life.”
Yet Reform’s political rivals jumped on the departure as evidence the Brexiteer is tough to work with.
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A Tory source said: “Nigel Farage tells us he wants to run the country, he can't even run a party small enough to fit in a Nissan Micra. Will the last person in Reform UK who isn't Farage please turn out the lights?"
Labour piled in: “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.”
Earlier this year, a brutal row saw then- Reform MP Rupert Lowe suspended after Mr Yusuf reported him to police for alleged threats and bullying - claims later dropped by prosecutors.
Mr Lowe denied everything, accused party bosses of smearing him with “vexatious” claims, and said Mr Farage had stabbed him in the back for daring to push internal reforms.
Ben Habib, former deputy leader, backed him and blasted Mr Yusuf’s handling of the row, accusing Mr Farage of running Reform like a dictatorship.
But despite the power struggles the party is still riding high in the polls, extending a double-digit lead over second-place Labour.
Reform also swept to victory in May’s local elections, gaining almost 700 councillors.
