Reform's non-stop psychodrama threatens to drive voters away
Nigel Farage was given just 10 minutes' warning before Zia Yusuf unleashed an earthquake that could shatter Reform UK's electoral fortunes.
The party leader said that after a telephone conversation on Wednesday morning, he thought Mr Yusuf had 'had enough' of politics. But it was on Thursday evening that Reform's chairman resigned in the latest in a series of internal disputes that has begun to distract from the party's electoral success.
As voters were trickling out of polling booths in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election in Scotland, where Reform's position looks strong, Mr Yusuf announced he no longer thought working for the party was a 'good use of his time'.
The barely veiled implication was that he does not believe Mr Farage should be prime minister – a stunning admission from a man who has made putting Reform in Downing Street his single goal since the days after last year's general election.
Mr Yusuf, a successful entrepreneur and millionaire, was hired to professionalise the party's candidate selection, fundraising and day-to-day operations.
Under his leadership, Reform has moved into a plush new Westminster headquarters, won a parliamentary by-election and majorities on 10 English councils, and placed itself in the crosshairs of Sir Keir Starmer.
There was also an almighty row with Rupert Lowe, one of the five MPs Reform voted in at the 2024 election, who fell out with Mr Yusuf and was reported to the parliamentary authorities and police for bullying, which he denies.
Mr Farage backed his chairman and suspended the whip from Mr Lowe in March, and both sides have since sued each other. It proved a bitter row, but one that Mr Yusuf survived.
As recently as Monday, Mr Farage told The Telegraph that while the 38-year-old businessman was 'new to the game', he would 'be around for many, many years to come', and would play a 'significant role in shaping the future of the country'.
The fact that he resigned four days later is a testament to the work Reform still needs to do to become a general election-winning machine.
Reform sources say there has been a dispute in the party for some time over what exactly Mr Yusuf should do in his role as chairman.
As a recent graduate of Britain's business world, he was the obvious choice to lead 'UK Doge', Reform's Elon Musk-inspired efficiency drive in the councils it now runs. But that shift, from running Reform to the 'Doge' role, has led to the rise of another figure, 24-year-old Aaron Lobo, who served as Mr Farage's producer at GB News and has recently become Reform's operations manager.
The divide between the party's political team and Mr Yusuf's more managerial role was laid bare on Wednesday at Prime Minister's Questions, when Sarah Pochin, the newest Reform MP, asked Sir Keir whether he would ban the burka.
Mr Yusuf, who is a Muslim, said he only learnt about the question when he saw it online. He later added he thought it was 'dumb' for a party to ask the Government to endorse policies it did not support.
But it later emerged that other party figures were more open to banning the burka than he expected.
Lee Anderson, the chief whip, said he agreed they should be outlawed, adding: 'No one should be allowed to hide their identity in public.' Mr Farage said the public 'do deserve a debate' about banning religious face coverings. He added, in an interview with GB News, that he had known about the question in advance.
The row was remarkable not just for its contents – which led to accusations of racism from Labour – but because it played out in public.
If Mr Yusuf was in charge of his party, why did he not know what was going on? And why would he respond to his colleagues online, rather than in the office?
Sources close to the party say that Mr Yusuf has become increasingly uncomfortable with the level of scrutiny his dispute with Mr Lowe brought, and had complained that every time he went on a national broadcast channel, he received a deluge of racist abuse online.
On Thursday night, Mr Farage blamed 'alt-Right' abuse of Mr Yusuf online and claimed criticism of him on X had begun to upset him in recent weeks. The Telegraph understands he also found it difficult to bridge the gap between the party's more aggressive wing, once led by Mr Lowe, and attempts to become more moderate to attract disaffected Conservative voters.
Unfortunately for Mr Farage, the incident is only the latest in a series of high-profile rows between the party leader and his senior colleagues. In his remarkable and lengthy political career, the veteran Brexiteer has fallen out with Ukip colleagues Mark Reckless, Douglas Carswell, Godfrey Bloom and Suzanne Evans, and the Reform deputy leader Ben Habib.
Reform already has an uphill battle in convincing voters that it is a credible political force before the next general election.
Mr Farage has done an impressive job in building a party with five MPs into a project with a seven-point poll lead over Labour that has all but killed off the Conservatives. The fact there are now Reform-run councils across the country is a boon.
However, turning Reform's momentum in opposition into the sense it is a party of government will be much harder, and endless rows and resignations will not give voters any confidence on that front.
Plus, if the row over the burka ban is genuinely the reason for Mr Yusuf's resignation, there are also policy questions to be asked. Chiefly, how much does Mr Farage want to rely on migration and race issues for votes? Will he tolerate his party's MPs criticising core beliefs of Muslims in the Commons chamber?
Mr Farage, aided by Mr Yusuf, has come to think about his party as more of a political business than a party in the traditional Westminster mould.
In the early-stage startup world, rows between executives over the direction of their projects are not uncommon – as Mr Yusuf has no doubt experienced.
But stopping the in-fighting and resignations is now a business-critical issue. Reform's psychodrama risks driving voters back to Labour and the Conservatives, at a time when it must maintain its position in the polls or fizzle out.
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