Zia Yusuf’s resignation as chairman of Reform UK may be a jaw-dropping moment for those of us on the outside watching Nigel Farage’s continuous rise in British politics. But for the party’s members of staff in Milbank Tower and across the country, his departure is less of a shock.
Just two hours ago the Daily Express published an exclusive report on the growing tensions regarding Mr Yusuf, as he was sidelined from the second most senior role in the party after Mr Farage. It was crystal clear he had essentially been castrated from his chairman role and “shunted” into the ‘DOGE’ campaign, which is focused on highlighting waste in local councils. His party roles were increasingly being filled by Aaron Lobo, an ally of Mr Farage’s from his GB News days whose most public-facing impact has been the introduction of fireworks to the party leader’s high-energy speeches.
While this morning’s row about banning the burqa, sparked by Sarah Pochin’s PMQs yesterday, may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, tensions have been growing for weeks.
He branded her question – or indeed the MP herself – “dumb” in a social media post this morning. It left party comms chiefs scrambling to work out a response.
The fact his post on X was never deleted may suggest he had already had enough before sparking the row.
An insider tells me Mr Yusuf had “been very annoyed for a good couple of weeks as he’s gradually been having his wings clipped”.
Another source close to Nigel Farage breaks cover to report the departure has been a “long time coming”, with Mr Yusuf increasingly finding himself with “no allies”.
They add: “[He] thought he was the boss. Today he found out that wasn’t the case.”
Aaron Lobo’s promotion, which clearly left Mr Yusuf feeling bruised, happened between two and three weeks ago, according to a Reform UK spokesman earlier.
A further sign of problems came just last week, when both Scottish Tory and Labour sources reveal Mr Yusuf was signed up for weeks to represent Reform UK during an evening of TV debates about today’s Holyrood by-election.
He pulled out at the last minute, despite being born fairly near to the seat in question, without any explanation.
Today’s events will once again raise questions about why Nigel Farage appears to fall out with just so many of those close to him in politics.
But we must remember to question whether this will have any cut-through with the public, or whether years of being let down by the establishment parties mean these rows and scandals no longer damage Farage as they once might have.
