Zia Yusuf, the chairman of the far-right Reform UK party, announced his resignation on social media platform X. He pointed to infighting on the party’s position on the burqa as part of the motivation for his departure. His departure comes just 11 months after he assumed leadership. This move came in the wake of the 2024 general election, in which Reform UK gained four seats in parliament.
The controversy ignited when Sarah Pochin, a Reform UK lawmaker, questioned Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the possibility of banning the burqa. Yusuf denounced her comments as out of touch and harmful. He went as far to call the party’s inquiry into the Prime Minister concerning the ban “dumb.” He contended that there was no point in having a party call on the PM to do something that they wouldn’t do themselves.
Yusuf, a self-described “British Muslim patriot” who formerly worked in finance, publicly condemned the internal movement to introduce a burqa ban. He called it a dangerous decision. Additionally, during their vote, he stated that he could not in good conscience support an agenda which he feels incites Islamophobia. Yusuf’s resignation is a powerful indicator of the full-left takeover of the party that has been criticized nationally for its far-right ideologies.
Nevertheless, on the back of its radical policies, Reform UK has fared well in political terms in recent electoral contests. The party started its winning streak by unseating four governing parliamentary seats. It didn’t end there—it wrested a fifth seat and achieved its first mayoralty in the local elections. Nevertheless, debates on hot-button issues like the burqa have exposed rifts in the party’s base and catapulted the identity of the party’s leadership into question.
Yusuf’s decision to resign reflects his growing disillusionment with the party’s objectives. In his resignation announcement he proclaimed that he no longer thinks the effort to elect a Reform government is an effective use of his time. He was right to go, and he then did officially resign from the office.
His tenure was not without challenges. Just last week, this drew the ire of Rupert Lowe, a fellow lawmaker from the Reform UK party. Law enforcement was alerted to charges that he had threatened Yusuf. These events have only exacerbated the party’s internal contradictions.
