In a prompt about-face, Zia Yusuf has announced that he will be returning to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, just two days after sensationally resigning from his post as party chairman.
Claiming that his decision to quit Reform was one “born out of exhaustion”, Zia Yusuf said Saturday that he “will be continuing my work with Reform, my commitment redoubled.”
According to The Times of London, Yusuf will not be returning as chairman of the party, however, and will instead head up Reform’s DOGE unit to root out waste in the local English councils it now controls, as well as contributing as a policymaker, fundraiser, and public spokesman.
The position of party chairman, which will be split into two positions, one focusing on organisation and the other on public campaigning, will likely be filled next week, the paper reported.
Yusuf’s move to quit the party came shortly after Reform MP Sarah Pochin’s parliamentary question, asking whether the Labour government would consider banning the burqa, as has been done in other European nations like Denmark and France.
Yusuf, a practising Muslim, apparently took umbrage with this, branding the move as “dumb”. However, he told The Times that he did not resign over disagreements about the idea of banning the burqa and said that if he were a member of parliament, he would “probably vote to ban it”.
The spat comes amid questions over Nigel Farage’s ability to build a loyal, nationally-frontrunning party, in the wake of other public fallouts with previously prominent former Reform figures, such as MP Rupert Lowe and ex-party chairman Ben Habib.
Commenting on Yusuf’s return to the fold, Mr Farage said: “I am delighted that Zia Yusuf will head up Reform UK’s DOGE department. He will also assist the party with policy, fundraising and media appearances.
“Zia will continue to be an important part of the team we are building to fight and win the next general election.”
There have also been growing questions about the party’s stance towards immigration. While Reform has committed to ending illegal boat migration and reducing legal immigration to “net zero” per year,
Farage has faced criticism over his previous statements claiming that deporting all illegal immigrants from Britain was “a political impossibility”. However, he has also said that “if people come illegally, they should not be allowed to stay.”
