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Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf has resigned from Nigel Farage’s rightwing populist party after criticising comments by one of its MPs about burkas, saying that he no longer believes the role is a “good use of my time”.
“11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. 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,” he wrote on X.
“I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.”
Yusuf’s departure came hours after he criticised Reform’s newest MP, Sarah Pochin, for asking the government a “dumb” question about whether it would ban the burka, a type of full-body garment worn by some Muslim women.
Pochin, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, posed the question to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
“I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do,” Yusuf said on X earlier on Thursday.
His comments garnered abusive comments on the social media platform, with people referring to Yusuf’s Muslim heritage.
Yusuf, an entrepreneur and former banker, joined Reform in the summer of 2024 after donating to the party.
He is the latest high-profile exit from the party. Farage and Yusuf had a major public battle with one of Reform’s former MPs, Rupert Lowe, which ended in Lowe’s ejection from the party.
Yusuf is currently one of only two directors of Reform UK alongside Farage, according to Companies House.
