One of the most senior figures in Reform U.K., Britain’s anti-immigration political party, unexpectedly resigned on Thursday after fresh infighting broke out within the insurgent political force led by Nigel Farage.
The sudden departure of Zia Yusuf, Reform’s chairman, is a blow to the party, because he was responsible for the crucial task of helping the relatively new party build its structure.
His resignation comes after Mr. Yusuf, a millionaire businessman who has described himself as “a British Muslim patriot,” criticized Reform’s newest member of Parliament, Sarah Pochin, who on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to ban the burqa.
Mr. Yusuf, 38, characterized her comments as “dumb” because they did not align with the party’s official policy outlined at the last general election.
Not all senior figures in the party agreed with him, however. Reform’s chief whip, Lee Anderson, wrote on social media: “Ban the burqa? Yes we should.” He added, “No one should be allowed to hide their identity in public.”
In a statement posted on social media, Mr. Yusuf did not give a reason for his decision, saying only that “I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.”
He also said that in his 11 months as Reform’s chairman, the party had more than doubled its support in national polls, quadrupled membership “and delivered historic electoral results.”
That was a reference to the sweeping gains the party made in last month’s municipal, mayoral and a special parliamentary election.
Reform, which won 14 percent of the vote in last year’s general election, has recently surged in opinion polls, overtaking both Mr. Starmer’s governing Labour Party and the opposition Conservatives. But as a newer party, Reform is basically starting from ground zero. Mr. Yusuf has been leading the effort to open local party branches across the country to plan campaigning and target key voters; recruiting and vetting candidates to run for election; boosting membership; and improving fund-raising.
In the past, parties led by Mr. Farage, one of the leading campaigners for Brexit, have proved prone to internal divisions. The resignation of Mr. Zia comes after the departure this year of another Reform lawmaker, Rupert Lowe, who was forced out after an acrimonious battle. Reform said then that it had referred Mr. Lowe to the police for allegedly making “threats of physical violence” against Mr. Yusuf. Mr. Lowe strongly denied the allegations, and no charges were filed against him.
There have been recent hints of more tensions at the highest levels of Reform U.K., but in a BBC profile of Mr. Yusuf that was broadcast in May, Mr. Farage had high praise for him as a possible future leader, saying that he welcomed the rise of the party’s chairman.
“The last person who would be concerned about much younger talent coming through with potential leadership abilities is me,” Mr. Farage said in the profile, predicting that Mr. Yusuf would run for Parliament as a member of Reform in the next general election.
In a social media post on Thursday, Mr. Farage said he was “genuinely sorry that Zia Yusuf has decided to stand down.” He also praised his track record and described him as “an enormously talented person.”
He added: “Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough. He is a loss to us and public life.”
Stephen Castle is a London correspondent of The Times, writing widely about Britain, its politics and the country’s relationship with Europe.
The post Reform U.K.’s Chairman Quits Amid New Infighting appeared first on New York Times.
