Reform UK is a 'Nigel Farage cult': Former deputy leader speaks out amid burqa ban row

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By Josef Al Shemary

Former Reform UK Deputy Leader Ben Habib told LBC that Nigel Farage is a 'coward', and that he is 'incapable of introspection', saying Reform UK is a 'Nigel Farage cult'.

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It comes after Zia Yusuf resigned as chairman of the party, saying working to get the party elected is no longer 'a good use of my time', after a row over a 'burqa ban'.

While Reform has seen significant gains in national polls since last year's general election, it has suffered from infighting which culminated in MP for Great Yarmouth Rupert Lowe being expelled from the party.

Ben Habib has now told LBC's Ben Kentish that party leader Nigel Farage is 'incapable of reflecting' on why his party has been plagued by internal rows, agreeing that the MP for Clacton is a 'coward'.

"We have to remember that Reform is Farage and Farage is Reform. They're synonymous," he said.

"Like every entity with which Farage has been associated before in his political career, he's never, ever developed a capable, broad and deep team around him. It's always been the Farage Dog and Pony show."

He added: "I'm sure it says to any sane minded individual that he is not prepared to be introspective. He's not prepared to reflect the problem.

"The common thread here in all these difficulties that reform faces is Farage. That's the common thread."

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Habib had his own falling out with his former boss when he was replaced as deputy leader after the General Election in July of last year.

But he has now said that the infighting within Reform shows that Farage might not be ready to govern the country.

"I'm sure Farage is reflecting on how best he can handle the media fallout from the resignation," he said.

He added: "But the real issues are the ones that you've already rhetorically asked the questions of, which is, you know, whether a man who's only got five MPs and can't seem to manage them is going to be capable of creating a cabinet of people to govern the country.

"That's the real issue here. It's not so much about falling out with me, or Rupert Lowe or Zia Yusuf, but what that says about Farage himself."

Zia Yusuf resigned earlier on Friday after Reform MP Sarah Pochin called on Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burqa.

The burqa is a loose-fitting, full-body covering worn by some Muslim women that typically includes a veil covering the face, often with a mesh screen over the eyes to allow for vision.

Yesterday, in the House of Commons Sarah Pochin asked Sir Keir Starmer whether he would be joining countries including France, Denmark and Belgium in banning the face and body covering worn by some Muslim women.

Her question triggered disquiet in the Commons and cries of "shame" from MPs, and Reform UK immediately said it is not party policy to do so.

On Thursday morning, Yusuf said that he thought "it's dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do".

Farage, on Yusuf's resignation, said: "As I said just last week, he was a huge factor in our success on May 1st and is an enormously talented person.

"Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game, and Zia has clearly had enough. He is a loss to us and public life."

Ben Habib said the public disagreement between Pochin and the party leadership made them look "amateurish".

"There should be some self discipline, there should be some processes and checks and balances in the party. There aren't," he said.

"Nigel Farage should be the chief executive organiser, the controller, if you like, of Reform. But he should be setting, like any chief executive, he should be setting a structure up for his organisation that allows it to be governed in a proper way. It isn't. It's just Nigel Farage and a few mavericks."

The Pakistani-British former MEP added that he would not rejoin the party, which he believes was 'more grown up' under its previous leader Richard Tice.

He said: "In the absence of a proper constitution, proper checks and balances and processes and an explanation as to what Nigel Farage and the party stand for, I would not go back.

"No. I need to see a party that's grown up. Frankly, it was much more grown up under Richard Tice, who understood the need to build a broad and deep team of people around him. Farage doesn't see that."