Reform chairman Zia Yusuf quits after 'burqa ban' row
by Alice Padgett · LBCBy Alice Padgett
Zia Yusuf has resigned as chairman of Reform UK, saying working to get the party elected is no longer 'a good use of my time', after a row over a 'burqa ban'.
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Reform UK's chairman Zia Yusuf has resigned after just 11 months.
He said: "I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hearby resign the office."
It comes as Yusuf said it was "dumb" for Reform MP Sarah Pochin to call on Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burqa.
In a post on X, he wrote: "11 months ago I became chairman of Reform. I've worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30% [in national polls], quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results."
Farage has said he is "'genuinely sorry" for the chairman's resignation.
LBC Debate: Reform's Sarah Pochin calls for burqa ban
Pochin, MP for Runcorn and Helsby, asked if the Prime Minister would ban the burqa. Reform UK immediately said it is not party policy.
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."
A Labour spokesperson said: "If Nigel Farage can't manage a handful of politicians, how on earth could he run a country? He has fallen out with everyone he has ever worked with. Reform are just not serious.
"The Reform chair has done a runner so that he doesn't have to front up Farage's £80 billion in unfunded cuts, which would spark a Liz Truss-style economic meltdown.
"Nigel Farage's plans would put up every single mortgage in the country and hammer family finances, while forcing them to buy private healthcare. Working people simply can't afford the risk of Reform UK."
The Liberal Democrats meanwhile suggested Mr Yusuf was leading Reform's plans to cut public spending - the so-called "UK Doge" - by example.
The cost-cutting plans, which have been rolled out in Kent County Council where Reform won control in May, are based on the Department of Government Efficiency in the US, which was led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper MP said: "By sacking himself, Zia Yusuf seems to be leading the 'UK Doge' by example. You have to admire his commitment to the cause.
"It's already clear Reform UK cannot deliver for the communities they are elected to stand up for. Instead, they have copied the Conservative playbook of fighting like rats in a sack."
On Monday, LBC spoke to Yusuf on Reform UK's plan to send in an Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) unit to look at "wasteful spending" in councils.
He said: "Our commitment to the British people and the people who voted for us was that we were going to bring very competent people in. And this is what our DOGE team are.
"They're extremely competent people. They are working as volunteers to come in and help resolve these issues."
He added: "It is a function of the two old parties having absolutely no appetite, frankly, to change the status quo."
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.
Journalist Khadija Khan said it is the "right time we discus" the issue, describing it as a security and a gender equality concern.
She described the burqa as "not just a piece of clothing" but attired that comes with a "misogynistic ideology" that "denigrates women".
She criticised the "dismissive" Prime Minister for his reaction to the question, adding it was a "shame" he refused to answer and that his indifference was "staggering".
Lila Tamea, a Muslim Yemeni activist opposes the ban saying that "forcing people to uncover something they don't wish to uncover is outright totalitarian".
She added: "Forcing anyone to reveal an item or any area of their body they don't want to is a dangerous move, it's a slippery slope".
She said there is a "lot of nuance" in regards to the definition of the burqa, and that there is a "deep misunderstanding" over the meaning of the veil.
Then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy introduced the ban in France in 2010.
Anyone found wearing the covering in a public space can face a fine of 150 euros (£125). It has since been unsuccessfully challenged in the European courts.
Belgium brought in a similar ban a year later, and other countries including Denmark and Austria have got similar laws.
Switzerland was the latest European country to introduce a prohibition, which started on January 1 this year.