
Nigel Farage promises Musk-style cuts and an end to working from home
Nobody working for a council under Reform's control will be allowed to work from home, Nigel Farage has said, as he vowed to set up a Doge-style unit in each authority.
The Reform UK leader promised to emulate across local government in England Elon Musk's drive to cut federal spending in the United States through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
Farage, whose party has control of ten councils after picking up hundreds of local seats, told workers in Durham, where Labour was previously the biggest party, that those with jobs relating to climate change or diversity or who work from home 'all better really be seeking alternative careers very, very quickly'.
Experts have suggested there is next to no fat left to cut
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BBC News
20 minutes ago
- BBC News
Richard Tice denies Reform UK in chaos after Zia Yusuf returns
Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice has insisted the party knows "exactly what it is doing" following a 48 hours in which its chairman Zia Yusuf resigned, before returning in a different Thursday, Yusuf dramatically quit, saying in a social media post that trying to get the party elected was not "a good use of my time".However, two days later he said he would be coming back to lead the party's unit tasked with identifying spending cuts at councils, which is inspired by the US Department of Government told BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that chairing the party was "a tough, brutal job" and Yusuf was "essentially exhausted" after 11 months in the role. "It's a massive job, and as we were growing incredibly fast - essentially that job was too much for one person, so we're reorganising."I'm delighted that Zia is staying with the party and he's going to be focusing on our Doge unit." Yusuf announced his initial decision to quit in a social media post but did not expand on his reasons for leaving. However, it came shortly after he criticised Sarah Pochin - Reform's newest MP - who used her question at Prime Minister's Question to ask if the government would ban the burka, a veil worn by some Muslim women that covers their face and body. Asked about Pochin's intervention on X, Yusuf - who is a Muslim - said: "Nothing to do with me. Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn't policy. "Busy with other stuff. I do think it's dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do."Announcing his decision to return to the party on Saturday, Yusuf said his initial resignation was "born of exhaustion" following "11 months [of] hard work and exhaustion".Party leader Nigel Farage said Yusuf had been subject to "pretty vile abuse" adding: "He overreacted to it and he admits himself it was a mistake."The Liberal Democrats said Reform UK were playing "musical chairman" while Labour characterised the events as a "humiliating hokey-cokey".Asked if it made the party look chaotic, Tice said: "No, we know exactly what we're doing."He continued: "Zia was essentially exhausted because he'd been working 24/7 for the last 10 or 11 months voluntarily."There's high pressure, it's a big, tough, brutal job chairing a fast growing political party. But it's great news he's with us, on we go."The party is expected to appoint a new chairman and deputy chairman next week.


The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Zia Yusuf's return to Reform UK ‘great news', says deputy leader
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has said it is 'great news' that Zia Yusuf is returning to the party just 48 hours after quitting as its chairman, adding he has 'done a brilliant job in growing the party'. Mr Yusuf said his decision to stand down had been the result of 'exhaustion' and working for 11 months 'without a day off'. Party leader Nigel Farage, speaking to the Sunday Times newspaper alongside Mr Yusuf, said the former chairman will now effectively be doing 'four jobs', though his title has not yet been decided. He will lead Reform's plans to cut public spending – the so-called 'UK Doge', based on the US Department of Government Efficiency which was led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. The ex-chairman will also take part in policymaking, fundraising and media appearances. Mr Yusuf said he was quitting Reform following the latest in a series of internal rows, in which he described a question to the Prime Minister concerning a ban on burkas from his party's newest MP as 'dumb'. On Sunday, it was put to Mr Tice that it does not look very professional for Reform's chairman to be in, out, then back in again. He told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'Zia Yusuf has done a brilliant job in growing the party, creating huge infrastructure, over 400 branches, but it's a massive job and as we were growing incredibly fast, essentially that job was too much for one person, so we're reorganising, and I'm delighted that Zia is staying with the party, and he's going to be focusing on our Doge unit. 'There is so much waste you've been talking about, how does the Government find more money? 'Well, the best thing is to stop wasting money. I'm afraid, what we're discovering as we look under the bonnet of the 10 councils that we are now in control of, is there's waste everywhere, and it's got to stop. 'That's what Zia is going to focus on, as well as fundraising. So it's great news he's with us.' Meanwhile, shadow home secretary Chris Philp called Reform UK a 'protest party' and said it is offering 'populist policies that are essentially Liz Truss on steroids'. Asked if it is time for the Conservatives to think about a more constructive approach to Reform, he told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: 'Nigel Farage is saying he wants to destroy the Conservative Party, which makes it quite difficult to work together. 'I mean, they're all essentially a protest party. 'You just asked about Liz Truss… they're offering populist policies that are essentially Liz Truss on steroids.' Announcing his resignation on Thursday afternoon, Mr Yusuf said: 'I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.' Mr Yusuf said he had been left feeling undervalued by some in the party and drained after being subjected to relentless racist abuse on X, and that he made the comments in 'error'. He added: 'I spoke to Nigel and said I don't mind saying I made an error. It was a function of exhaustion.' Asked about the row over talk of banning the burka, Mr Yusuf said he 'certainly did not resign because I have any strong views about the burka itself' but felt blindsided by Sarah Pochin's question to Sir Keir Starmer. He said: 'If there were a vote and I was in Parliament, I would probably vote to ban it actually,' but that 'philosophically I am always a bit uneasy about banning things which, for example, would be unconstitutional in the United States, which such a ban no doubt would be'.


The Independent
36 minutes ago
- The Independent
Kemi Badenoch says employers should be able to ban burqas in the workplace
Employers should be able to ban burqas in the workplace, Kemi Badenoch has argued, further inflaming the row over the issue ignited by Reform UK last week. The Conservative leader also claimed she wouldn't let people into her constituency surgeries if they wore face veils, saying she has 'strong views about face coverings'. However, she argued there were bigger issues around integration in Britain that should be addressed before legislating on face coverings. It comes after a row over calls to ban the burqa triggered a spat within Reform UK, and led to party chairman Zia Yusuf quitting his role and then returning to party leadership less than 48 hours later. 'If you were to ask me where you start with integration – sharia courts, all of this nonsense sectarianism, things like first-cousin marriage – there's a whole heap of stuff that is far more insidious and that breeds more problems', she told The Telegraph. 'My view is that people should be allowed to wear whatever they want, not what their husband is asking them to wear or what their community says that they should wear... 'If you come into my constituency surgery, you have to remove your face covering, whether it's a burka or a balaclava. 'I'm not talking to people who are not going to show me their face, and I also believe that other people should have that control. Organisations should be able to decide what their staff wear; it shouldn't be something that people should be able to override.' But Mrs Badenoch added: 'France has a ban and they have worse problems than we do in this country on integration. So banning the burka clearly is not the thing that's going to fix things.' Mr Yusuf announced plans to quit as chairman after describing the party's newest MP Sarah Pochin – who won last month's Runcorn and Helsby by-election– as 'dumb' after she challenged Sir Keir Starmer over the legality of women wearing the burqa in the UK during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. In a statement, Mr Yusuf – who is a practicing Muslim - said he no longer believes 'working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time'. But speaking to The Times on Saturday alongside Mr Farage, Mr Yusuf said his decision to quit was an 'error'. 'When I pushed that tweet out it was a coming together of a bit of exhaustion and a feeling that all I got in return for it was abuse', he said. 'I was doing so many things, in the foreground and in the background. Anybody who has been part of a high-growth start-up outside of politics will sympathise and empathise with that. 'What has happened since then is that I've been inundated with messages from Reform members and supporters, who were saying they were devastated and heartbroken and asking me to really reconsider my decision.' The ex-chairman also clarified that he 'did not resign because I have any strong views about the burqa itself.' But he admitted that he felt blindsided by Ms Pochin's decision to ask about a ban at PMQ's, saying it was an 'internal miscommunication issue'. While Mr Yusuf's formal title has not been decided, he is expected to lead Reform's Elon Musk-inspired Doge unit, modelled on the Department of Government Efficiency set up by Donald Trump in the US. Reform's Doge UK team was set up to identify spending cuts in councils the party now controls and was formally launched this week. Mr Yusuf will also oversee some aspects of policymaking, fundraising and media appearances for the party. A new party chair is expected to be appointed next week and a deputy chair will be hired too.