Zia Yusuf's return to Reform UK ‘great news', says deputy leader
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Farage: We'll reopen steel blast furnaces if we win in Wales
Nigel Farage will vow on Monday to reopen Port Talbot's blast furnaces, placing the return of traditional steelmaking at the heart of his campaign to win next year's Welsh elections. The Reform leader will use a speech in the southern Welsh town to decry the collapse of the steelmaking industry and question the strategy being adopted by Labour. It is the latest attempt to outflank Labour on the Left and further build on Reform's surge of popularity, which has sent it surging to the top of UK opinion polls in recent months. Mr Farage believes his party has a chance of winning the Welsh Parliament elections next spring, in what would be a seismic result given Labour's long-held dominance across the border. The speech is an attempt to draw a line under party feuding that led Zia Yusuf to quit as Reform's chairman on Thursday, only to reverse his decision and return on Saturday. Mr Yusuf now has four responsibilities, including leading the party's 'Doge' spending efficiencies project, named after tech billionaire Elon Musk's drive to slash bureaucracy in America. A new chairman to accompany Mr Yusuf will be unveiled on Tuesday. His role has now been split in two, with a new deputy chairman also taking on some of Mr Yusuf's old responsibilities. The Port Talbot plant was, until recently, the UK's largest steelmaker, but Tata Steel, the Indian firm that runs it, announced last year that the remaining blast furnaces would be closed, leading to the loss of up to 2,800 jobs at the site. The blast furnaces are being replaced with an electric arc furnace, which will produce less steel but in a more eco-friendly way. It will not be fully operational until 2028. Mr Farage is expected to say that he wants Port Talbot's blast furnaces to reopen in the long run, while admitting the outcome is not easy to achieve. While exploring options to viability, it is understood that Mr Farage will indicate that, if necessary, he is open to nationalisation, were Reform in power. Mr Farage's spokesman said: 'Nigel will say it's our long-term ambition to reopen the blast furnaces, not the electric arc ones, as we don't believe they will ever be online due to sky-high electricity prices. '[Mr Farage] will talk about the heritage of Wales, with Port Talbot Steelworks once being the largest steel plant in Europe, and also Wales, which once produced almost 60 million tons of coal per year, exporting half. The spokesman added: 'South Wales alone was the biggest coal exporter in the world. The Cardiff Coal Exchange set the global price for steam coal. Swansea once smelted most of the world's copper. Merthyr Tydfil was the world's largest producer of iron.' The spokesman added: 'Basically, Nigel will tap into the hearts and minds of a deeply patriotic nation that feels betrayed and forgotten about by Labour.' Working-class voters Mr Farage's trip to Wales underscores how he sees the next milestone in his party's surge in support coming first in the country's parliamentary elections in May 2026. Elections will also be held for the Scottish Parliament next year. Reform insiders were left buoyed at getting one in four votes at the Hamilton by-election last week, despite coming third. Mr Farage's embrace of Port Talbot's steelmaking past is the latest sign that he is adopting an economic agenda deliberately designed to grab political territory vacated by Labour. The Reform leader called for the nationalisation of British Steel earlier this year, weeks before government ministers announced the move. He has also called for the two-child benefit cap to be lifted and for the cut to winter fuel payments for pensioners to be reversed in full, aligning himself with many Labour MPs. Both measures have since been adopted by the Government. The focus on economic interventionism has seen him position the party to the Left on these matters with Sir Keir Starmer's party, as Reform targets disillusioned working-class voters. Andy Haldane, the former Bank of England economist, said that Mr Farage had become a 'tribune' for the views and frustrations of working-class Britons. Mr Haldane told The Guardian: 'What is certainly true is Nigel Farage is as close to what the country has to a tribune for the working classes. 'I don't think there's any politician that comes even remotely close to speaking to, and for, blue-collar, working-class Britain. 'I think that is just a statement of fact, and in some ways that underscores the importance of the other parties doing somewhat better to find a story, to find a language and to find some policies that speak to the needs of those most in need.'
The Independent
4 hours 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'.
North Wales Chronicle
5 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Zia Yusuf's return to Reform UK ‘great news', says deputy leader
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'.
