2 days ago
Nigel Farage has yet to prove he can work with others
Two days after quitting after a very public dispute with one of the party's five MPs, former Reform chairman Zia Yusuf is returning to the party to take up a new role, with his exact job title yet to be settled on.
On Thursday, helping Nigel Farage's party continue its remarkable rise was no longer a 'good use' of Mr Yusuf's time; today, it once again appears to be his primary objective.
This will be welcome news for Mr Farage, who was reported to have felt dejected by Mr Yusuf's sudden departure. It is a positive sign, too, that the personality clashes within the party appear to have been put to one side for now.
Peace has broken out over the spat that led to his departure, with Mr Yusuf attributing his decision to a combination of 'exhaustion' and feeling blindsided by the sudden raising of a potential burka ban as a policy issue in Parliament.
The last two days of drama point, however, to a wider issue: Reform is not yet a professional operation on par with the established rivals it seeks to displace.
While the party has made considerable electoral progress in the past year, Reform's institutional structures have lagged behind with repeated embarrassing stories over previous statements made by candidates highlighting in sharp and unforgiving fashion the importance of building back office capabilities to identify, screen and vet candidates to a satisfactory standard.
There is, however, only so much staff can do. The concern for Reform will be that the sudden changes in personnel that have unfolded over the last year – the departure of Rupert Lowe MP, the resignation and return of Mr Yusuf – are mirroring a pattern observed in previous episodes in Mr Farage's political career.
The former UKIP and Brexit party leader is no stranger to clashes with colleagues, and while apparently not directly at fault in this instance there will still be concerns that some elements of the drama around Reform may be integral to his leadership style.
This, rather than the political skill of Sir Keir Starmer or Kemi Badenoch, may prove the greatest obstacle to Reform's ambitions in the years ahead.
While Mr Farage has succeeded in capturing the votes of a large proportion of this country disaffected with Westminster and the traditional parties of government, there is little appetite to return to the squabbling and briefing that marked the dying years of the last Conservative government, or the worst days of New Labour. It is now for Reform to prove it can steer a calmer course.
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