Reform UK's top donor made party chairman

AN ASIAN-ORIGIN businessman who was Reform UK’s biggest election campaign donor has now been made its chairman, The Telegraph reports.

Zia Yusuf has replaced Richard Tice as the chairman of Reform and vowed to build the party infrastructure and increase its membership.

Tice will now be his deputy, and the erstwhile deputy leader Ben Habib has been ousted from the role.

The 37-year-old businessman, who co-founded a luxury concierge app and sold it for £233 million last year, donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the far-right party last month.

Though Reform UK did not disclose the precise amount Yusuf has contributed, but claimed it was the biggest donation of their general election campaign.

“I will bring all my expertise, energy and passion to the role to ensure we achieve our mission of returning Great Britain to greatness,” Yusuf said.

Party leader Nigel Farage held a meeting with Yusuf and Tice on Wednesday and they decided to restructure the party.

Ben Habib wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “I have just been informed by Nigel Farage that Richard Tice is taking over as deputy leader of the party. Consequently, I no longer hold that position. I am considering my position more generally in light of this change.”

He also said he had concerns regarding the party's control and decision-making processes

Reform won five seats during the general elections and Lee Anderson has been made the chief whip of the party.

Farage campaigned on a platform of stricter immigration controls and introduction of a tax forcing employers to pay an increased National Insurance rate for every foreign employee.

The party plans to set up branches around the country, formalise local groups to prepare for the 2029 election.

Farage has said he would build on the “bridgehead” he obtained last week and ultimately wants to challenge Labour in the next general election.

Yusuf too shares Farage's hardline approach towards illegal Channel crossings and feels it is an affront to those who legally migrated to the UK.

He felt that Britain can be an amazing country, but lamented that "we have completely lost control of our borders.”

Yusuf was born in Scotland and later his family moved to the south of England.

He intially worked at Goldman Sachs and later set up a conceirge app with an old school friend.