REFORM UK is leading the opinion polls, and at the centre of its rise is chairman Zia Yusuf.
In February 2025, the insurgent party has topped opinion polls for the first time in its history, marking a dramatic realignment in British politics. The YouGov poll places Reform UK at 25 per cent, ahead of Labour at 24 per cent and the Conservatives at 21 per cent.
At the heart of this political earthquake stands Yusuf, whose journey from City financier to political mover and shaker tells a story of personal reinvention and political transformation.
The son of Sri Lankan immigrants – his father a doctor, his mother a nurse, both in the NHS – Yusuf’s own story embodies the complex intersection of immigration and British identity that now defines much of the national debate. Born in 1986 in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, he attended the prestigious Hampton School in London on a half scholarship.
After a successful career in finance, working as an executive director at Goldman Sachs, he co-founded luxury concierge company Velocity Black in 2014, catering to the ultra-wealthy with experiences like swimming with orcas in Norway. When Capital One acquired the company in 2023 for £233 million, Yusuf's...
