Pity the gloating Lefties. The Zia Yusuf blip just rigged the electoral race with explosives - Ann Widdecombe

Zia Yusuf admits he apologised to Sarah Pochin and Reform UK colleagues after calling burka ban question 'dumb'
GB News
Ann Widdecombe

By Ann Widdecombe


Published: 12/06/2025

- 14:18

Updated: 12/06/2025

- 14:20

OPINION: His brief departure galvanised the hierarchy into making long overdue changes. We now feel stronger than ever

The Scottish by-election result was remarkable. Reform came in third, with only about 1500 votes separating the top three performers. If that performance is sustained, then we shall be seeing Reform MSPs ere long!

It means that Reform’s appeal is not limited to the Red Wall or to England and Wales but is now spread throughout the entire UK, and we do well to remember that, at the General Election, Jim Allister was elected in Northern Ireland on a joint TUV-Reform ticket. And where were the Conservatives in the recent Scottish results? Out of sight.


Reform is heading for power, but it will not be a rose-strewn path, and there will be bumps in the road. It is a measure of the desperation of other parties that whenever Reform encounters a difficulty, they treat it as a sign of terminal decline.

The smallest indiscretion on social media is magnified and used to malign the entire party, yet Labour has seen the conviction of one MP for assault and the suspension of several others for behaviour ranging from brutal WhatsApps to sexual misconduct.

Recently, of course, the cause of their gloating has been the upset caused by the brief departure of Zia Yusuf. It is a mere blip and Reform is cheering the return of a man who has taken us to 235,000 members, control of ten local councils, the setting up of some 400 branches and a by-election victory.

What his departure did was galvanise the hierarchy into making some long overdue changes in HQ organisation, and now we feel stronger than ever.

Zia Yusuf (middle)

Pity the gloating lefties. The Zia Yusuf blip just rigged the electoral race with explosives - Ann Widdecomb

Getty Images

There will be other blips. There is no such thing as a political party that doesn’t have them, any more than there is such a thing as a party which does not have policy and personality clashes from time to time.

There is no such thing as a policy announcement unchallenged by the media. It is all normal, and it is worth noting that throughout the various sagas, Reform has stayed consistently at the top of the polls, and that is what matters.

We are at the top of those polls for one big reason: we represent what most Brits want: control of our borders, lower taxes, the end of the diversity stranglehold, the end of indoctrinating children on trans issues, a genuinely strong defence of the realm, police who police crime and not thought, a return to free speech, the end of profligate spending and waste in the public sector.

Reform’s priorities are Britain’s priorities. Now all we have to do is convince an electorate, that is after all wanting to be convinced, that we can put together a strong enough team to deliver and turn priority into action.

We control ten councils, and they will have to lead the way through the DOGE initiative, which is in turn being led by Zia Yusuf.

If he is as successful in that as he has been in winning elections, then we may expect some startling results, and once we have shown that we can do it at the local level, voters will be more relaxed about entrusting a new party with national government.