Mark Hoath, Reform UK's former parliamentary candidate for Sutton Coldfield, has strongly defended Nigel Farage following Zia Yusuf's resignation from the party saying "it was not his doing."
"This is Zia's decision. It's nothing to do with Nigel," Hoath stated, dismissing any suggestion that the Reform UK leader had influenced Yusuf's exit.
Yusuf announced his resignation on X yesterday, stating: "11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I've worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30 per cent, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results."
He continued: "I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office."
Reform UK's Mark Hoath rushed to defend the party leader
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The former chairman, who had served in the role for 11 months as an unpaid volunteer, offered no further explanation for his decision in the social media post.
His brief statement focused solely on his achievements during his tenure and his conclusion that continuing in the position was no longer worthwhile.
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Hoath, said: "If you're referring back to the Rupert Lowe scenario, Rupert Lowe opened that with his article, I think it was in The Telegraph, where he basically had a go at Nigel.
"That's how that started. It wasn't Nigel doing anything. Nigel hasn't forced her out of the party by any means. You saw what Nigel said last night. I believe he's very disappointed in this as well.
"This is Zia's decision. It's nothing to do with Nigel. Nigel certainly hasn't said anything out of turn that he might disagree with.
"Only at the start of this week, he was busy in Kent, obviously uncovering the corruption, etc., at that council. So I don't believe for one minute this is anything to do with Nigel.
"Having met Nigel on a number of occasions, I've always found him very affable, very approachable, and I've never found him to be, shall we say, this picture of somebody that's difficult to work with. I think it's really important that we get that across."
Nigel Farage has denied a fallout with Zia
PAThe resignation came shortly after Yusuf publicly criticised Reform UK's newest MP, Sarah Pochin.
He had called her question "dumb" after she posed it during Prime Minister's Questions earlier this week, in which she called on Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burka.
Just minutes after his X post, Farage reacted to the news, saying Yusuf had "clearly had enough".
Farage posted: "I am genuinely sorry that Zia Yusuf has decided to stand down as Reform UK Chairman.
WATCH: 'He's had enough!' Nigel Farage reacts to Zia Yusuf's departure
"As I said just last week, he was a huge factor in our success on May 1 and is an enormously talented person. Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough. He is a loss to us and public life."
Sarah Pochin has hailed her "great friend and colleague" Zia Yusuf following his resignation on Thursday.
"Zia has been a great friend and colleague during my short time as the MP for Runcorn & Helsby," she said.
"He entered politics for all the right reasons, and his dedication, commitment, and the professionalisation he brought to Reform UK will have a lasting legacy."
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