From 'Brexit bad boy' to ex-Tory, inside the race to replace Zia Yusuf as Reform UK rules add major plot twist

It's undoubtedly a blow to the party that sits in pole position in the majority of polls.

Yusuf had previously been working on the party's new Elon Musk-style "department of government efficiency" (Doge) unit, looking at cutting spending in councils where the party is in control.

Voices in the party had praised Yusuf's role in having professionalised Reform, ramping up recruitment and making it run in a more corporate way.

However, critics accused him of butting heads with members and "struggling with relationships and people".

These internal divisions burst into public view on Wednesday after the party’s newest MP, Sarah Pochin, pressed the prime minister on whether he would consider banning the burqa, calling the question “dumb”.

Yusuf, a Muslim, resigned as chair of Reform the following day after criticising Pochin's controversial intervention, calling it “dumb”.

The timing was not lost on GB News political editor Chris Hope, who pointed out that voters were heading to the polls in Scotland in a by-election that would prove to be a bellwether for the party north of the border.

He said: "If you're going to quit as chairman, you do it the day after people are voting in a major test of your attractiveness to the polling public."

So, who might replace him?

Under the party's constitution, "The offices of Party Leader, Deputy Leader, Party Treasurer, Party Secretary, Party Chairman, Vice Chairman and General Secretary shall each be held by a different individual."

This quietens the chatter around Reform MP Richard Tice throwing his hat in the ring.

Here are some of the frontrunners to replace Yusuf in the role of Reform chair.

Arron Banks

Brexiteers will need no introduction to Arron Banks, who has already been tipped as one of the main candidates to replace Yusuf.

Banks co-founded Leave.EU with future-Reform leader turned deputy leader Richard Tice in July 2015.

Previously one of the largest donors to the UK Independence Party (Ukip), Banks recently was Reform's candidate to become the mayor of the West of England Combined Authority, losing to Labour's Helen Godwin by just under 6,000 votes.

Banks posted on social media last night: "Astonishing that everyone thinks they are responsible for the meteoric Reform rise, as the old saying goes, success has many fathers and failure (is) an orphan.

"Zia worked very hard but struggled with relationships and people. The corks will be popping in party HQ this evening. Reform will power on..."

Nick Candy

The current treasurer of Reform, Nick Candy had previously pledged to raise more than £40million in donations for the party.

The 51-year-old, whose wife, singer Holly Valance, flirted with standing for Reform UK in the 2024 General Election, joined the Tory Party in 2009 and donated more than £270,000 to the Conservatives between 2020 and 2022 alone.

Candy, alongside leader Nigel Farage, made headlines after being pictured with billionaire Elon Musk, raising speculation that the Tesla CEO would donate to the party.

He said the tech tycoon would be willing to help the party, saying: "I don’t want to go too much into the personal side of it...But he, I think, would like to help Nigel and Reform and myself."

However, the relationship between Reform and Musk would fall apart after the X owner called for Farage to stand down as leader, saying he "didn't have what it takes."

Andy Wigmore

Andy Wigmore worked behind the scenes in the 2016 Referendum as director of communications for Arron Banks and Leave.EU.

The self-proclaimed "most handsome of the Brexit bad boys" has been a key Farage ally over the last decade, working with Banks and the then Ukip leader.

Political analysts have dubbed him one of the key figures in convincing the UK to vote to leave the European Union in 2016.

Last night, Wigmore retweeted a post on social media from former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie, who said: "This is Nigel Farage’s party. Chairmen come and go. It’s the price of having the most significant political leader since Thatcher."

Ann Widdecombe

Reform UK's Immigration and Justice spokeswoman and former MEP is not shy to the public eye.

Widdecombe previously played herself in an episode of Doctor Who in 2007, finishing 6th in the 2010 series of Strictly Come Dancing, and taking part in the 2018 series of Celebrity Big Brother where she was runner up to Aussie drag queen Courtney Act.

She has navigated the British political system for decades, having served as the Minister for Employment and Justice under John Major in the mid-90s.

David Bull

David Bull, the former MEP and deputy leader is another Conservative who flipped to Nigel Farage's party.

The TV presenter and commentator stood for Reform in disgraced former Health Secretary Matt Hancock's West Suffolk seat at last year's general election, finishing third behind the Tories' Nick Timothy.

Sources in the party dubbed Bull as the "Darling of the membership" and could be seen as a unifier for the party, reports Guido Fawkes.