A bitter war of words was raging last night between Reform UK and the Conservatives after Nigel Farage’s right-hand man Zia Yusuf was branded ‘a phoney’ over his former links to the Tories.
Conservative sources claimed that Reform’s former chairman Mr Yusuf had only abandoned the Tories when his hopes of being a parliamentary candidate in a safe seat were dashed.
A senior Tory source accused Mr Yusuf of ‘giving up’ on the Tories after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called an early election in 2024 and ruined his candidate hopes.
But last night Mr Yusuf, 38, insisted he had never applied to be a Conservative parliamentary candidate and branded the Tories ‘dishonest clowns’.
Mr Yusuf was at Mr Farage’s side last week at the launch of the party’s flagship ‘mass deportations’ policy on tackling the migrant small boats crisis in the Channel.
Former banker Mr Yusuf is seen as a key figure in Mr Farage’s drive for power despite his shock decision in June to quit as Reform chairman, claiming that getting the party elected was no longer a ‘good use of my time’.
The remark came shortly after Mr Yusuf, a Muslim, had criticised Sarah Pochin, the newly-elected Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby, for urging Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burka.
Just 48 hours after his resignation, he returned to work for the party in a new role – running Reform’s ‘Doge team’, which is modelled on US President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
A bitter war of words was raging last night between Reform UK and the Conservatives after Nigel Farage’s right-hand man Zia Yusuf was branded ‘a phoney’ over his former links to the Tories
Mr Yusuf was at Mr Farage’s side last week at the launch of the party’s flagship ‘mass deportations’ policy on tackling the migrant small boats crisis in the Channel
A senior Tory source accused Mr Yusuf of ‘giving up’ on the Tories after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called an early election in 2024 and ruined his candidate hopes. But last night Mr Yusuf, 38, insisted he had never even applied to be a Conservative parliamentary candidate
However, yesterday the Tories questioned Mr Yusuf’s commitment to Reform by claiming he had given up on the Tories only after his hopes of being a Conservative MP were ended last year.
A senior Conservative source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s a story as old as time. The one who shouts the loudest often has the most to hide.
‘Yusuf is a phoney and a fraud but people in Reform already know that.
‘Now it’s clear this guy joined the Conservatives hoping to become an MP last year then switched when Rishi took him and the country by surprise with an early election. It’s laughable.’
But Mr Yusuf dismissed the Tory claims and produced a ‘warm welcome’ note dated May 2009 from then Tory leader David Cameron to show how long he had previously been a Tory member.
Yesterday the Tories questioned Mr Yusuf’s commitment to Reform by claiming he had given up on the Tories only after his hopes of being a Conservative MP were ended last year. A senior Conservative source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s a story as old as time’
Mr Yusuf dismissed the Tory claims and produced a ‘warm welcome’ note dated May 2009 from then Tory leader David Cameron to show how long he had previously been a Tory member. Mr Yusuf also insisted that ‘I didn’t leave’ the Tories
Mr Yusuf also insisted that ‘I didn’t leave’ the Tories – a reference to the fact his membership was revoked last August after the party learned that he was still a member while also being Reform chairman.
Asked to comment on his Conservative accusers, he replied: ‘What a bunch of dishonest clowns.’
If repeated at a general election, the BMG poll result – for The i Paper – would take Reform from its current four MPs to 400 and put Mr Farage into No 10.
