Zia Yusuf, a self-described ‘British Muslim patriot’, leaves a celebration accused of fuelling Islamophobia after 11 months.
The Muslim chairman of the UK’s radical right-wing Reform UK social gathering has give up after denouncing a name from inside social gathering ranks to ban the burqa as “dumb”.
“I now not consider working to get a Reform authorities elected is an effective use of my time, and hereby resign the workplace,” Zia Yusuf introduced on X on Thursday, hours after hitting out at Reform UK lawmaker Sarah Pochin for asking Prime Minister Keir Starmer whether or not his authorities would think about banning the burqa.
Pochin gained her seat in a by-election final month that noticed the anti-immigration social gathering, a few of whose members have been accused of Islamophobia, make important positive factors in a political panorama historically dominated by the governing Labour Social gathering and the opposition Conservatives.
The brand new lawmaker had urged Labour’s Starmer throughout her debut look at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday if he would think about the transfer “within the pursuits of public security”, based on the BBC.
“I do suppose it’s dumb for a celebration to ask the PM if they might do one thing the social gathering itself wouldn’t do,” Yusuf stated on X amid an ensuing flare-up over whether or not banning the burqa ought to be social gathering coverage.
Yusuf, a former banker and self-described “proud British Muslim patriot”, turned Reform UK chairman after final 12 months’s normal election, having jumped ship from the Conservative Social gathering.
Reform UK, led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, gained 4 parliamentary seats in a breakthrough outcome final 12 months, happening to achieve a fifth parliamentary seat, its first mayoralty and quite a lot of council seats in native elections final month.
It at present leads nationwide opinion polls, forward of the Labour Social gathering.
Farage stated on X that Yusuf was “an enormous think about our success on Could 1st and is an enormously gifted particular person”.
Divisions within the social gathering’s higher ranks have been made public earlier than.
In March, Reform referred one in every of its lawmakers, Rupert Lowe, to police over quite a lot of allegations, together with threats of bodily violence towards Yusuf.
Prosecutors later stated they might not convey expenses towards Lowe, who was suspended by the social gathering.