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“I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time.” These were the tart words of Zia Yusuf on X yesterday as he announced he was resigning as Nigel Farage’s right-hand man.
Yusuf’s sudden decision followed the first intervention in parliament by Sarah Pochin, Reform’s newest MP, who was granted a question in PMQs on Wednesday. The first time they’re allowed to stand and speak in the chamber is a big moment for any MP. Pochin chose to use her debut as a chance to ask Keir Starmer if the UK should ban burqas. Yusuf, himself a Muslim, described the question as “dumb” and, within hours, was out the door.
Yusuf has been chairman of Reform for less than year, during which time, he is credited as being the force of professionalisation that delivered last month’s game-changing local election results. That his departure feels so much like the bitter disputes of Farage’s past (the political activities of UKIP and the Brexit party were routinely interrupted by interpersonal warfare) is somewhat ironic. Parveen Akhtar has been watching Yusuf for a while and now says we’ll soon find out if the party will fall to pieces in his wake.
Just before this debacle kicked off, Reform was leading in polls. So we thought it would be a good moment to look at who is actually voting for Reform, and which parties are losing out to them the most.
Meanwhile, in publishing the long-awaited strategic defence review this week, the government has set out a significantly different vision for the UK’s place in the world. The last time this exercise was done was in 2021, in the febrile post-Brexit climate. The result was a bizarre document that bypassed Europe entirely and committed the UK to a nonsensical “Pacific pivot”. This time around, we’re recommitting to Nato and recognising that our closest allies are indeed just over the Channel — and that they’re the ones we’re currently supporting in a war. Nick Whittacker discusses what this pivot towards realism means for the UK’s place in a volatile world.
The review commits the UK to increasing military spending on many fronts, including nuclear weapons and drones. This latter is of course the key to modern warfare — you only have to look at Ukraine’s recent assault on Russian fighter jets to appreciate their power. But this scholar thinks the government is being somewhat optimistic about what autonomous systems are really capable of delivering.
And finally, never keen to be left on the sidelines when there’s squabbling to be done, the Conservatives have entered an exciting new phase in their internal war. This week, shadow chancellor Mel Stride made a huge show of an apology he intended to give on behalf of his party for the actions of former prime minister Liz Truss. What emerged didn’t exactly sound like an apology but the big question is: was it a good idea? Just kidding, it absolutely wasn’t. Here’s Tim Bale to explain why.
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