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Reform UK’s Ben Habib announced Thursday that he is “considering my position” within the party after Richard Tice was appointed deputy leader.
Habib, writing on X shortly before midday, said he had just been informed by party leader, Nigel Farage, that Tice – the former leader, before Farage decided to stand in Clacton and take the reins – was “taking over”.
“Consequently I no longer hold that position. I am considering my position more generally in light of this change,” he wrote on social media, adding that he had “long held concerns about the control of the party and the decision making processes. I will reflect on all of this.”
Habib added that the “key” for him is that Reform UK “stays true to the promises made to the British people. The movement we have created does not belong to us, it belongs to the people. We are obliged and indebted to the British people.”
The Reform Party UK is a private company founded in 2018 with Farage as the majority shareholder. Described by the newly installed MP for Clacton as an “entrepreneurial political start-up”, Reform UK has no traditional membership scheme. With 53% of the shares, Farage has the ultimate power to remove other directors and even dissolve the company.
The newly installed MP for Boston and Skegness, Tice, has a minority holding of around one-third of shares, and chief executive Paul Oakden and party treasurer Mehrtash A’zami each hold less than 7%.
The first comment under Habib’s announcement drawing attention to this unusual structure for a parliamentary party was the director of the Good Law Project, Jo Maugham, who made himself available “if you need legal advice on how to sue Reform UK because it’s the private fiefdom of two very rich men rather than a party of the people we are here for you.” The comment was praised by one user as “first class trolling”.
In other changes announced by Farage, Zia Yusuf – a millionaire Reform donor – was appointed as chairman and Conservative defector, Lee Anderson, was made Chief Whip.
Yusuf wrote on X that it is “an honour” to be appointed as chairman to a party that had, “against all odds” and under Farage’s leadership, won four million votes, and elected five MPs.
“This is just the beginning. The important work of professionalising the party, building national infrastructure and continuing to grow membership has already begun,” he wrote, promising that he would “bring all my expertise, energy and passion to the role to ensure we achieve our mission of returning Great Britain to greatness”.
Farage said the party are aiming to “develop into the only real opposition” and said the appointments are the “first step to ensure that Reform UK is fit and ready to take forward its positive message”.
During the election, more than a dozen Reform candidates were dropped for sharing racist social media posts, the party was caught in an undercover sting making racist slurs and more than 130 ignored Electoral Commission Rules on anonymous donations.
Since, the election on 4 July, the Elections Watchdog has been flooded with complaints over “invisible” candidates.