Reform members will soon be able to remove Farage if they wish

Reform UK members will soon have the ability to remove Nigel Farage as leader if they wish to do so, the party’s chairman has said.

Zia Yusuf confirmed Reform is working on a formal constitution which will democratise and professionalise the party.

Reform was registered with Companies House in 2018 and Mr Farage owns 53 per cent of shares in the company, with Richard Tice, his deputy, owning 33 per cent.

Asked about its current structure, Mr Yusuf told GB News: “We will change that. And let me be clear, Nigel Farage and Richard Tice have been on the record multiple times before the election and after the election saying yes, of course, that will change.

“The history here if you know the history for example for Ukip, that unfortunately turned into an ungovernable circus, to put it kindly. So we can only do one thing at a time.

“We, of course, understand that members need to be given a democratic set of rights in our constitution…

“That constitution is an incredibly important document. We are chartering a course to be a party of government in 2029.

“So that document must be fit for purpose today, for the next year, but also for when we’re in government, so we have to get that document right.”

Pressed on whether the constitution will allow members to remove their party leader if they wished to do so, Mr Yusuf replied: “Of course it will.”

He added: “We have some of the finest legal minds in the country working day and night, round the clock like most of our team, to draft the document.

“Nigel and Richard have been really clear that that’s going to be a priority for us after the election, and that’s what we’re working on.”

Mr Farage has previously vowed Reform will “democratise over time”. Parties are usually formed as unincorporated associations, with memberships, rather than corporate entities.

In practice, the MP for Clacton is unlikely to face any form of mutiny from his members.

A YouGov poll conducted in June after his return to the political fray found 94 per cent of Reform supporters have a favourable view of Mr Farage.

A survey earlier this month found 25 per cent of the public is favourable towards Mr Farage, while 67 per cent hold an unfavourable view of him.

‘No longer a pressure group’

Earlier this week, Ben Habib, a former co-deputy leader of Reform, said that he was worried about the future of the party and warned it must be properly democratic.

He argued it was not healthy for Mr Farage to have “absolute control” as a majority shareholder, telling Times Radio: “I fear for the future of Reform UK, if it isn’t properly democratised.

“You can’t stand for a democratic entity, that is the United Kingdom, [and] celebrate and champion that democracy, if the party through which you wish to do it isn’t itself democratic.”

Mr Yusuf, who became Reform’s chairman last month, said that the party was “no longer a pressure group” and instead a “serious force” after winning more than four million votes at the general election.

“We are going to be a formidable force in British politics,” he added. “We are going to be durable and we are going to be here to stay.

“We are going to be using modern technology and most importantly we are going to be hoping to manifest and convert all that energy and support into victory at the ballot box.”