The resignation of Zia Yusuf as Reform UK's chairman matters because he was a central character in the stand out trend in British politics since the general election – the rise and rise Nigel Farage's party.

Racist and anti-Muslim abuse on social media has been blamed by Reform UK insiders for Zia Yusuf’s shock decision to quit as party chairman. Yusuf plunged Nigel Farage’s party into fresh turmoil on Thursday night when he posted on X that he no longer believed that “working to get a Reform government elected” was “a good use of my time”.