Reform bigwig suspended after criticising Zia Yusuf

There has been a steady stream of leaks from Reform UK in recent months – many of which focused on Zia Yusuf. Now, the source of said leaks may have exposed themselves. And in the process, he’s found himself suspended from the party:

Guido understands Montgomerie was suspended after being too critical in public, and was informed yesterday. https://t.co/p7Z3KVsUNS

— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) August 18, 2026

Reform UK presumably hoped that the suspension would put a stop to the in-fighting. Early signs suggest it may have sent the troubles into overdrive, however.

Let them fight

If you’re unfamiliar with Tim Montgomerie, he’s the founder of Conservative Home. Despite this, Montgomerie abandoned his beloved Conservative Party to jump on the Reform gravy train support Nigel Farage. Now, he’s found himself on the outs with his new party.

In an interview with the Spectator, Montgomerie was asked the following:

we were told Zia and Jenrick broke bread together the day he crossed over. They were all having a right old time over dinner. It’s all been very smooth. Is that still the case or is it getting more tense, do you think?

Montgomerie answered:

I don’t think it’s the most beautiful relationship there is on earth. Zia did not talk to me for three months when he found out I was involved in bringing Jenrick over. We’re not talking again now. It’s been on and off… I think this might be permanent this time… He’s unfollowed me on Twitter…

He also said, “and then there was that tweet where Zia criticised Jenrick publicly”. When the host said “I don’t know what the thinking was behind that”, Montgomerie responded.

Well, was there thinking or was it just gut instinctive view? I don’t know. But…

There are a lot of people who are on no longer on speaking terms with Zia, and it’s nearly always Zia who initiates this. And it needs to end. You cannot behave like a child in politics.

Uninterested?

Later in the same interview, Montgomerie said:

I don’t think he’s interested so much, actually, in Reform-curious voters. If you try and understand what Zia’s doing, it’s difficult in trying to understand the man. I think if you understand him as… what he does, as he wants to succeed Nigel Farage… almost everything he does makes sense.

Addressing another big issue, Montgomerie said:

He’s completely uninterested, it seems to me, in unwinding Reform’s number one problem, which I think is tactical voting against us. I think he reinforces that.

Montgomerie is completely correct here. As we reported after the Makerfield by-election:

while centre-to-left voters are moving tactically, the far-right supporters are doing the opposite. And in the process, these parties are becoming ever more extreme – all to quiet the chattering of the online rabble rousers who demand the most hard right solution to every problem.

The following graph from Makerfield showed that tactical voting in action:

Politicians like Zia Yusuf and Nigel Farage have relentlessly pursued the politics of division; the result is that people are divided for or against Reform. This means the party has a loyal base, but also that everyone outside that base will vote to keep the party out – whether they rally around a left-leaning alternative or migrate to the harder-right Restore Britain.

Farage’s man in Reform

Speaking about Yusuf’s relationship with Farage, Montgomerie said:

He’s incredibly loyal to Nigel. But it was unprecedented for Nigel to criticise him last week. But did he take down the tweet that Nigel could? No, he wouldn’t.

If you missed this story, the following sums it up:

EXCL: Nigel Farage slaps down Zia Yusuf for branding Ben Wallace a "traitor".

The Reform leader tells @TheSun: "That’s too strong a word. I shall give him a ticking off.

"I’ll speak to him today. But yeah, it’s over the top." https://t.co/XfJqBZFX3H

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— Jack Elsom (@JackElsom) August 11, 2026

Montgomerie later said:

He has consistently freelanced on Twitter on, for example, accepting Conservative candidates like Suella Braverman, attacked Robert Jenrick, even though he knew they were being wooed.

Reform UK’s cracks are showing

The Montgomerie suspension has led to backlash and approval. Mail columnist Dan Hodges saw it as confirmation of the story that Yusuf is driving division in Reform:

This is Reform’s MO now. They just lie, then when the lies don’t work, lash out. Every senior member of Reform knows there are major splits over Zia. Every journalist is Westminster knows there are major splits over Zia. So what’s the point in pretending. Mental.

— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) August 18, 2026

Hodges wasn’t the only one to side with Montgomerie:

So who took this decision? I think we can guess. No surprise. I forecast to Tim on Times Radio last December that he wouldn't last the year as a Reform member. It's hard to see him being reinstated. But he did warn Farage he would say things he wouldn't like. https://t.co/4rgzRsa9rf

— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) August 18, 2026

One might have thought that given how badly Reform has been doing since last October, a bit of debate amongst its members & sympathisers about how it might do things better would be welcome. But apparently not!

— Andrew Lilico (@andrew_lilico) August 18, 2026

Yusuf isn’t without his defenders, though:

Pleased to hear that Tim has been suspended from Reform.

I know he's only a member, but the man hasn't got a clue what he's talking about and has absolutely nothing positive to offer. He's a Tory wet. https://t.co/F7FfLPi4sn

— Lee Harris (@LeeHarris) August 18, 2026

This is the right move, after months of complaints over Tim briefing the media and/or acting as a source attacking Reform's more right-wing or Farage loyalist figures.

You simply cannot have a party member with a large public profile going on Tory press podcasts and slagging off… https://t.co/woi2fSbmQ9

— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) August 18, 2026

Tim Montgomery is out, thank God. Reform are a disciplined party which expects respect for our leaders & support for our core beliefs. Tim attacked like a renegade Tory sent in to disrupt. Good riddance. The Turquoise Army of 300k marches on to Victory! pic.twitter.com/7d1qet4t4I

— Paul Rimmer (@PDRNHPUK) August 18, 2026

The idea that Reform is “disciplined” is certainly funny when you consider the party’s history of chaotic (i.e. racist) candidates:

• Reform candidate suggests ‘melting Nigerians’ to fill potholes.
• Calls for Reform candidate who praised rape of Sikh women to face suspension.
• Another Reform candidate praises Oswald Moseley — A rite of party initiation?
• Reform candidate wants to ‘tear down’ the NHS.
• Reform welcomes ‘shoot the p*kis’ scandal ex-Tory.

Splits

Another person commentating on all this was Don McGowan of the No Holds Barred podcast, who said:

This is actually quite revealing about the Reform UK hierarchy.

It tells us that Zia Yusuf is top dog beneath Nigel Farage and that he seems to have carte blanche in the party structure.

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Montgomery says he brought in Suella Braverman without any say so, and was incredibly angry when Jenrick arrived.

What I am now interested in, is the split that has occurred at the top between Yusuf and Farage.

THAT is where the headlines lie, and that is the eventual collapse of Reform UK entirely.

At this moment, the exact nature of the divide within Reform remains unclear. There is one thing we can conclusively say, however, and it’s that the divide is real. And over time, the split only seems to be widening.

Featured image via the Canary

By Willem Moore

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