Ben Habib ridiculed as he is dropped as Reform UK co-deputy leader

Despite having just five MPs, Reform UK has been acting as though it secured far more by announcing Lee Anderson as the party’s chief whip and reshuffling its chairman and deputy leader positions.

After making a dig at former Commons speaker John Bercow in his first contribution in the chamber on Tuesday, two days later Nigel Farage shared that chairman Richard Tice - who he replaced as leader during the general election campaign - would be the party’s new deputy leader, while party donor and former Goldman Sachs executive director Zia Yusuf will become the new chairman.

All of this shuffling has also meant some departures, too, as TalkTV presenter David Bull and former MEP Ben Habib are no longer co-deputy leaders.

And while Bull was delighted to hand over deputy leadership duties to Tice and “concentrate on [his] media career”, Habib took to Twitter/X to be a bit more critical about the party.

He wrote: “I am considering my position more generally in light of this change. I have long held concerns about the control of the party and the decision making processes.

“I will reflect on this. The key for me 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.”

Unlike political parties such as the Conservatives and Labour, which are unincorporated associations, Reform UK is actually a company or an “entrepreneurial political start-up”.

So that means no written constitution or committee to handle party matters, with Farage instead being the company’s director and majority shareholder by owning 53 per cent of the organisation.

Despite this, the party leader has insisted Reform UK will “democratise over time”.

The awkward situation surrounding Habib has since been met with ridicule online.

Although Farage is yet to comment on Habib’s remarks, the former co-deputy leader issued a follow-up statement on Friday in which he thanked those who sent supportive messages after he lost the job.

“In reality it’s not about me. It’s about ensuring our movement is carried forward with integrity. To that I am 100 per cent committed,” he added.

Habib has previously come under fire for comments about migrants crossing the English Channel, suggesting that the UK should “absolutely” let them drown.

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