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Zia Yusuf

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Zia Yusuf
Yusuf in 2024
Leader of the Reform UK DOGE
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 June 2025
LeaderNigel Farage
Preceded byPosition established
Chairman of Reform UK
In office
11 July 2024 – 5 June 2025
LeaderNigel Farage
Preceded byRichard Tice
Personal details
Born
Muhammad Ziauddin Yusuf

1986 (age 38–39)
Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
Political partyReform UK (since July 2024)
Other political
affiliations		Conservative (until June 2024)
EducationHampton School
Alma materLondon School of Economics (BSc)
OccupationBusinessman and political campaigner

Muhammad Ziauddin Yusuf (/ˈziːə ˈjuːsuːf/; born 1986) is a multi-millionaire British businessman and political campaigner who has served as the leader of the Reform UK Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) since June 2025.[1] He previously served as Chairman of Reform UK from July 2024 until his resignation in June 2025.[2][3]

Early life

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Yusuf was born in 1986 in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.[4][5][6][7] His parents migrated from Sri Lanka to the UK in the 1980s and both worked for the NHS.[8] His father is a doctor and his mother is a nurse.[9]

Yusuf was educated at the boys-only private fee-charging Hampton School in south west London, where he won a 50% scholarship and met his future business partner, Alex Macdonald.[10][11] Yusuf received a BSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics in 2009.[12][13]

Career

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Yusuf worked at Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs after leaving university, specialising in European automotive and defence companies.[14]

His job involved understanding how giant manufacturers such as Fiat, Peugeot, Siemens, Weir Group, Spirex-Sarco Engineering and Airbus worked. He rose to executive director[10] at Goldman Sachs. In 2014, Yusuf and Macdonald founded a luxury concierge company, Velocity Black, of which Yusuf was the CEO.[15][10]

In 2023, Yusuf and Macdonald sold Velocity Black to Capital One for £233 million, and Yusuf made an estimated £31 million.[11][8][6]

Politics

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Yusuf (right) with David Frost, Baron Frost in 2025

Yusuf first met Nigel Farage at a cocktail party hosted by the Eurosceptic millionaire Stuart Wheeler.[16] After selling his business in 2023, he subsequently turned to politics and became the largest donor to Reform UK in the run-up to the 2024 general election.[15][17]

In June 2024, Yusuf spoke at a Reform UK rally, at the NEC in Birmingham. On 11 July 2024, he succeeded Richard Tice as Chairman of Reform UK.[15] Despite a major donation to Reform UK in June 2024 and his appointment as party chair in July, Yusuf was a paid-up member of the Conservative Party, until August 2024. Yusuf did not leave the Conservative Party of his own accord, but rather had his membership revoked by the party after it had been publicly disclosed by The Guardian.[18]

On 7 March 2025, it was reported that Reform MP Rupert Lowe was suspended from the party due to alleged physical threats of violence against Yusuf on "at least two occasions". Lowe said the allegations were "untrue and false".[19] Furthermore, Lowe alleges that Yusuf may have forced him out of the party for "talking too much about 'mass deportations'".[20]

On 5 June 2025, Yusuf resigned his position as Chairman of Reform UK, stating on X (formerly Twitter): "I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office."[21] It came hours after Reform MP Sarah Pochin called for a burqa ban, which led to a statement by the Reform leadership that it was not party policy.[22][23] Yusuf said he had not been informed of Pochin's plans to call for a ban and said it was "dumb" for her to call for a measure which went against Reform policy.[22][24]

Two days later on 7 June 2025, Yusuf reversed his resignation following discussions with party leader Nigel Farage. He acknowledged that stepping down had been a hasty decision made in frustration. Upon his return, Yusuf took on a newly defined executive position, which included responsibilities over policy development, fundraising, media strategy, and leading the party's Department of Government Efficiency – apparently taking inspiration from the department of the same name set up by Elon Musk in the US.[25]

According to Nigel Farage, the reason Yusuf had initially quit was due to regular abuse he had received online. In an interview with Times Radio, Farage said “I think it comes from the very hard extreme right. I have little doubt about that. They're Indian bots. Someone's paying for it to happen. I've no idea who it is.”[26]

Personal life

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Yusuf describes himself as a "British Muslim patriot",[27][6] and observes practices such as fasting during Ramadan.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf reverses decision to quit party". Sky News. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  2. ^ Gutteridge, Nick (7 June 2025). "Zia Yusuf returns to Reform blaming departure on 'exhaustion'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Zia Yusuf returning to Reform UK two days after quitting". BBC News. 7 June 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  4. ^ Cumming, Ed (12 January 2025). "Reform chair Zia Yusuf: 'Boris's immigration changes have fuelled cultural disunity'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Who is Zia Yusuf? The Scottish millionaire chairman of Reform UK". The National. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Mulla, Imran (20 June 2024). "UK: Muslim millionaire becomes largest donor to Nigel Farage's party". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  7. ^ Strick, Katie (5 August 2024). "Zia Yusuf: the Muslim mega-donor who just became Reform's new chair". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  8. ^ a b Whannel, Kate (11 July 2024). "Entrepreneur Yusuf replaces Tice as Reform chairman". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  9. ^ "A Conversation with Velocity Black's Zia Yusuf". Matter of Form. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Shapland, Mark (2 August 2018). "Zia Yusuf at Velocity Black profile: the workaholic who smoothes the way for the rich and famous". Evening Standard. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b Rayner, Gordon (19 June 2024). "Muslim entrepreneur gives Reform biggest donation of campaign". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Zia Yusuf Co-Founder, Velocity Black". Expert Impact. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  13. ^ "LSE Alumni". Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  14. ^ Bow, Michael (4 January 2025). "The former investment banker plotting to put Nigel Farage in No 10". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  15. ^ a b c Quinn, Ben (11 July 2024). "Nigel Farage stirs tensions in Reform UK as he ousts deputies". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  16. ^ Heale, James (4 September 2024). "The 'British Muslim patriot' on a mission to get Farage into No. 10". The Spectator. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  17. ^ Holl-Allen, Genevieve (11 July 2024). "Reform announces donor Zia Yusaf as new party chairman". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  18. ^ Courea, Eleni (8 August 2024). "Reform UK chair was member of Conservatives until last week". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe reported to police over alleged threats against party chair". Sky News. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  20. ^ Walker, Peter (10 March 2025). "Rupert Lowe says Reform forcing him out because he poses threat to Farage". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  21. ^ "Zia Yusuf resigns as Reform UK chairman". BBC News. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Chairman of far-right Reform UK party quits after burqa row". Al Jazeera. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  23. ^ "Zia Yusuf hits back over 'burka ban'". The Spectator. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  24. ^ Morrison, Hamish (5 June 2025). "Reform in chaos as Zia Yusuf brands own MP's burka ban call 'dumb'". The National. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  25. ^ "Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf reverses decision to quit party". Sky News. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  26. ^ Cooke, Millie (7 June 2025). "Ex-Reform chairman Zia Yusuf 'snapped' after a tirade of abuse from 'extreme right', claims Farage". The Independent. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  27. ^ Rayner, Gordon (19 June 2024). "Muslim entrepreneur gives Reform biggest donation of campaign". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  28. ^ Robinson, Nick (8 February 2025). "Political Thinking with Nick Robinson: The Zia Yusuf One". BBC Sounds.
Party political offices
Preceded by Chairman of Reform UK
11 July 2024 – 5 June 2025 		Vacant
Preceded by
Position established
 Leader of the Reform UK DOGE
7 June 2025 – present 		Vacant
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