Zia Yusuf

Head of Reform UK's DOGE, former Chairman

In less than two years, Zia Yusuf has gone from a highly successful, private businessman to a figure at the epicentre of British politics. Since selling his luxury concierge company Velocity Black in 2023, he has gradually stepped up his presence in the field. First, he was a Reform donor, then a speaker, and then Chairman for the party, a position he held from July 2024 until earlier this month. Now, he leads the party’s new Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE), pledging to identify and rid wasteful spending by local councils across Britain.

Why did we invite him on?

The story of Reform UK, even in its first act, is a fascinating one. In just a few short years, they have gone from an outsider pressure party to the presumptive opposition, now finding themselves in prime position to assume control in the next election. It’s the British political story of our age, definitive of the changing tides that went unreported for so long.

Still, it’s not been plain sailing. In-fighting, defections, gossip, and instability have, at least to the public, defined the rise of Reform. To the average voter, it provokes serious questions. If they can’t keep their own party together, how can they hope to run the country?

Zia’s story is the latest example. Two weeks ago, he resigned, stating on X that he “no longer believed working to get Reform elected was a good use of his time.” It’s been prospected that the decision was spurred by Zia’s clash with fellow party member Sarah Pochin, who had entertained a burqa ban in parliament earlier in the day (Zia describes himself as a “British Muslim patriot”). It all seemed pretty ugly.
Days later, he was back.

To an outsider, it looks like utter chaos. But what’s the real story?

We wanted to find out, directly from source. But that’s not all. We also wanted to talk about Reform’s rise to prominence, the party’s plans for the future, how the major entities in Parliament have let the country down. We got that, and we got more.

What did we talk about?

Born in Scotland to Sri Lankan immigrants, the establishment media would like you to believe that Zia is an atypical candidate for such a “far-right” party. How could a South Asian Muslim be such a racist gammon? Rather than revising their assumption, they often choose to distort and redefine the terms.

To Zia, there is no contradiction. Rather, it’s his knowledge of how things are elsewhere that inspires him to be protective of Britain - its values, its liberties, and its laws. That, he expects, is what his party will appeal to.

”Most people in this country just want fairness. They don’t care about the colour of your skin, what God you pray to, or if you pray to one.”

The British penchant for fair play is well known, and it’s perhaps why the concept of two-tier policing inspires such venom. Many have accused the British police and associated government entities of punishing more and less harshly for identical crimes depending on the perpetrator’s race and outlook. If true, it’s a scandalous affront to one of the nation’s core principles. But as Zia reveals, many of the people who allegedly benefit from the bias find it just as distasteful.

”If you want a kid to get bullied, get the teacher to give them preferential treatment in front of the other kids. When I talk to Muslims in this country, they [agree] that two-tier policing does no favours for Muslims … If there is a protest that largely involves Muslims, and they’re waving an ISIS flag, the directive given to the police is not to move in immediately. That is quite different to how other ‘groups’ are policed, and that breeds resentment.”