Is Reform UK spiralling out of control as it tries to stay relevant?
Reform UK faces a new schism, after Nigel Farage distanced himself from “traitor” attacks made by Zia Yusuf against a former defence secretary. Has the party’s true nature been exposed from within?
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What’s the story?
Things are looking a little shaky inside Reform UK right now.
In Zia Yusuf’s latest dramatic monologue on social media, the Reform UK ‘spokesperson for home affairs’ has accused former Conservative defence secretary Ben Wallace of being a "moron" and a "traitor".
Yusuf's attack came in response to Wallace criticising Reform’s plans to send foreign criminals abroad to tackle overcrowding in British prisons – causing something of a schism in the party, with Nigel Farage already distancing himself from the accusations.
Before entering politics, Wallace was a long-serving member of the military.
"Reform feels like a party which, at the moment, is spiralling out of control," says Lewis Goodall.
"This is the sort of language which has become more common, certainly in parts of the Reform Party, and from Yusuf himself."
It comes at a tricky time for Reform, with Andy Burnham's Labour surging in the polls, and Nigel Farage now considered the least popular British political party leader, following allegations of financial irregularity during his leadership of Reform.
"Since the 2024 election, Nigel Farage has seen an opportunity where Reform can be catapulted into the lead in British political opinion polling, and can potentially win a general election," says Jon Sopel.
"It needs to win over disaffected Conservative voters who want to see a Reform that's a bit more respectable."
"Zia Yusuf calling a former Conservative defence secretary who
“Wallace, who has served his country and been honoured for his military service, is being called a traitor? Nah, you're not winning friends there, mate."
With online stunts like this, Jon adds, the only people Yusuf appeals to are the far-right, and hardcore X/Twitter users.
Is this more than just a Twitter spat?
Lewis believes the Yusuf attacks on Wallace are indicative of a "wider split" within Reform.
After the 2024 election, Reform successfully shifted its approach to appeal to more centrist voters, but the 2025 departure of Rupert Lowe (who then formed Restore Britain) highlighted the hard-right elements remaining in the party.
"Reform had a maximalist strategy where it was looking to get up to 35% and 38% in opinion polls," Lewis says.
"The danger with this sort of thing from Yusuf, is that it speaks to a party which is cascading out of control and, if it is not careful, will end up in a political death spiral."
The magic of Reform, Lewis adds, may have now expired.
"The thing about insurgent parties like Reform is, in a way, they're a conjuring trick.
"They're very good at casting a spell. They have to convince you they have a sort of unalloyed chain of momentum. It's never going to be broken, it's getting bigger, it's getting more support.
"The moment you stop maintaining that momentum, the moment you start to slide, the moment you start to make mistakes, the spell is broken."
Will Reform's decline push it even harder to the right?
Having tried the "maximalist" approach to its politics, there are concerns now that the decline it has experienced in 2026 may push its members – such as Zia Yusuf – to lean even harder toward the right in an attempt to stay in the spotlight.
"The way that you get attention, in the content era and attention economy we live in, is by being more extreme, by leaning into your worst excesses, which is exactly the opposite of the maximalist strategy, which is where Reform were when they were at their strongest," Lewis says.
That, he adds, is precisely where Reform finds itself in a position where Zia Yusuf is calling a former defence secretary a "moron" and "traitor".
Has Zia Yusuf exposed the true nature of Reform?
Nuance has never been a strong point for any Reform UK MP or spokesperson, but Yusuf's comments about Ben Wallace came heavily laden with political implications.
Speaking to LBC after the online insults, Wallace said the "moron" insult wasn't a problem – but the "traitor" was.
"Traitor is a very loaded charge," he said.
"Traitor carries, by history, a death sentence."
Lewis says Yusuf's biggest "tick" is to unrepentantly link someone being wrong, with being "wicked".
"Yusuf believes politicians like Ben Wallace haven't just made bad decisions; they betrayed you, they betrayed Britain and should face consequences for it," he says.
"He's always talking about 'a reckoning' of some sort if Reform becomes government."
Yusuf's rhetoric shows precisely the sort of leadership the UK could expect, should Reform win a general election with him still playing a role in it.
"It's not just that someone's wrong, it's that they've become an enemy," Lewis adds.
"That becomes a version of betrayal, and then that becomes treason – and this is from the guy who could become Home Secretary."
"Is that what we want? Is that the sort of country we want to be?"