Brexit cheerleader Farage appointed Zia Yusuf as home affairs spokesman
\n LONDON
\nHard-right anti-immigration party Reform UK said Tuesday that Conservative defector Robert Jenrick will be its finance spokesman, as leader Nigel Farage announced policy portfolios for his top team.
\nBrexit cheerleader Farage appointed Zia Yusuf, who had been the party\u2019s head of policy, as home affairs spokesman and deputy leader Richard Tice to a new role combining business, trade and energy policy.
\nThe announcements follow Reform \u2014 which only has eight MPs in the 650-seat House of Commons \u2014 leading in polls for the past year and with the under-fire Labour government beset by crises and missteps.
\nThe next general election is not due until 2029. But Reform and other opposition parties are eyeing a by-election this month for a parliamentary seat and local polls on May 7 to ratchet up the pressure on center-left Labour.
\n\u201cWe are the voice of opposition to this government, and so it\u2019s time for the party to take the next step,\u201d Farage said at a London event unveiling his picks for the new roles.
\nThe 61-year-old \u2014 whose Euroskepticism and anti-immigration stances have proved increasingly popular in recent years \u2014 insisted his party now has \u201cits own identity.\u201d
\n\u201cReform has its own senior characters, with their own departments to lead,\u201d he added, branding his top team a \u201cshadow cabinet\u201d \u2014 a term formally reserved in British politics for the main Conservative opposition.
\nReform \u2014 founded in 2021 from the ashes of Farage\u2019s Brexit Party \u2014 has in recent months lured lawmakers away from the Tories, while racking up sizeable donations.
\nIn December, Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor and aviation entrepreneur Christopher Harborne gave it \u00a39 million ($12 million).
\nHowever, several recent polls have shown the party\u2019s popularity potentially plateauing, while Farage\u2019s own disapproval ratings have risen.
\nThe latest YouGov weekly voting intention survey showed Reform on 24 percent and its lead over Labour down to five points. The pollster also recently found 64 percent of respondents viewed Farage unfavorably. That was up from 59 percent last June. In another sign of possible shifting sentiment, betting company Ladbrokes said Monday that, for the first time since last May, Reform were no longer favorites to win the most seats at the next general election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brexit cheerleader Farage appointed Zia Yusuf as home affairs spokesman LONDON Hard-right anti-immigration party Reform UK said Tuesday that Conservative defector Robert Jenrick will be its finance spokesman, as leader Nigel Farage announced policy portfolios for his top team. Brexit cheerleader Farage appointed Zia Yusuf, who had been the party\u2019s head of policy, as home […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-531956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n