A key ally of Nigel Farage has teased that the Reform leader could be up for firing his chairman in a bid to bring an end to the party’s civil war.
Raheem Kassam made the shock revelation just ahead of positive polling revealed that Reform could be crowned the winners of the May local elections.
As it stands, Nigel Farage is attempting to put out fires at home ahead of the local elections as the party is expected to make significant gains when swathes of England head to the polls in May.
The latest data run by Electoral Calculus on behalf of The Telegraph have estimated that Reform could grab up to 697 council seats, with the Tories hot on the populist party’s heels with 688 seats.
A key ally of Nigel Farage has teased that the Reform leader could be up for firing his chairman in a bid to bring an end to the party’s civil war
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The Liberal Democrats are expected to take home around 400 seats with Labour trailing behind on 300.
Providing crucial insight into the infighting at Reform UK, Kassam told The Independent: “Farage isn’t a dictator. He’s one of the most reasonable people in politics. He’s moved aside when it made sense, and he’s returned when asked.
“He’s also a meritocrat. If someone comes along who can run the party better than its current chairman, or if a deputy could help augment the work, he’d be all over it.”
He added: “The problem is everyone has his number and any time anyone has a problem in the party they immediately call Nigel, and drag him into their fights. If he doesn’t side with them, or tries to stay neutral, they lash out. I’ve seen it a thousand times.
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“If anything, he needs a militant chief of staff to police his time and keep him above the fray. This is the next Prime Minister we’re talking about now, not the MEP for the South East anymore.
“They need to get his team right and support him wholeheartedly. No one has put more into this movement than him. We owe him our loyalty.”
The simmering tensions between the party leader and Rupert Lowe came to a head last week when Farage suspended the Great Yarmouth MP from Reform UK.
After the “outspoken” MP became laden with allegations of “serious bullying” and of making “physical threats” to party chairman Zia Yusuf, the Metropolitan Police launched a probe into Lowe’s behaviour.
The simmering tensions between the party leader and Rupert Lowe came to a boil last week
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Scotland Yard since confirmed that the investigation would address a “series of alleged threats made between December 2024 and February 2025”.
The rift between the two politicians first became apparent when tech tycoon Elon Musk backed Lowe to overtake Farage’s role as leader of the party in January.
However, just days ahead of his suspension, Lowe gave a damning indictment of Farage’s suitability for Prime Minister, declaring that the ex-Brexit MEP struggles to delegate.
In the bombshell interview for the Daily Mail, Lowe added that his party must cease being a “protest party led by the Messiah” and begin “leading and not merely protesting”.
In response, Farage fired back, saying: “We are not a protest party in any way at all. That is utterly, completely wrong. We are an entirely positive party. Come to any Reform event and the positivity, the energy – perhaps he should come to one or two.”