Who is Ben Habib and why did he leave Reform? Nigel Farage says departure is 'Champagne moment'

Ben Habib has not ruled retired a instrumentality to Reform UK, the enactment helium utilized to co-lead earlier his departure, contempt caller person Nigel Farage bidding him bully riddance.

The brace person traded blows implicit the past twelvemonth and Mr Habib is acceptable to nary longer beryllium a thorn successful the broadside aft declaring helium was leaving entirely.

Here is however we got present and what it means for the aboriginal of the extremist party.

Benyamin Habib, to springiness him his afloat name, was calved successful Pakistan but was privately educated successful Britain and has worked successful finance, security and property.

The 59-year-old antecedently had an engagement successful politics arsenic a Conservative Party donor but his alignment drifted further close connected the backmost of the European Union referendum.

Mr Habib has stated that helium “threw his hat” successful with what was known arsenic the Brexit Party due to the fact that of what helium perceived arsenic failures of the past premier minister, Boris Johnson.

As portion of his caller party, helium became an MEP.

The Brexit Party became Reform UK successful 2021 and helium became co-deputy person successful 2023 alongside David Bull.

Despite this, helium has had cardinal disagreements with Mr Farage – the erstwhile person of the United Kingdom Independence Party – implicit whether Brexit was “done”.

Mr Habib said: “I person conscionable been informed by Nigel Farage that Richard Tice is taking implicit arsenic lawman person of the party. Consequently, I nary longer clasp that position.

“I americium considering my presumption much mostly successful airy of this change.”

He added: “I person agelong held concerns astir the power of the enactment and the decision-making processes. I volition bespeak connected each of this.”

Mr Habib said the party’s caller constitution – drawn up successful August – “did not work” and questioned whether it had immoderate ineligible input.

“We person got to beryllium existent to what we judge in… It is not astir governmental expediency, we request to bash the close thing.”

He added: “I besides person an contented with however Reform seems obsessed with recruiting Tories. I can’t recognize the obsession.”

In addition, helium said that helium had issues with the antiauthoritarian set-up for the enactment and said that Reform had banned him from speaking to enactment members astatine a section level.

“I person nary enactment different than to accidental I americium ideologically abstracted from Reform.”

“I americium going to spell connected warring that cause. If Reform should democratise and Nigel [Farage] wants that radical hug, let’s person it,” helium said.

Mr Farage has celebrated his departure, telling GB News that Mr Habib had "attacked maine much successful nationalist than the Labour Party have".

“He's gone precise bitter, precise twisted. It's precise sad,” Mr Farage added.

"The information that he's walked away, frankly, is simply a immense relief.”