Zia Yusuf has tried and failed to make the cut to stand for Reform

Zia Yusuf appeared on Question Time on Friday 26th doing his usual arrogant punditry attacking Andy Burnham and other political opponents and doing his best to suggest far-right Reform UK are the best hope for the UK.

However, other panelists pointed out that Yusuf has yet to stand in an election for the party — and Yusuf’s response exposed the embarrassing fact that he has indeed tried to stand, he just can’t seem to be selected.

Given Farage’s party has seen perverts and white supremacists elected, it leaves you wondering what skeletons are in Reform’s ‘home affairs’ spokesperson.

Going further, it raises the question whether even poster-Muslim Yusuf is paying the price for joining a party of white supremacists.

Zia Yusuf tried to be clever on #BBCQT and ended up humiliating himself in 4K 😂

Hollinrake: “You’ve never stood for Parliament”

Zia (full pompous, smug mode): “Coming after me for not being willing to stand in a… by-election is incorrect”

proceeds to admit he put his name…

— 🇬🇧King 🇬🇧 (@King0243_PJC) June 26, 2026

Skeletons or racism — why is Zia Yusuf not making the Reform cut?

Reform UK’s choice of candidates has left many wondering what factors into decisions taken over who makes the cut for local or constituency elections. Many of the instances where the far-right party has succeeded in winning at the ballot have seen candidates resign or get suspended, leaving them standing down in disgrace.

As a result, the fact that Zia has informed that his lack of standing hasn’t been without a good try at making selection raises the unavoidable question of why — despite being the spokesperson for home affairs and quite comfortable with fuelling racist, bigoted hate and division — his party aren’t jumping at the chance to get him a seat.

It can’t be that he isn’t racist enough, surely, as he has had no qualms in dishing out the same far-right rhetoric as his white counterparts — supporting the rise of white supremacism has been a no-brainer for this ego-driven career ‘politician’.

But no-brainer might be the key word here — is he now paying the price for the white supremacism he has seen fit to fan the flames of, emboldening white lawless thugs across our country?

After all, it makes sense in a party which hates Muslim people that actually empowering a Muslim person might not go down too well. Especially when one actually called for a genocide against Muslims.

Therefore, it becomes hard to see Zia Yusuf as anything other than a convenient ‘moustache’ for this racist party so they can evade ‘anti-Muslim’ allegations but that very same hate they count on will keep him from being a ‘suitable’ candidate.

Alternatively, it could be a means of avoiding the inevitable storm of racist hate which may be levelled at Yusuf by Reform voters.

This is due to 35 year campaign of dehumanising muslims to justify killing/displacing 10s million for Israeli hegemony and a Police State.

Don't let deceptive liberals blame all on intoxicated and incoherent thugs. Actual criminals are in Whitehall.https://t.co/JqlYgTvIWF?

— CAGE International (@CAGEintl) June 26, 2026

Those that did make the ‘Reform’ cut…

Now, let’s take a look at those who did make the cut:

After the motion of no confidence in Reform UK Mayor of Redditch Susan Eacock was blocked, 3 questions have been tabled. 1 from a councillor, 2 from public.@ReformParty_UK needs to take action on their racist and homophobic Mayor.

Public opposition is growing.

See again her… https://t.co/DKdmUdr31e

— Reform Party UK Exposed 🇬🇧 (@reformexposed) June 26, 2026

Reform UK’s Councillor Bill Blackett, Herrington & Newbottle, Sunderland.

Seems to have conveniently deleted this from his Facebook. Wonder why? pic.twitter.com/emW6rQWOEB

— Reform Party UK Exposed 🇬🇧 (@reformexposed) June 6, 2026

Bigots, sexists and perverts over Muslims

Let’s not forget the person that did make the cut over Zia in the Makerfield by-election:

Saying you want to "sniff and lick" a woman's arse hole and repeated derogatory comments about women's breasts and bodies is not "banter" nor did it happen years ago.

Rob Kenyon is a pervy misogynistic creep and no woman should ever vote Reform.pic.twitter.com/Cuub5Il9Jz

— Socialist Opera Singer (@OperaSocialist) June 16, 2026

Kenyon’s excuse time and time again has been to say he ‘isn’t a seasoned politician’ and ‘isn’t perfect’, in fact, he’s just a bit ‘rough around the edges’:

Given the opportunity to apologise to Carol Vorderman for his hideously misogynistic tweets, Rob Kenyon decided to attack her with a couple of far-right bingo clichés and then smears all people who work on building sites in Makerfield

Never Vote Reform pic.twitter.com/EQf5I4reg4

— Socialist Opera Singer (@OperaSocialist) June 1, 2026

Nevertheless, Kenyon has no interest in becoming a seasoned politician — at least not one that shows up to work — more like the Reform party’s career politician leader:

Reform don’t do the job.

Rob Kenyon, #Makerfield Reform UK candidate was elected a Wigan councillor a month ago. He’s not attended a single meeting or done a single piece of work on it.

Nigel Farage was elected MP for Clacton. He’s spent 2 years anywhere but Clacton. pic.twitter.com/oAPB2tZT8O

— Reform Party UK Exposed 🇬🇧 (@reformexposed) June 11, 2026

Reform’s ‘choices’ in candidates are costing us even more

Zia also made a number of attacks on Question Time about the revolving door of PMs under the Tories and Labour, but are Reform any better?

No, they’re even worse. Those elected in the local elections in May have been dropping like flies, in turn, costing local councils more and more for by-elections.

For instance, a Reform UK councillor resigned just yesterday — with no explanation offered — from Kirklees Council which recently saw a viral video highlighting how under-supported and how under-resourced Reform-elects are by the party of millionaires.

An independent councillor for Dewsbury West called out Reform UK for failing to support its councillors, which has been seen to trigger by-elections across the country every time we learn of yet another resignation or suspension.

This morning, a Reform UK councillor in Kirklees resigned.

Firstly, I want to say that this councillor always showed me kindness, and I sincerely hope he is doing well.

However, this is what happens when political parties fail to properly support their councillors.

THIS WILL… pic.twitter.com/AXk1wM5W0A

— Cllr Tanisha Bramwell (@tanishabramwell) June 26, 2026

He joins a very long list of resigned, suspended or defected councillors:

Reform UK Councillors Gone: Updated

Craig Wiles, Kirklees, Almondbury, has resigned.

➡️ Kicked Out
Brian Black
Oliver Bradshaw
Paul Thomas
Bob Ford
Bill Barratt
Ed Hill
James Regan
Mark Broadhurst
Paul Bean
Adam Smith
Daniel Taylor
John Allen
Nicole Brooke
Patrick Lambert…

— Reform Party UK Exposed 🇬🇧 (@reformexposed) June 27, 2026

Why not ‘poor’ Zia Yusuf?

Those chosen by the billionaire-funded far-right party have shown how it is pretty hard not to be selected — and vetting is either non-existent, or candidates are chosen because of the skeletons in their closet and the hate they are ready to dish out to marginalised groups.

Zia Yusuf has become a prominent voice in a party that has often been seen to amplify divisive rhetoric.

That raises two pretty obvious questions: is there is something in his background they don’t want under closer scrutiny, or is it even simpler than that — that a party shaped around hardline anti-immigration and anti-Muslim rhetoric would struggle to genuinely elevate a Muslim man into real positions of power?

Either way, it highlights the tension at the heart of a political movement trying to present itself as inclusive while relying on fascistic politics that target marginalised communities.

At some point, optics and reality collide. And when that happens, it’s usually the people used to falsely project “diversity” who end up carrying the weight of the contradiction.

In Yusuf’s case, it means never making the Reform ‘cut’.

Featured image via the Canary