Awkward! How the new chairman of Reform UK called party leader Nigel Farage ‘an idiot’ and branded his comments about HIV-infected migrants using the NHS ‘prejudiced’
Reform UK’s new chairman once called leader Nigel Farage an ‘idiot’, it emerged last night.
Dr David Bull, who was unveiled as Zia Yusuf’s replacement, also branded as ‘prejudiced’ comments that Mr Farage had made about HIV-infected migrants using the NHS.
The remarks surfaced just hours after Dr Bull gave his maiden speech as chairman and threatened to overshadow his appointment, while at a Press conference unveiling the new chairman, Mr Farage unexpectedly ruled out putting the return of the death penalty on Reform’s manifesto at the next general election.
Dr Bull’s comments, first reported by The Daily Telegraph, were made on social media in 2014. He posted them after Mr Farage, then leader of his previous party UKIP, suggested that HIV-positive immigrants should not be allowed to come to the UK and receive treatment on the NHS.
He said it should not be used as a ‘global health service’, adding: ‘I do not think people with life-threatening diseases should be treated by our National Health Service, and that is an absolute essential condition for working out a proper immigration policy.’
Sharing an article about Mr Farage’s comments, Dr Bull wrote on X/Twitter: ‘Nigel Farage’s comments are ill-judged, prejudiced and dangerous. HIV can affect anyone regardless of sex, race and class.’ In the post, still visible online, he added: ‘#idiot #unhelpful.’
Dr Bull, 56, is a long-time ally of Mr Farage and has held roles in both Reform and its former iteration, the Brexit Party. He served as an MEP for North West England between 2019 and 2020.
Dr David Bull, who was unveiled as Zia Yusuf’s replacement, also branded as ‘prejudiced’ comments that Mr Farage had made about HIV-infected migrants using the NHS. Pictured: Nigel Farage (left) and David Bull (right)
Mr Yusuf plunged the party into turmoil on Thursday after announcing his shock resignation on social media, giving Mr Farage only ten minutes’ notice. Pictured: Former Reform chairman, Zia Yusuf (left) with David Bull (right)
Dr Bull’s comments, first reported by The Daily Telegraph, were made on social media in 2014
Mr Farage said that Dr Bull would bring ‘terrific verve, energy, enthusiasm’ to his new role.
Mr Yusuf plunged the party into turmoil on Thursday after announcing his shock resignation on social media, giving Mr Farage only ten minutes’ notice. He said he was quitting after attacking one of his own MPs, Sarah Pochin, for calling for a burka ban during Prime Minister’s Questions.
But just 48 hours after leaving, he said he was returning to the party. The 38-year-old businessman said his resignation had been ‘born of exhaustion’ after working for the party for 11 months ‘without a day off’.
He will now lead Reform’s Elon Musk-inspired Doge unit, which the party says will root out wasteful spending in the ten councils it controls, starting in Kent.
The decision not to include anything in Reform’s manifesto about the death penalty will likely disappoint millions of its voters. A poll by the think-tank More In Common in January found nearly eight in ten of its backers support it ‘for certain crimes’.
Mr Farage said ‘nothing on the death penalty will be part of [Reform] party policy’ and that ‘personally I don’t think I could ever support it’.
He said he was opposed because of hundreds of ‘quite serious miscarriages of justice’ having emerged since the 70s, adding that he believed it will become a big national issue because of polling suggesting younger generations are increasingly in favour.
It may lead to suspicions that Mr Farage is trying to make Reform UK appear less Right-wing and controversial as it increasingly tries to target Labour voters.
It also emerged that Reform lost nearly 3,500 members in the past week amid the Yusuf fiasco.
Nigel Farage tries to quell claims of Reform crisis as he unveils new party chairman and brushes off questions over donations… but membership slumps by 3,400 in a week
The Reform leader confirmed the Mail’s exclusive that Dr David Bull will replace Zia Yusuf as chairman to provide greater ‘leadership’ at a time of turmoil for the party.
Mr Yusuf briefly quit the party last week after branding a burka ban question asked in the House of Commons by a Reform MP as ‘dumb’.
But he U-turned 48 hours later and was shunted into a different job looking at wasteful spending by local councils.
New figures from the Electoral Commission published this morning showed that Reform declared £1.48million in donations in the first three months of 2025.
This compared to £3.36million banked by the Tories and £2.35million by Labour.
Of the £1.4million in donations to Reform between January and March, more than £600,000 came from the party’s wealthy deputy leader Richard Tice, the Boston and Skegness MP.
Another £250,000 came from Fiona Cottrell – the mother of Mr Farage’s ally George Cottrell, who is thought to have an unofficial role within Reform.
As well as questions over Reform’s ability to attract a wider pool of donors, there is also scrutiny of the party’s membership figures.
A membership tracker, which the party displays when streaming major speeches online, showed the number of members dropped by 3,400 in the last week.
Nigel Farage tried to quell talk of a Reform UK crisis as he unveiled the party’s new chairman amid questions over donations and the size of its membership
The Reform leader confirmed the Mail’s exclusive that Dr David Bull will replace Zia Yusuf as chairman to provide greater ‘leadership’ at a time of turmoil for the party
Mr Farage said Nick Candy, the party’s treasurer, was set to donate a further two-thirds of a million pounds amid questions over Reform’s fundraising efforts
Speaking at a Westminster press conference on Tuesday, Mr Farage said Dr Bull – a former TV presenter and medical doctor – would provide ‘terrific verve, energy, enthusiasm’ as Reform’s new chairman.
Mr Yusuf said he was ‘hugely excited’ that Dr Bull was taking on his former role, adding: ‘I wholeheartedly congratulate him and I know he’s going to do an incredible job for us.’
Taking questions from reporters, Mr Farage dismissed suggestions the latest Electoral Commission figures showed the party was struggling to attract new donors.
‘Are our figures about the same as the Liberal Democrats and behind Labour and the Conservatives? Yes,’ he said.
‘Are they significantly higher than the two previous quarters before? Yes they are. So the trend is in the right direction.’
When Mr Farage spoke in Aberdeen last Monday, Reform’s membership tracker showed it had 237,091 party members
But, as Mr Farage began his press conference today, this figure had slumped to 233,680. This suggested a drop in the party’s membership of 3,411
New figures from the Electoral Commission published this morning showed that Reform declared £1.48million in donations in the first three months of 2025
Mr Farage said Nick Candy, the party’s treasurer, was set to donate a further two-thirds of a million pounds ‘over the course of the next few months’ having previously given £313,000.
The Reform leader added: ‘Is it easy to raise big money in politics? Well it’s not because I haven’t got any peerages to give – oh sorry!
‘That’s they way it’s been working for decades, the honours system is corrupted beyond belief.
‘We don’t have any gongs to give out but am I confident we’re building the kind of relationships that will lead to really serious donations? Yes.
‘But let’s just be clear, we have been funded predominantly by men and women in this country paying their £25 or £50, or whatever it is, to be members of this party.
‘And that’s where the bulk of our revenue comes from. When you see the Electoral Commission reporting, that’s only reportable donations over £11,500.’
When Mr Farage and Mr Tice spoke in Aberdeen last Monday, Reform’s membership tracker showed it had 237,091 party members.
But, as Mr Farage began his press conference today, this figure had slumped to 233,680. This suggested a drop in the party’s membership of 3,411.
A Reform source attributed the fall to ‘normal membership churn’ and pointed out the party’s membership had grown by more than 200,000 over the past year.
They added the party expected numbers to increase again once renewals are processed for those who initially signed up for year-long memberships that did not automatically renew.
