Arron Banks, the self-styled ‘Bad Boy of Brexit’, is one potential successor to the role of Reform UK chair following Zia Yusuf’s resignation.
Yusuf, who has been in the role for less than a year, resigned- on Thursday following a row over banning the burka.
Yusuf said that he “no longer believe[s] working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.”
See also: Zia Yusuf: the Muslim mega-donor to Reform UK who has now quit as party's chair
This snap resignation has left the party in need of another chair, with Arron Banks appearing as a potential option.
Banks took to X to comment on Yusuf’s departure, writing: “Astonishing that everyone thinks they are responsible for the meteoric Reform rise, as the old saying goes, success has many fathers and failure (is) an orphan. Zia worked very hard but struggled with relationships and people. The corks will be popping in party HQ this evening. Reform will power on …”
Astonishing that everyone thinks they are responsible for the meteoric Reform rise, as the old saying goes , success has many fathers & failure an orphan. Zia worked very hard but struggled with relationships and people. The corks will be popping in party HQ this evening.. Reform… https://t.co/mtWwwzgExR
— Arron Banks (@Arron_banks) June 5, 2025
This isn’t Banks’ first foray into politics, although he had his start in business. He co-founded the Leave EU campaign with another Reform Party member, Richard Tice, and was previously a major donor to Ukip, the former face of Reform UK. He also ran as a mayoral candidate for Reform UK.
So if the name Arron Banks sounds familiar to you, it’s likely because he’s been present in the political landscape for years. Here’s a look at what he’s done so far.
Who is Arron Banks?
Born in Cheshire, Mr Banks was sent at the age of 13 to a Berkshire boarding school which was later closed after revelations that three of its staff were paedophiles. He was eventually expelled, before moving on to another school and being kicked out again.
He left education without going to university, but soon found himself working for Lloyds as an underwriter, later setting up his own firms.
His business ventures proved lucrative. When asked about the Sunday Times Rich List, he once told the Financial Times: "I'm not on it, but I probably should be."
Discussing returning "Churchill bust "to the White House with president elect Trump. pic.twitter.com/9KReEjDmuj
— Arron Banks (@Arron_banks) November 12, 2016
Mr Banks later married, then re-married - latterly to Russian Ekaterina Paderina - and has five children.
Until recent years, he remained a relative unknown, despite his rapidly accumulating wealth. When he announced during the Conservative Party conference that he would stop donating to the Tories in favour of Ukip, then-Leader of the House of Commons William Hague retorted: “I have never heard of him, so we are not going to get too upset about that."
Mr Banks responded by increasing his donation from £100,000 to £1m.
The donation was the start of a rocky relationship with Ukip, and a friendship with Nigel Farage. “He’s just enormous fun to be with,” Mr Farage told the New Statesman about Mr Banks. “When he lets his hair down, boy, he has fun.”
Brexit ‘bad boy’
Banks went on to donate up to £9 million to anti-EU campaign group Leave.EU and £1m to Ukip. Banks also publicly trashed erstwhile allies and other political parties he once funded.
His involvement in Brexit landed him at the centre of a storm over Russia’s involvement in the Brexit campaign, following allegations that he met the Russian ambassador to the UK three times, rather than once as he originally claimed, and discussed a deal involving six gold mines in the country.
The Bristol-based businessman denied links to the Kremlin, ever receiving Russian money or assistance for the Leave.EU campaign, or investing in the Russian gold mines.
Since the referendum result, Mr Banks co-founded the right-wing news aggregator Westmonster, and wrote a book entitled 'The Bad Boys of Brexit: Tales of Mischief, Mayhem and Guerrilla Warfare in the EU Referendum Campaign'.
Notoriously, he was also photographed alongside Donald Trump and other Brexit campaigners in a gold-plated elevator in Trump tower, shortly after the 2016 US election when President Trump first came to power.
Now, Banks is once again aligned with Nigel Farage in Reform UK, the new face of Ukip.
Reform UK
Banks ran as the mayoral candidate for Reform UK for the West of England, narrowly losing to the Labour candidate, Helen Godwin.
His candidacy was announced at Reform UK’s local election launch in Birmingham, using the slogan: ‘Vote Banksy for Bristol’.
In his initial speech, Banks admitted he was “really unpopular in Bristol” but believed it was a battle he could win.
Now, he’s one of the names being bandied around for potentially taking over Zia Yusuf’s role as chair of the far-right party.
