Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has returned to the party just 48 hours after quitting.

He announced his departure on Thursday, just days after a visit to Kent where he launched his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) team to look into the county council’s finances after taking control of the authority in May.

In his resignation message, he declared his work for Nigel Farage was no longer a “good use of my time”.

The decision followed a row with the party’s newest MP, Sarah Pochin, who he said asked Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer a “dumb” question concerning a burka ban.

But in a U-turn, the 38-year-old businessman says he will now rejoin Reform in a senior role, leading the Doge team and not as the party’s chairman.

In a post on X today, Mr Yusuf said he had received a “huge number of lovely and heartfelt messages” over the past 24 hours expressing their dismay at his resignation, urging him to reconsider.

He says his decision was “born of exhaustion” after 11 months as chairman “with barely a single day off”.

“I came into politics out of belief that Nigel Farage was the man to deliver that,” he wrote.

“Having read the messages, I believe in these things more than ever.

“I know the mission is too important and I cannot let people down.

“So, I will be continuing my work with Reform, my commitment redoubled.

“Reform has come a long way since I was appointed Chairman, and has moved from ‘startup’ to ‘scale-up’.

“Given this, and that we have now won power at a local level, I will focus on a new role. I will be running the UK Doge team to fight for taxpayers, as well as working on party policy and representing it in the media.

“I will continue to give all my time to the most important project of my life, getting a Reform government elected with Nigel as Prime Minister.”

Read more: Does Reform UK turmoil mean Kent County Council’s Doge is already done for?

The Doge team is tasked with identifying waste within its 10 party-controlled councils across the country.

Mr Yusuf was at County Hall on Monday alongside newly-elected Kent County Council (KCC) leader Linden Kemkaran and fellow Doge members, including tech entrepreneur Nathaniel Fried, who also announced he would leave with Mr Yusuf.

It is not yet clear if he, too, is returning.

Mr Yusuf had said that he was putting a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors in place to conduct a review of KCC as part of the ‘Doge’ programme.

He said there were many examples of waste across the country, such as councils only speaking to one bidder for multi-million pound contracts or handing out 27-year-long deals for highways works.

Following the meeting, he said KCC bosses confirmed millions of pounds of financial irregularities have previously been identified at the authority.

He said initial talks revealed issues around £2.8 million of public money – something reported by KentOnline last year.

This included £63,000 of taxpayers’ money being given to a care provider to look after someone who had already died.

Responding to Mr Yusuf’s return, party leader Nigel Farage said: "I am delighted that Zia Yusuf will head up Reform UK’s Doge department.

“He will also assist the party with policy, fundraising and media appearances.

“Zia will continue to be an important part of the team we are building to fight and win the next general election."

Farage’s party took 57 of the 81 seats at County Hall at the May 1 election, ending 28 years of Conservative control.

But KCC opposition leader Antony Hook (Lib Dem) says people will be “unimpressed by this shambolic soap opera Reform UK is acting out”.

“Infant school friendship groups have more stability than this circus,” he told KentOnline.

"Reform is cancelling meetings at KCC, failing to do the work expected of councillors and not focusing on real issues.

"Kent's adult social care and provision for children with special educational needs have been found wanting by inspectors. Bus services have been cut. These are some of the real issues Reform is ignoring while they fall out with each other.

"The Liberal Democrats demand the Reform leadership at KCC get serious about running the council and serving the public.”

MP for Dover and Deal Mike Tapp (Lab) has today written to KCC’s leader Cllr Kemkaran “seeking reassurance for worried residents after a chaotic and worrying start” to the party’s tenure.

After accusing them of decisions “driven more by populist rhetoric than by sound governance” and detailing “internal division”, including Mr Yusuf’s departure and return, he says: “Frankly, this has not started well.

“Kent County Council is entrusted with major responsibilities and significant resources. What residents need now is clarity, accountability, and stability – not chaos, infighting, and imported gimmicks.

“I would welcome your urgent reassurance that these issues will be addressed, and that transparent governance and public trust will be implemented without further delay.”

Cllr Kemkaran welcomed Mr Yusuf’s return.

She said: “I am glad that Zia Yusuf has returned to Reform UK to head up the Doge unit.

“Having the continued support of Reform HQ in the form of Zia Yusuf will help us get results even faster for the residents of Kent…”

“Here at KCC, from day one, my own newly created cabinet member for local government efficiency got started on rooting out inefficiencies and stopping wasteful expenditure.

“Having the continued support of Reform HQ in the form of Zia Yusuf will help us get results even faster for the residents of Kent.

“That’s what they voted us in for and I’m determined we will deliver.”

Cllr Rich Lehmann, leader of the Green Group on KCC, said the u-turn from Mr Yusuf raised more questions than it resolved.

He added: “It’s currently unclear whether Nathaniel Fried will also return.

“Last Monday, we were told his motivation for doing this work for free was ‘patriotic duty’ but his exit tweet on Thursday suggested his allegiance to Mr Yusuf was stronger than that to his country.

“It’s also unclear whether Mr Yusuf being in a purely Doge focussed role will mean he is no longer able to shape policy on behalf of Reform UK’s elected councillors via spontaneous weekend tweets, or if he will remain focussed solely on Doge now.

“Either way, unelected bureaucrats appear to no longer be a problem for Nigel Farage.”