Reform UK's Pakistan origin leader denies racist, Islamophobic allegations against party

LONDON: Pakistan origin leader of the far-right Reform UK Ben Habib has denied that his party is full of racists, Islamophobes and extreme right-wing elements who hate Muslims, immigrants and people of ethnic minority origins.

Reform UK has surged in polls in recent weeks and could come second or third in vote shares on 4th of July as its ranks swell by voters who previously supported Conservatives but are now adrift.

The far-right party's joint deputy leader Habib spoke to Geo News in Northampton where he’s standing on the Reform UK ticket for July 4 elections. 

He said: “I am the biggest example of what Reform UK is, I am proud of my Pakistani heritage, my father is a Pakistani and mum is English. I love my identity and I am one the leaders of Reform UK. It cannot be racist party. I reject the assertion that we are a far-right party.”

The multi-millionaire tycoon, whose full name is Benyamin Habib, has paid donations of tens of thousands to the right-wing Reform UK which opposes immigration to the UK, hates multi-culturalism and its leader Nigel Farage has openly spoken against Muslims. One of the party’s key leaders was caught last week racially abusing PM Rishi Sunak.

Habib came to the UK from Karachi around 50 years ago to study at a boarding school, dedicated to rich kids. His parents sent him to a private school in the UK to give him a better chance in life. He went into the property business after finishing his education and became a millionaire. He lives in London’s Fulham area and often visits Karachi to meet his friends and relatives.

He told Geo News: “We are not racists and Islamophobes. We are British citizens. We want to put the UK and its citizens first. We are not against immigrates but we are against the rampant immigration that we had over the last few decades. This has broken up our system, our NHS, housing and our job market. We want immigrations to be radically reduced. We want a culture where everyone lives harmoniously where everyone is equal, no matter whether you are from Pakistan, India or Africa.”

Far-right Tommy Robinson, Britain First, Patriotic Alternative and Homeland have urge their supporters to vote for Farage’s Reform Party. 

The rise of Reform UK in the polls in recent days has dominated discussions in the media. It now looks certain that Reform’s leader Farage will win in the constituency of Clacton, whilst polling seems to indicate that the party could be on course to win several seats and it also looks certain that it will ensure that Tories lose many seats.

Habib defended his leader Farage and told Geo News that Farage had only spoken against the “extremist Muslims” and not the ordinary Muslims. 

He said: “He is only against extremists. He thinks we have extremists in the country and he is concerned about them.”

He then added: “We have imported cheap, unskilled labour which has undermined wag growth and then we have high taxation. It has become impossible to earn a fair wage living. We have got six million people on benefits in this country – that is 20% of the workforce. The six million are on benefits because of low wages and high taxes, making it impossible to earn a reasonable net wage. Cheap imported labour is only one factor amongst others.”

Habib used to donate money to Conservatives but stopped giving them money because he thinks they are “broken and don’t stand up for the British values. They have broken this country for their lust of power. I cannot give money to such a party anymore”.

He also said that his father lives with him. When asked what his dad and Pakistani relatives ask him about supporting a right-wing party like Reform UK, he said that they kept asking him the same questions that Geo asked. “I give them the same answers. There is a lot of fake news about Reform UK. I am not a racist. I am proud of my Pakistani heritage and I am a proud British citizen”.

During his visits to Pakistan, he said that he saw the whole nation waving Pakistani flags on its national days. “It’s just one flag all over the country and people celebrate it. That’s brilliant. Why don’t we celebrate the Union Flag here, what are we ashamed of?

Moreover, he said that it was important to expose and end the Tory party.

Reform has been dogged by allegations over racism, misogyny, homophobia and support for Hitler and Putin but a recent poll has put them three points ahead of the Tories. 

The Whitestone poll for Reach plc put Reform on 21%, the Tories on just 18% while Labour maintained a clear lead on 38%. According to Electoral Calculus in a general election this would leave the Conservatives on a mere 50 seats, give Reform 29 but the Lib Dems would be the official opposition with 74 seats.