Nigel Farage has given up sole control of Reform UK, with the party’s members now being “handed over ownership” following a vote last year, according to its chairman.

The party, led by Mr Farage, was previously controlled by the Clacton MP as he held a majority of shares in the company.

According to the party’s new constitution, a board will instead be set up that will lead and direct the party, with members voting in an advisory manner on policies at the annual conference.

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Members also have the power to call an “extraordinary general meeting”, and launch no-confidence motions in the party leader.

In a statement, Reform chairman Zia Yusuf said: “We are pleased to announce that, as promised, Nigel Farage has handed over ownership of Reform UK to its members.

“Reform UK is now a non-profit, with no shareholders, limited by guarantee.

“We are assembling the governing board, in line with the constitution.

“This was an important step in professionalising the party.

“We will soon have more exciting announcements about Reform UK as we prepare for government.”

Documents filed with Companies House show that all shareholders in Reform UK Party Limited have given up their shares and control of the organisation.

Instead, a limited company called Reform 2025 Ltd is listed as being in control of the party.

Reform 2025 Ltd has two directors – Mr Farage and Mr Yusuf – but no shareholders or persons with significant control.

It is understood this is because the membership is said to be in control.

This appears to put it in a similar structure to the Labour Party, while the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats appear to have controlling leaders or chairs.

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According to the party’s website, Reform UK have more than 211,000 members – close to double the Conservative membership.

Mr Farage says he wants to overtake Labour, which has around 309,000 members.

The party won five seats at the last general election off the back of 4.1 million votes. For comparison, the Liberal Democrats won 72 seats off the back of 3.5 million votes.

This discrepancy is largely down to seats votes are concentrated in.

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Recent polling has shown that Reform are seen as stronger than Labour on a range of topics among voters, including trustworthiness, strength, and “clear sense of purpose”.

Earlier in February, the party also topped a voter intention poll for the first time.

What happens when you put a boyhood fan in charge of their club?

They discover it’s not so simple to run after all. And the fans you sat with many years ago are as impatient as ever.

Anger reverberates exactly a year since Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS organisation gained day-to-day control of football operations at Manchester United.

Fans are furious about ticket price rises.

A charity helping former players has had funding slashed.

And rank-and-file staff – many loyal for years without Premier League salaries – have been swept out with 250 redundancies and warnings of more to come.

Sir Jim has taken the unpopular – but he would argue necessary – decisions to put the club on a healthier financial footing all while INEOS injected an additional £80m.

The Glazers

Being the face of cost-cutting and eradicating excesses can be reputationally damaging while the American family, still with the majority ownership, drift even deeper into the shadows.

The Glazers are blamed for the malaise and the debt burdened on a club that is one of the biggest money-makers in world football.

Just this week, United’s financial update to the New York Stock Exchange revealed they are set to make more than £650m this season.

But it also showed that the debt has climbed over £730m and has now cost more than £1bn to service in the last two decades.

Money has drained out of the club – to the Glazers – rather than, perhaps, being invested in Old Trafford upgrades or a new stadium as rivals have built glitzier, more lucrative venues.

Sky News US correspondent Mark Stone confronted executive co-chairman Avram Glazer over what has been a difficult year for the Red Devils.

When asked whether he would sell up the American businessman said: “No.”

He remained silent when asked if he was worried Sir Jim had made things worse, and also didn’t respond when asked if the Glazers should be facing more blame – as opposed to Sir Jim.

The British businessman bought a 27.7% stake in the club in February last year and took control of sporting operations. He later increased it to 29% but the Glazers remain majority owners of the club.

Floundering on and off the pitch

INEOS are now playing catch-up, trying to accelerate much-needed infrastructure upgrades, particularly at the training ground, which saw the women’s team temporarily pushed out.

But United have not been short of cash to spend on players, for the men’s team.

They have the highest net spend of any English club since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 at over £1.2bn – but without being able to add to the 13th Premier League titles he won.

In the summer and winter transfer windows, INEOS oversaw the arrival of £200m worth of new talent for the men’s team.

And yet the team is in its worst shape ever in the Premier League.

They’ve never been this low during a season – down in 15th place with 12 defeats in 25 matches.

This against the backdrop of decisions that can be viewed as bungled or quickly acknowledging mistakes.

Erik ten Hag was kept on as men’s team manager in the summer after aborting a firing plan following their FA Cup win.

But he went anyway in October – a change that cost £21m when you factor in Ruben Amorim’s release fee from Lisbon club Sporting.

It wasn’t the only hefty compensation bill.

Their pick for sporting director – Dan Ashworth – cost around £2m to prize away from Newcastle United.

But then he was ditched after just five months which, we discovered yesterday in new accounts, cost another £4m.

Fan fury

No wonder the supporters’ trust who protested against the Glazers are now aghast at “mismanagement” by the new leadership while still loading much blame on the Florida-based family.

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And this while they are being asked to pay more to attend matches in fading facilities.

“Fans should not pay the price for a problem that starts with our crippling debt interest payments and is exacerbated by a decade or more of mismanagement,” the United Supporters’ Trust said.

“It’s time to freeze ticket prices and allow everyone – players, management, owners and fans – to get behind United and restore this club to where it belongs.”

INEOS – the petrochemicals giant that turned Sir Jim into a billionaire – has a lot of convincing to show they’re on the right path heading into year two at United.

And there could be the pain to come of seeing Liverpool match their record haul of 20 English titles.

Can INEOS rebuild a team and oversee the building of a new stadium without losing sight of the mission – to restore United’s greatness?

And the Glazers remain as tight-lipped as ever – but now flush with an extra £1.25bn from selling 29% to Sir Jim as he takes the heat.

Hundreds more high street jobs will be lost this week after Quiz Clothing, the troubled fashion retailer, called in administrators.

Sky News understands that the company, which was listed until recently on the London Stock Exchange, will see the closure of 23 of its shops, with about 200 employees expected to be made redundant.

Quiz, which is chaired by the former JD Sports chief Peter Cowgill, has appointed the insolvency practitioner Teneo as administrator to Zandra Retail, which operates Quiz’s standalone stores in the UK and Ireland, after weeks of talks about a rescue deal.

The transaction is expected to be structured as a pre-pack administration, with the remaining assets being acquired by Orion Retail, a subsidiary of the company controlled by the founding Ramzan family.

Orion will hold the right to trade from 42 outlets previously occupied by Zandra.

One rival bidder said they understood that Teneo and the buyers had worked to preserve as many jobs as possible, with the majority understood to have been salvaged.

Sky News reported last month that Quiz Clothing traded from roughly 60 standalone stores and dozens more concessions, employing about 1,500 people.

QUIZ’s online business, concessions and international operations are operated by other Group subsidiaries and are unaffected by this announcement.

Sheraz Ramzan, CEO of Quiz, said in a statement issued to Sky News: “The board took the difficult decision to appoint administrators to Zandra Retail Limited in light of the continuing challenging trading conditions impacting the Group’s performance.

“We are deeply sorry to those affected by the store closures, including our retail colleagues.

“However, this decision will put the business in a more sustainable footing for the future and protect several hundred jobs as a result.”

Quiz’s main lender, HSBC, had recently hired restructuring experts at Interpath to advise it.

Quiz’s troubles come amid growing financial pressure on retailers, many of which are facing a deepening challenge in 2025 as a result of looming hikes to employers’ national insurance contributions.

In recent weeks, Sky News has revealed that: WH Smith was in talks to sell its entire high street chain, numbering 500 stores and about 5,000 employees; Poundland’s parent has hired advisers to assess options for the leading discount chain; Lakeland, the family-owned kitchenware retailer, has been put up for sale; and that The Original Factory Shop was being sold to Modella Capital.

Gavin Maher, Joint Administrator, said: “Although the sale has resulted in the transfer of a number of jobs, it has been necessary to make redundancies.

“We appreciate that this is a difficult and uncertain time for all involved and are communicating appropriately with all employees, customers and stakeholders.”