Tom Waterhouse Leaves Reform UK Role After Leading High-Profile Internal Inquiries

Tom Waterhouse has left his post as Reform UK’s general secretary after 16 months, with the party saying he is stepping down to spend more time with his family. The departure was confirmed to the Daily Mail by party officials, who said Reform leader Nigel Farage had appointed an interim replacement. Although Waterhouse is not widely known outside political circles, he held a prominent position inside the party. He led an internal inquiry into aides James Orr and Dan Jukes after undercover journalists filmed them discussing donations with a supposed US businessman. The inquiry said their conduct was “foolish” but found that they had not broken the law; opposition parties criticised the process as a “whitewash.” Waterhouse also joined party chairman Lee Anderson in suspending prominent Reform supporter and media commentator Tim Montgomerie in August, while Farage was away. Media reports described Waterhouse as one of two people involved in that decision. The party did not give a detailed explanation for his exit. A source quoted by the Mail said Waterhouse had worked for the party for two years, remained supportive and was expected to stay involved. The report also noted speculation linking his departure to the handling of charges against Reform’s Hampshire leader, George Madgwick. A party spokesperson declined to comment on that suggestion. Waterhouse had recently advertised for a governance assistant to report directly to him at Reform headquarters. Before becoming general secretary, he was director of Britain in Focus and an associate director at the Public First think tank. The announcement ends a short but consequential tenure that placed him at the centre of several internal party decisions.