Another blow for Nigel Farage as Reform's General Secretary departs after 16 months in the top job - including crucial role in suspending top figure and investigating aides over donations scandal

Published: 06:45 EST, 11 November 2026 | Updated: 07:04 EST, 11 November 2026 Nigel Farage was dealt another blow today, as Reform UK's general secretary Tom Waterhouse left after just sixteen months in the top job.Party officials confirmed Mr Waterhouse's departure to the Mail this morning, insisting he is stepping down to 'spend more time with his family'.While Mr Waterhouse is not a household name in British politics, he has played a crucial role in the party over recent months.The party's general secretary led a recent internal investigation into Mr Farage's top aides, James Orr and Dan Jukes, following a donations row in October, which was branded a 'whitewash' by opposition parties.Mr Waterhouse, alongside the party's legal secretary Adam Richardson, undertook the probe after undercover journalists filmed two of Mr Farage's closest allies talking about taking money from a fake US businessman.Alongside party chairman Lee Anderson, he also suspended Tim Montgomerie, a prominent party supporter and media commentator, in August, while Nigel Farage was away.The investigation spearheaded by Waterhouse said it did not excuse the 'foolish' way in which the aides discussed donations with an overseas donor, but that they had not broken any laws. A Reform UK spokesman confirmed: 'Tom Waterhouse has left his role with Reform UK. The party leader has now appointed an interim General Secretary.' The news was yet another blow for Nigel Farage, who has been battling rows and scandals for the past six months Media reports say Waterhouse was one of two individuals involved in the decision to suspend top Reform backer Tim Montgomerie earlier this yearA source added: 'He has left his role to spend more time with his family. He's done it for two years straight.'He's still hugely supportive of the party and will be heavily involved going forward.'Amid rumours that Waterhouse has resigned in part over the handling of charges against the leader of Reform in Hampshire, George Madgwick, charged with 35 offences against four victims, including 12 counts of rape, a Reform spokesman added: 'I couldn't possibly comment'.Just one month ago, Mr Waterhouse posted on LinkedIn that he was looking to hire a Governance Assistant 'to join the team at Reform HQ. Reporting directly to me, the role will require someone who is highly organised, has excellent attention to detail and above all understands the importance of confidentiality.'Before his appointment as Reform general secretary in August 2025, Mr Waterhouse was director of 'Britain in Focus', and before that an associate director at the Public First think tank. In 2016, he served as deputy head of the ground campaign of Vote Leave, the official out campaign during the Brexit referendum. The news is the latest blow for Reform UK, which has suffered a number of setbacks, scandals and rows over the past six months.Mr Farage's party, once topping the polls for months on end, has since slipped into third place behind Labour and the Tories, with analysis suggesting they would no longer be on course to form a government after the next general election.