Ben Habib was a member of the European Parliament for London from July 2019 until the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union in January 2020.
18 Facts About Ben Habib
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Ben Habib is the chief executive officer of First Property Group, a commercial property investment and fund-management company.
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Benyamin Naeem Habib was born on 7 June 1965 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
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Ben Habib's father is a Pakistani Punjabi and his mother is English and was born in Isleworth.
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Ben Habib immigrated to Britain in 1979 and attended Rugby School, a private school in Warwickshire.
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Ben Habib is a former president of its alumni association, the Rugbeian Society.
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Ben Habib then attended Robinson College, Cambridge, in 1984, where he studied natural sciences.
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In 1994 Ben Habib entered the properties business as the managing director of the private property development company JKL Property, before starting his own property fund company, First Property Group plc, six years later.
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Ben Habib supported Brexit in the 2016 membership referendum and argued the UK's trade opportunities would be better outside the European Union, that being part of the EU meant that the UK had ceded sovereignty, and that there needed to be greater control of immigration.
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Ben Habib had discussed in interviews how uncertainty around Brexit could be an opportunity for profit for his business.
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Ben Habib was first on his party's list, and was elected as one of its two MEPs in the constituency.
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Ben Habib was a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, and part of the delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia.
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In January 2020 Ben Habib voted in favour of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, which included the Northern Ireland Protocol, being ratified by the EU Parliament.
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Ben Habib was the party's candidate for the Wellingborough by-election in February 2024.
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Ben Habib later said that his comments came in the context of an interview in which he was asked what should happen if migrants repeatedly slashed their boats, causing them to sink.
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Ben Habib quit Reform UK on 28 November 2024, citing concerns over the party's structure as well as "fundamental differences" with the party's leader, Nigel Farage, over Brexit, and disagreements over immigration, with Ben Habib in favour of "mass deportations".
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In March 2025, Ben Habib called Reform MP Rupert Lowe's suspension 'an injustice'.
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Ben Habib accused Farage and Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf of 'trumping up complaints against' Lowe to oust him after Elon Musk suggested Lowe should become Leader of Reform UK instead of Farage.