Reform UK to send first ‘Doge' team to look at council spending
A team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors will 'visit and analyse' local authorities, starting with Kent County Council on Monday, the party said.
It follows the US Doge, which was launched during Donald Trump's presidency to cut federal spending. Billionaire Musk was involved but has since left his position spearheading the unit.
Reform says its UK version will be led by a yet-unnamed man described as one of the country's 'leading tech entrepreneurs with a specialism in data analytics who has also been a turnaround CEO'.
Elon Musk spearheaded the US Doge (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)
The party said that the unit will use artificial intelligence, advanced data analysis tools and forensic auditing techniques to 'identify wasteful spending and recommend actionable solutions'.
A letter sent to Kent County Council, which Reform now controls after the May local elections, read: 'The scope of the review includes but is not limited to: Contractual arrangements with suppliers and consultants, all capital expenditure, use of framework agreements and direct awards, any off-book or contingent liabilities, use of reserves and financial resilience, any audit flags raised by internal or external auditors in the last three years.
'We request that all relevant council officers provide the Doge team with full and prompt access to: Council-held documents, reports and records (electronic and paper), relevant finance, procurement, audit and contract data, meeting minutes and correspondence concerning major procurements, any internal investigations or whistleblowing reports relevant to financial matters, any additional documents that might be of assistance.'
It added: 'Should you resist this request, we are ready to pass a council motion to compel the same and will consider any obstruction of our councillors' duties to be gross misconduct. We trust this will not be required.'
It is signed by council leader Linden Kemkaran, party chairman Zia Yusuf and party leader Nigel Farage.
Reform UK party chairman Zia Yusuf (Ben Whitley/PA)
Mr Yusuf said: 'For too long British people have been British taxpayers have watched their money vanish into a black hole.
'Their taxes keep going up, their bin collections keep getting less frequent, potholes remain unfixed, their local services keep getting cut. Reform won a historic victory on a mandate to change this.
'As promised, we have created a UK Doge to identify and cut wasteful spending of taxpayer money. Our team will use cutting-edge technology and deliver real value for voters.'
During a local election campaign launch in March, Mr Farage told supporters: 'Frankly folks, what we need in this country to pay for the cuts that people deserve and need, we need a British form of Doge, as Elon Musk has got in America. Let's have a British Doge.'
A Kent County Council spokesman declined to comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
15 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Fact check: Reform UK migrants claim and minister's inflation mix-up
Has Labour 'allowed the biggest influx of migrants in British history'? Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice MP claimed in a newspaper column a few weeks ago that 'the statistics show without a doubt that this Labour government has allowed the biggest influx of migrants in British history'. It's not clear which figures Mr Tice was basing this claim on – we've asked him and Reform UK, and haven't had a response. But the statistics we've been able to check – both those available at the time Mr Tice made his claim, and those published since – don't appear to support it. And when we asked Oxford University's Migration Observatory about Mr Tice's claim, it told us: 'We cannot identify any data that support the assertion that the current government has been responsible for the biggest influx of migrants in British history, and we are unclear how Mr Tice came to this conclusion.' Mr Tice referred only to 'migrants' and did not specify that he was talking about any particular group of migrants, but some on social media have suggested he intended to refer solely to Channel crossings, which have been at record levels this year and hit the headlines again this weekend after almost 1,200 migrants were recorded as arriving via small boat on Saturday. Between January 1 2025 and April 27 2025 (the day Mr Tice's article was published), government statistics show 9,885 migrants were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats, and between January 1 and May 31 this figure was 14,812. Both these figures are higher than for equivalent periods in other years going back to 2018, when statistics for this measure began. But they don't support the claim Mr Tice made – firstly because they only refer to a small proportion of all migrants, and secondly because they don't cover Labour's full time in office. In the time between Labour forming a government on July 5 2024 and April 27 2025, 33,127 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel on small boats, according to government statistics. This isn't a record – the equivalent total between July 5 2022 and April 27 2023 was 38,600. In terms of overall migrant numbers, there are various different sets of data, but one of the most commonly cited is the estimate of long-term international migration published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The most recent such figures cover the year to December 2024, when 948,000 people are estimated to have moved to the UK. (Over the same period 517,000 people left, so total net migration that year is estimated to have been 431,000.) These figures can't tell us exactly how many have arrived under Labour, as they cover roughly six months of the last Conservative government and the first six months of Labour. The next set of figures, which will cover the year ending June 2025 and are expected to be published in the autumn, will more reliably tell us about the change under Labour. But overall the figures for 2024 were significantly down on the year before. In the year ending December 2023 around 1,326,000 people were estimated to have moved to the UK – a record high. (And 466,000 people left, so net migration that year was an estimated 860,000.) Net migration is estimated to have reached a record high of 906,000 in the year ending June 2023, when 1,320,000 people moved to the UK and 414,000 people left. So while the ONS migration estimates can't tell us specifically what the change in the number of immigrants coming to the UK has been under Labour, they appear to suggest that the 'biggest influx' of migrants on record so far took place under the previous Conservative government. The Migration Observatory believes this is the case, telling us: 'Data clearly show that the 'biggest influx of migrants in British history' took place under the previous administration.' School standards minister mixes up inflation and interest rates Speaking about the cost of living in an interview on Friday, school standards minister Catherine McKinnell MP claimed 'we've seen inflation coming down'. That's not what the latest inflation figures show, however, and the Department for Education has since told us she'd intended to refer to interest rates. While the Bank Rate – which is set by the Bank of England to influence the interest rates charged by banks – is currently one percentage point lower than it was when Labour came into government on July 5 2024, inflation (the change in prices for goods and services over time, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, or CPI) is higher than it was when Labour entered government. In the 12 months to June 2024 – the last full month of the previous Conservative government – inflation stood at 2%, while in the 12 months to July 2024 – the month Labour formed a government – it was 2.2%. As of April 2025, annual CPI inflation was 3.5%, 0.9 percentage points higher than the previous month's figure. Other commonly used measures of inflation show similar trends. This isn't the first time we've seen government ministers confuse interest rate and inflation figures. Earlier this year we fact checked the Prime Minister and Home Office minister Seema Malhotra MP after they both wrongly claimed interest rates had been at 11% under the previous government. As Ms Malhotra later made clear in an edited post, the 11% figure actually referred to the peak rate of CPI inflation in 2022.
North Wales Chronicle
15 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Madeleine McCann: Latest search sees teams drain well and clear dense vegetation
German investigators along with Portuguese police officers and firefighters are working in a little-developed area of countryside a few miles from Praia da Luz where Madeleine was last seen in 2007. Then aged three, she vanished while on holiday with her family in the Algarve resort after her parents went out to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her toddler twin siblings. Journalists were being kept a distance away from the search sites on Tuesday and a no-fly zone was imposed that stopped the used of drones, although some activity could be seen as teams used strimmers, pick-axes, shovels and chainsaws to clear the undergrowth and debris surrounding an abandoned building. Personnel wore safety gear such as gloves and hard hats as they worked in the dense vegetation, and firefighters and police were seen using a yellow hose to drain a well. Around a dozen officers focused on one abandoned building where digging was taking place, while another member of the search team cleared large rocks. The Sun reported that investigators are also planning to use radar equipment that can scan beneath the ground. TV footage showed two Portuguese police officers guarding the end to a narrow lane that leads through an area of fields and scrubland with a few houses and a vineyard. It has been variously reported that investigators will look where trenches were dug near the resort at the time of Madeleine's disappearance, at wells, ruins and water tanks, and that there are plans to examine 21 pieces of land. The search is being carried out at the request of the German federal police as they look for evidence that could implicate prime suspect Christian Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. He is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought. Ulrich Oppold, a journalist from German broadcaster RTL, visited Brueckner in prison in Germany, who said if he gets out of jail the thing he is most looking forward to is a steak with a beer. Brueckner refused to answer any questions relating to Madeleine after discussions with his lawyers. He told the journalist that if he does get out of jail he will have to lie low as he is so well known. Brueckner described himself as 'bekannt wie ein bunter Hund' – which literally translated is 'as well-known as a colourful dog'. In October last year, Brueckner was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, are expected to take part in the search along with Portuguese officers, with the activity due to last until Friday. The Metropolitan Police said it is aware of the operation but that British officers will not be present. German investigators and Portuguese officers last carried out searches in the country in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz. Brueckner, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir. It was previously searched in 2008, when Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid for specialist divers to search it after he claimed to have been tipped off by criminal contacts that Madeleine's body was there. British police were later given permission to examine scrubland near where she vanished in 2014. Last month, Madeleine's family, who are from Rothley in Leicestershire, marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance, describing her as 'beautiful and unique' before her 22nd birthday, and expressing their determination to keep searching. A statement from her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and the family said: 'The years appear to be passing even more quickly and whilst we have no significant news to share, our determination to 'leave no stone unturned' is unwavering. We will do our utmost to achieve this.' In April, ministers approved more than £100,000 in additional funding for Scotland Yard detectives investigating Madeleine's disappearance.
North Wales Chronicle
15 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
JD Wetherspoon bringing back Brunch Burger for limited time
The Brunch Burger returned to Wetherspoon pubs across the UK for a limited time back in 2023 after a 10-year hiatus. It has made several brief appearances since then and is returning to menus again in 2025. But you'll have to be quick, as it will only be available for three days. The Brunch Burger will be available for one weekend only, so you'll need to be quick. (Image: JD Wetherspoon) Wetherspoon's Brunch Burger features a 100% British beef patty (6oz), American-style cheese, maple-cured bacon, fried free-range egg and topped with a hash brown made from 100% British potato. The meal includes chips, six beer-battered onion rings and a drink and will cost up to £9.99 (with a soft drink) and £11.52 (with an alcoholic drink). Wetherspoon's Brunch Burger has received high praise over the years, being described as "the best ever". One person, posting on X (formerly Twitter), said: "Brunch burger is the best." Another added: "Brunch burger: best burger ever!!!" "Brunch burger: best burger ever!!! Only £7,50 with a beer" @ The Montagu Pyke (Wetherspoon): #foursquare While a third person commented: "Wetherspoon's Brunch Burger - It. Is. ACEB***S! They should have called it 'Excelsior!'" The Brunch Burger will return to Wetherspoon pubs across the UK and the Republic of Ireland for one weekend only. The burger will be available on Father's Day weekend - Friday, June 13 to Sunday, June 15. The return of the Brunch Burger is not the only change made to Wetherspoon menus recently. In May, the pub chain introduced four new gourmet burgers to its menu: JD Wetherspoon launched four new burgers - The Big Smoke, Buffalo, BBQ Stack and Cheese Meltdown in pubs across the UK last month. (Image: JD Wetherspoon) Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said: 'We are always keen to offer our customers the widest choice of good quality meals at value-for-money prices." There have also been various other additions to the pizza, small plates and pub classic ranges at Wetherspoon pubs across the UK. But it's not all been good news for customers, with several menu items axed by Wetherspoons last month. RECOMMENDED READING: Wetherspoon removes dish customers 'lived on' from menu 'infuriating' fans Wetherspoon set to open 15 new pubs across UK (and one is coming this month) Steaks, mixed grills and gammon were removed from pub menus across the UK on May 14. This came after JD Wetherspoon was forced to remove its £6.49 chicken bites from the menu. The Wetherspoon staple features 10 crispy chicken bites, chips and an array of sauces, but was previously listed as "temporarily unavailable" on menus.
