Reform UK councillors obstructed by officials, Nigel Farage says

BBC News

13 hours ago

Nigel Farage has accused some council officials of obstructing the work of Reform UK councillors, as he defended the way the party is running local authorities.Reform gained control of 10 councils in May's local elections in England.But the party's leader told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that in some areas Reform councillors were being "hamstrung" by existing bureaucracies.Reform has pledged to cut wasteful spending and improve the efficiency of the councils it runs but some of its spending decisions have faced criticism, while opponents say there has been little concrete action to reduce costs.
In Warwickshire, opposition parties have criticised Reform UK for planning to hire political assistants at a cost of up to £190,000 a year, saying the money should be spent on front-line services instead.The council's interim leader, George Finch, said the move was necessary because council staff have been unable to come up with "imaginative ideas" to resolve key issues. The 19-year-old was put in charge of the council after Reform's previous council leader resigned, citing health reasons.Challenged over whether this was a good use of taxpayers' money, Farage told the BBC: "At the moment, we're finding that we're very, very hamstrung."We're going into existing administrations, we're facing obstructionism in many places."And Warwickshire is a very, very good example."He added: "It's better to have staff who support the will of the democratically elected councillors than it is to have public sector staff opposing them."Warwickshire County Council has been approached for comment.Farage said that in some areas Reform was "working reasonably well with existing administrations" but in others there was "genuine, deliberate obstructionism". He added that some officials "don't want to show us the books" and where money is being spent.
Reform UK's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) - modelled on the cost-cutting initiative set up by US President Donald Trump and previously led by billionaire Elon Musk - was launched in June. The unit is made up of about 15 unelected volunteers and is run by Zia Yusuf, who quit as party chairman in June, before returning to Reform to head up Doge days later.Reform says Kent County Council will be the first to be audited but in other areas, such as Staffordshire, the council says it is still waiting for the unit to start work.Defending the pace of progress, Farage said: "Bear in mind, we're not the Labour Party. We haven't got hundreds of staff."We're a party that's been really active for just over a year. We're growing in size."Yes, we have a Doge team who've not been everywhere yet. But you've seen already, us highlighting examples of extravagant expenditure."
Farage was also challenged over spending decisions in Scarborough, where the town council has approved a 600% increase in the Reform mayor's allowance, from £500 to £3,500 a year.The mayor has defended the move, saying the allowance helps to cover his expenses and allows him to carry out his duties efficiently.Farage said he had "no idea" about the situation in the Reform-run council, adding: "Is he doing it or she doing it as a full-time job? I've no idea.""What we could do is just get multi-millionaires to stand as candidates everywhere and indeed our Doge team are doing the work unpaid," he said."If people have got resources and they do it for free, that's great. I don't know the Scarborough Council situation."
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