Latest news with #NathanielFried
ITV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ITV News
Reform UK chair quits but work to cut 'waste and inefficiency' at Kent County Council will go on
ITV News Meridian's Sarah Saunders has more on what's happened to Kent County Council after the departure of Zia Yusuf. The new leader of Kent County Council says work to rid KCC of "waste and inefficiency", will go on. That is despite the team she brought into carry out a US-style economy drive standing down just days after arriving in the Chairman of Reform UK, Zia Yusuf, and a tech entrepreneur had been tasked with heading up a DOGE style team last Monday. Kent County Council leader, Linden Kemkaran, said: "They have started work already and on Monday when Zia Yusuf came here to County Hall to give us that political impetus to really get going. "We were able to present to Zia our report on what we had found already and do you know what, he was very, very impressed. "He was amazed that we were able to do so much work in such a short space of time. So really for us, the work carries on, nothing has changed."Reform UK took over Kent County Council last month with an overwhelming majority. On Monday 2nd June the Chairman of Reform UK arrived in Kent to great fanfare to launch the party's first DOGE team looking for possibly millions of pounds worth of efficiencies. Four days later and he has resigned from the party and his tech volunteer Nathaniel Fried has opted to go with him. Nathaniel Fried said: "Yes, of course they will be able to make savings without me. There's a great team that I put in place there and there's very committed councillors which have invested a lot of time and effort into this stuff. "There's definitely inefficiency in these local councils, not much of it is because of the councils, a lot of it is because of central government funding but I still think there are major saving that they can definitely make."Zia Yusuf stood down after an internal spat in the Reform Party over whether the burhka should be banned. He was the driving force behind the Reform DOGE style missions but the new leader of KCC says their plans to reduce waste remain on KCC minimised the loss of these two figures, Labour MP for East Thanet, Polly Billington, said: "I think it's completely reasonable that anybody incoming would want to make sure that money was being spent properly, that's exactly what an incoming administration should do. "But bringing in private people who don't have the qualifications in order to be able to do this properly, is actually quite irresponsible. "Unsurprisingly, they've ended up with chaos, incompetence and resignations, that doesn't serve the people of Kent very well, and doesn't show that Reform is serious about being a proper party of government."
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Kent County Council Doge head quit due to 'doubt' over project
The tech entrepreneur who quit heading up Reform UK's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) says he did so because the resignation of the party's chairman left him with "a bit of doubt" about the future of the 11 months in the role, Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf resigned on Thursday alongside Nathaniel Fried, who was said to be leading the unit. Speaking to Politics South East, Mr Fried said the outgoing chairman was "spearheading" the Doge initiative and expressed concerns that the scheme "might not turn out how I wanted it to" without councillors at Kent County Council (KCC) have said it is "business as usual" following the double resignation. KCC deputy leader Brian Collins said "absolutely nothing's changed" following the double departure."We have a focus, we have a mission, that mission hasn't changed, business as usual," he told BBC South East on Friday Mr Yusuf and Mr Fried were part of the Doge team which attended its first meeting at KCC on said the meeting was "very productive" but the party admitted it did not know how long it would take for the unit to produce scheme, modelled on the Doge unit created by billionaire Elon Musk as part of Donald Trump's second term as US president, aims to identify and eliminate wasteful to claims that the "engine room" of the unit had now been lost, Mr Collins said: "The engine room is the 57 councillors that have been elected to run this council." 'Circus coming to town' Conservative councillor Sarah Hudson described the current situation as a "mockery".She said: "It's like a circus coming to town, and then you've got various clowns, and they've thrown their toys out of the pram at the first issue that's come along."Mr Fried said he took on the project for free because he felt the "social contract between tax payers and the British government has been a little bit broken".Asked what people in Kent would make of the resignations, just four days into the project, he said he was sure they were "disappointed"."I have great confidence in the local councillors who are working very hard at the moment, especially the head of the council," he said."I'm sure that people are disappointed but thus is politics."A spokesperson for Reform UK said: "The work of the Reform UK Doge unit will continue. The team is larger than just one man."Many Reform-controlled councils already have their respective Doge cabinet members, so this work was happening before and will continue after."
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Reform UK's Momentum Stalled by Departures, By-Election Defeat
Nigel Farage's recent run of political success stalled after his insurgent Reform UK suffered a pair of high-profile departures and came third in a Scottish election that it had hoped might prove its broader appeal. The right-wing party saw its chairman, Zia Yusuf, quit on Thursday, saying 'I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time.' He was followed by Nathaniel Fried, who had been appointed to run Reform's DOGE-style cost-cutting efforts in local councils just a week earlier.
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Reform UK's Musk-style efficiency unit will ‘take as long as it takes'
Reform UK have warned that their first Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) unit 'will take as long as it takes' to provide recommendations. On Monday, the inaugural Doge team arrived at Kent County Council (KCC) in Maidstone for their first meeting. Advertisement Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf met leader Councillor Linden Kemkaran along with senior KCC staff accompanied by millionaire Reform-backer Aaron Banks and Nathaniel Fried, a tech entrepreneur said to be leading the Doge unit. Reform Councillor Linden Kemkaran, leader of the Reform UK Kent County Council group, at County Hall in Maidstone, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA) The party plans to use artificial intelligence, advanced data analysis tools and forensic auditing techniques to 'identify wasteful spending and recommend actionable solutions'. It follows the US Doge, which was launched during Donald Trump's presidency to cut federal spending which billionaire Mr Musk was spearheading before his recent departure. A KCC spokesperson has said the council 'has always been committed to transparency and accountability' but will work 'collaboratively and professionally' with the Doge team. Advertisement Reform claims that the meeting on Monday was 'very productive' but the party had admitted it does not know how long it will take for the unit to produce recommendations. A party spokesperson told the PA News Agency: 'We're crunching numbers and producing recommendations and those recommendations will then go to the leadership team at Kent County Council, so the council leader and the cabinet, to kind of make an informed decision on whether some cut backs can be made, or whether some action can be taken. 'From what I've heard it was a very productive meeting yesterday, the council were very co-operative and the team got what they needed so now it's just a case of waiting for those recommendations to be made. 'This is the first one we've done, obviously it's the first one that's ever been done really in this manner so it will take as long as it takes, we're hoping it won't take too long.' Advertisement He added: 'After this is done we will hopefully have a better indication of the kind of time frames for future councils as well.' Mr Fried, who is spearheading KCC's Doge project, was described by Reform as 'one of the country's leading tech entrepreneurs with a specialism in data analytics who has also been a turnaround CEO'. The 28-year-old, from Surrey, co-founded TurgenSec, which developed systems to uncover data breaches for businesses. In June 2023, he told CEO Today that after 'a long line of failed businesses' he put every penny he had into TurgenSec, including his university maintenance loan. Advertisement Mr Banks, who stood to be mayor of the West of England last month but failed to win, will act as an advisor for the unit. Reform took 57 of a possible 81 seats in Kent at the local elections on May 1st, overturning Conservative control of the council for the first time. World Musk calls Trump's tax bill 'a disgusting abominat... Read More On Tuesday, a KCC spokesperson said: 'We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively and professionally with the new administration here at KCC, including the Doge team. 'KCC has always been committed to transparency and accountability and has been consistently praised by external auditors for the accuracy of its accounts and the prudent management of public funds. Advertisement 'Much of our information, including full budget, external contracts register, and auditor's reports, is already in the public domain for anyone to scrutinise and review.'
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Reform launches Elon Musk-style 'DOGE' unit led by cap-wearing 28-year-old tech entrepreneur to cut 'wasteful' council spending
Reform UK is to send its first Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) unit into a council to look at 'wasteful spending' - under the leadership of a 28-year-old tech entrepreneur. Nathaniel Fried will lead a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors who will 'visit and analyse' local authorities controlled by Nigel Farage's party, starting with Kent County Council. It follows the US Doge, which was launched during Donald Trump 's presidency with the Tesla billionaire in charge to cut federal spending. Reform billed Mr Fried as one of the country's 'leading tech entrepreneurs with a specialism in data analytics who has also been a turnaround CEO'. He co-founded TurgenSec, which developed systems to uncover data breaches for businesses. It hit the headlines in 2020 when it found an insecure Virgin Media database that allegedly contained information linking customers to pornographic sites. He will be joined by party chairman Zia Yusuf and Arron Banks, the millionaire founder of the campaign ahead of the 2016 referendum. Mr Banks, who will act as an adviser, stood to be mayor of the West of England last month but failed to win. Reform's previous efforts to root out what it sees as unnecessary spending by authorities it controls have so far struggled to make any impact. New Greater Lincolnshire mayor Andrea Jenkyns vowed to remove diversity officers from the county council, which later confirmed it did not employ any. And a recent claim by Mr Yusuf that the party would scrap low traffic neighbourhoods in the 10 council areas it controls was undone when it was found that there were none. Mr Fried has not always been a fan of Mr Farage, tweeting in 2021 that his YouTube account was being filled with the leader's 'Cameo rubbish' - a reference to bespoke video messages he records for paying customers. Reform said that the unit being sent to Kent will use artificial intelligence, advanced data analysis tools and forensic auditing techniques to 'identify wasteful spending and recommend actionable solutions'. Reform took control of the authority in May and leader Linden Kemkaran has already ordered the Ukrainian flag be removed from the council chamber. A letter sent to the council 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.' A letter sent to the council 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. Mr Fried has not always been a fan of Mr Farage, tweeting in 2021 that his YouTube account was being filled with the leader's 'Cameo rubbish' - a reference to bespoke video messages he records for paying customers. 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 Mrs Kemkaran, party chairman Zia Yusuf and Mr Farage. A Kent County Council spokesman declined to comment. Mr Farage today demanded tax cuts for North Sea oil and gas firms today as he set out to woo Scottish voters ahead of a key Holyrood by-election. The Reform leader hit out at the overall rate of 78 per cent - including the windfall tax - paid by companies who have made massive profits in recent years, on a visit to Aberdeen. A long-standing critic of Net Zero, Mr Farage said the 'disastrous' tax rate, brought in by the Tories and increased by Labour, was putting off firms from applying to drill at a time when fossil fuels are needed. Ahead of the by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse next week he also suggested the country should get new powers to generate its own income because devolution is 'here to stay'. He also unveiled a Reform defector from the Tories, local councillor Duncan Massey, and and vowed to unveil a Labour defector when he visits Hamilton later. Mr Farage said his audience at an upmarket restaurant in the east coast city included several prominent businessmen and businesswomen who are 'very worried about the future of the oil and gas industry'. '2025 will be a year of record consumption of fossil fuels,' he said. 'We can con ourselves as much as we like, there'll be more coal burnt this year than has ever been burnt in the history of mankind. 'And the same applies to the use of gas and oil, even the most ardent opponent of net zero has to accept the world will still be using oil and gas.' Rachel Reeves increased the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) to 38 per cent in November, which Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said would push the headline rate on upstream oil and gas activities up to 78 per cent. The Reform leader also said he was open to looking at alternatives to the Barnett Formula, which has been used to apportion UK government cash to the nations since the 1970s. While the SNP and Labour were seen as frontrunners in the seat in a contest sparked by Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie, Reform UK has entered the mix ahead of the vote. But the party has come in for criticism for how it has campaigned in the seat, with attack ads on Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar being branded racist. Both of the frontrunners have also turned their attacks on Reform, with Mr Sarwar describing Mr Farage as a 'poisonous little man' and the First Minister accusing him of bringing 'racism and hatred' to the South Lanarkshire race. As campaigning enters its final days, Mr Swinney warned of the potential threat from Reform, saying: 'Things remain tough for too many families who feel let down by Labour – who have given up in this campaign – and the deeply concerning rise in support for Farage. 'Be in no doubt, Nigel Farage doesn't care about Scotland. He poses a threat to our values and must be stopped, and only the SNP can do that. 'In this by-election, the SNP is the only party investing in Scotland's future, delivering for families and confronting Farage. On Thursday, vote SNP to stop Farage.'
