Nigel Farage will today launch a new “Doge” unit at Reform’s first local council in a bid to clampdown on waste and inefficiency.
Reform UK’s “Doge” unit, which is comprised of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors, will visit each of the 10 councils Reform controls.
The unit will start in Kent today to look into ways to claw back taxpayers’ cash.
The group, appointed by Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf, is expected be led by a top tech tycoon.
Nigel Farage
GETTY
Reform has not yet named the entrepreneur, although the populist party says he has a specialism in data analytics and has also been a turnaround chief executive.
Yusuf said: “For too long, 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.
Reform Cllr Linden Kemkaran (front centre), leader of the Reform UK Kent County Council group, with the Reform UK councillors elected to Kent County Council,PA"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.”
Reform's Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran separately penned a letter to the local authority's chief executive Amanda Beer to announce her intention to undertake a review of the council’s “financial management, procurement activity, and associated governance arrangements”.
“This review is part of Reform’s commitment to transparency, accountability, the prudent management of public funds and the highest standards in public life,” Kemkaran's letter stated.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wearing boxing gloves at a boxing gym in Clacton, Essex
PA“Conducting this work was a core part of Reform’s local manifesto. We believe it is in the public interest to ensure that the council’s financial and procurement systems are robust, lawful, and value-driven.
“To that end, Kent council has appointed the Doge team, a unit of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors to conduct this review on our behalf.”
GB News last month revealed that some of the most "egregious" examples of wasteful spending across Reform's 10 local authorities cost the taxpayer an eyewatering £300million.
Some of the spending pledges came in the form of diversity, equity and inclusion training, including Lincolnshire County Council forking out £11,500-a-year to run just eight diversity courses.
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