Elon Musk-style cost-cutting Doge unit set for Lincolnshire County Council, Reform UK confirms

A cost-cutting Doge council unit will be going into Lincolnshire County Council, Reform UK has confirmed.

The Department Of Government Efficiency taskforce, modelled after the one previously run by Elon Musk in the USA, claims it will eliminate wasteful spending.

Nigel Farage’s party has begun writing to the chief executives of councils which it won control of, warning it will be taking a close look at how money is spent.

Reform says Lincolnshire will come under scrutiny from the taskforce, which is made up of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors, and will reportedly be led by an unnamed tech entrepreneur.

In a letter to Kent County Council published by The Telegraph, the party demanded access to all ‘relevant documents, reports, records, data, minutes and correspondence’.

A Reform UK spokesman said: “Reform won an historic victory in Lincolnshire on a mandate to cut waste and reinvest in local services.

“We have now assembled a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors who will visit and analyse every Reform UK-controlled council, including Lincolnshire County Council.

“The taskforce will identify and eliminate wasteful spending, increasing transparency and ensuring taxpayer money is spent solely on activity that benefits local people.”

Coun Sean Matthews, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We were elected with a very clear mandate to cut waste.

“Getting a fresh pair of eyes over the council’s books will help us do exactly that, and make sure that we’re focussing spending on the things that residents care most about.

“This new audit will cost local taxpayers absolutely nothing, and will be a team of experts lead by a leading tech entrepreneur.

“The sooner we start, the sooner we’ll save money.”

However, Conservative leader Coun Richard Davies questioned whether Doge would find much waste within the council.

“Reform have already agreed the council is well-run, and £400m of savings have been made over the last 10-to-15 years,” he said.

“Most of the information about Lincolnshire County Council is in the public domain. Organisations like the Taxpayers’ Alliance go over it, and it has regular internal and external audits.

“There may be things the council does now that the leadership decides we shouldn’t do anymore. There may be easy choices, or there may be difficult ones.”

He added: “Provided that the process is gone about sensibly, legally and follows due process, it should avoid any potential pitfalls.”

Cutting waste was a key promise in the Reform manifesto that led it to win 44 of the 70 Lincolnshire seats in May’s elections.

Zia Yusuf, the chairman of Reform UK, 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.

“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.”