DOGE coming to local council
04/06/2025
Reform UK took control of West Northamptonshire at May’s local elections
by Nadia Lincoln, Local Democracy Reporter
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) will be one of the frontrunners to receive a visit from Reform UK’s new audit team, inspired by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the United States.
The party revealed that it would be sending a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors to visit and analyse all ten of its councils to find any “wasteful spending”. It comes after Reform took 42 of the 76 seats on the council after the local election on May 1.
On Monday (June 2), Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf announced on X that West Northamptonshire and Lancashire are next in line to be visited by their DOGE team. The group previously stated that the first venture into audit books would be with Kent County Council.
Reform has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the work is being undertaken “pro bono”, or free of charge, and stated that it is not going to cost the public purse “a single penny”.
The unit, which is expected to be deployed across all Reform UK local authorities in the future, is led by Nathaniel Fried, a tech entrepreneur and data analytics specialist. The party said that the unit will use artificial intelligence and advanced data analysis tools to find any waste.
The DOGE team will be able to make recommendations to the leadership based on their findings. However, they have no power to implement any reactive policies or measures. It will be up to the elected councillors and leadership whether they choose to act on recommendations.
A Reform UK spokesman said: “Reform won a historic victory in Northamptonshire 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 West Northamptonshire Council.
“The taskforce will identify and eliminate wasteful spending, increasing transparency and ensuring taxpayer money is spent solely on activity that benefits local people.”
One of Reform UK’s key commitments throughout the campaign period was auditing council contracts and spending, and getting rid of waste. Party Leader Nigel Farage first committed to a ‘DOGE-style operation’ for Northamptonshire during his visit to Kettering in April.
In a letter sent to Kent County Council, the DOGE team requested that all council officer provide “full and prompt access” to documents, reports and records, relevant finance, procurement, audit and contract data, meeting minutes, and correspondence concerning major procurement projects.
It added that if its request was resisted, it was ready to “pass a council motion to compel the same and will consider any obstruction of our councillors’ duties to be gross misconduct”.
When asked if WNC had been contacted by Reform about the DOGE team’s visit, Martin Henry, Executive Director for Resources at West Northamptonshire Council said: “Although we are aware of recent media coverage, we have not yet been approached by Reform UK about their plans for any DOGE visits to West Northamptonshire Council.”
In the last year, WNC said it had found savings of £25m ahead of setting its annual budget in February, through making new service efficiencies to help balance the books. The council currently scrutinises its balance books through internal audits.
This process is reviewed throughout the year by its Audit and Governance Committee, which met for the first time under the new administration yesterday (June 2). WNC also employs external auditor Grant Thornton to express opinions on its financial statements.
Councillor Mark Arnull, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council, said: “Since forming the Council’s new political administration we have been working closely with senior officers, building good relationships and meeting regularly as we start to shape our future priorities for communities across West Northants.
“I am regularly in contact with Reform HQ colleagues and will continue to keep the council’s senior management updated on any plans for future visits.”
A Reform spokesman shared that there is currently no timetable for the West Northants visit. He added that the DOGE team will go “council by council” rather than starting audits for all of its authorities at the same time.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
