Dear John,

If anyone was still wondering how Nigel Farage would govern, we now have our answer. Fresh off local election wins, Reform’s first major policy initiative is to import one of Donald Trump’s greatest fiascos — the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Elon Musk’s DOGE wasn’t a real department, and it certainly wasn’t efficient. Charged with cutting waste and fraud, it declared $150 billion in savings, a small fraction of the $2 trillion promised. Much of that figure was smoke and mirrors, with many cuts exaggerated or entirely unrelated to DOGE.

In real terms, it was a disaster. Tens of thousands of federal workers were laid off. Critical services were gutted. Musk’s team of unelected engineers were given sweeping access to sensitive data and government systems. A Senate report later flagged over a hundred cases where DOGE policies directly benefited Musk’s companies.

Now, with Musk booted out and a mountain lawsuits piling up, DOGE stands as a cautionary tale. Chaos masquerading as reform.

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Speaking of which, despite Britons’ clear distaste for both Trump and Musk, Farage seems determined to make a DOGE’s dinner of local government spending here in the UK.

Councils have already faced repeated funding cuts over the past decade. The Local Government Association has long been sounding the alarm over the risk of “systemic financial failure” and warns there’s simply nothing left to cut.

Nevertheless, Farage is on the hunt – starting with ‘DEI’ initiatives and climate programmes. (In Musk’s case, they reportedly just keyword-searched ‘diversity’ and axed anything that came up.)

As with Musk’s ill-fated project, there are serious legal concerns about DOGE UK. Farage has announced that a team of “young tech entrepreneurs” will audit Kent County Council’s expenses — for free. Like Musk’s hackers, they’ll presumably need access to troves of sensitive data.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) might have something to say about that.

Today, I’ve written to the ICO to request confirmation that proper protocols are in place to safeguard confidentiality.

I’ve also written to Amanda Beer, Chief Executive of Kent County Council, to ensure these individuals aren’t being handed access to sensitive information.

The idea that a ludicrous spectacle like DOGE will help Britain in any way is exactly what we’ve come to expect of Farage. Their party may be enjoying a moment in the sun right now – but they’re taking a risk with dangerous political stunts like this one.

We’ll keep you posted.

All the best,

Mark

Mark Kieran

CEO, Open Britain
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