Have the wheels come off Reform's DOGE experiment?

Reform's success in last year's local council elections was very much built around their claims that huge amounts of public money is being wasted in the public sector and that their special unit, modelled on Elon Musk's DOGE shitshow in the United States, would sort it all out.

The reality though is that all the promised savings have failed to materialise, while the expected freezing of council tax has proved to be just a pipe dream.

The Independent reports that Reform-led Worcestershire County Council will issue the biggest council tax rise in England this April after the government gave it special permission to raise it by up to 9 per cent, despite the party’s pledge to slash rates.

The paper says that the local authority had applied for exceptional financial support after its newly appointed head of strategic delivery, operations, governance, and efficiency (Doge) said it was facing a “financial emergency”.

This record hike has come about despite the fact that the council has hosted a visit from Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf and his national Doge team:

Reform-led Worcestershire County Council will issue the biggest council tax rise in England this April after the government gave it special permission to raise it by up to 9 per cent – despite the party’s pledge to slash rates.

The local authority had applied for exceptional financial support after its newly appointed head of strategic delivery, operations, governance, and efficiency (Doge) said it was facing a “financial emergency”.

The council is one of seven across the country to get permission to raise council tax beyond the 5 per cent limit.

In a written statement by local government minister Alison McGovern on Monday night, she said Worcestershire, Shropshire and North Somerset councils can raise their share by a maximum of 9 per cent.

As part of a three-year settlement for local authorities, she also said Trafford, Warrington, and Windsor and Maidenhead can increase their tax by up to 7.5 per cent, while Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council can raise its share by up to 6.75 per cent.

Worcestershire is a Reform-led authority, but because it only has 25 of the 57 county council seats, it operates a minority administration, which means it relies on support from other parties to approve its budget.

However, the council has hosted a visit from Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf and his national Doge team, the Elon Musk-inspired cost-cutting team that pledged to work with councils on cutting wasteful spending of taxpayers’ money.

In January, the council created its own Doge cabinet role to drive efficiency. Councillor Nik Price, on her appointment to the position, said the authority was “facing a financial emergency, a situation we inherited and which we are dealing with”.

On its Facebook page, after Labour’s decision, Worcestershire Conservatives wrote: “Back in May, Reform promised to cut your taxes. Today Labour gave them power to raise your tax by up to 9 per cent.” The group has launched a petition calling for a U-turn.

Over the weekend, a Reform councillor announced he was quitting over the plans to increase council tax. David Taylor, who represents Redditch East, will now sit as an independent councillor.

Worcestershire County Council has blamed significant financial pressures caused by a rise in demand and costs of child and adult social care. The cabinet member for finance, councillor Rob Wharton, said every 1 per cent increase in council tax would generate an extra £3.6m for the local authority, which he said was “vital for sustaining statutory services”.

Local government is in trouble, with all councils facing these pressures, irrespective of which party is in charge. If only Reform could have been more open about what is really going on when they promised voters the earth.