Barely a few days old, Reform’s DOGE initiative could not have got off to a worse start. The unveiling of the ‘crack team’ on Monday claimed to herald a new era of tackling wasteful expenditure in government. But, by the end of the working week, the unit experienced something of a collapse.
ALSO READ: Zia Yusuf resigns as Reform UK chairman
Reform DOGE team cuts itself by 40% as two members quit
Two members of the five-person team have now withdrawn from the department, which launched at Kent County Council (KCC). Among the figures posing for photos were Zia Yusuf and Nathaniel Fried – but both men have now quit the team, leaving them with a 40% deficit in personnel.
Whether they can count that as reducing government expenditure remains up for debate…
Yusuf announced his departure as Party Chairperson on Thursday, taking to social media to share his belief that getting the right-leaning organisation into government was ‘no longer a good use of his time’. He made his decision just hours after finding himself at the centre of more Reform infighting.
His resignation came just hours after he hit out Reform’s newest MP Sarah Pochin for a “dumb” question she asked at PMQs this week. Speaking about Yusuf’s resignation, party leader Nigel Farage said he was “genuinely sorry” to see him stand down.
Who is Nathaniel Fried?
Fried, meanwhile, also decided to leave Team DOGE, saying that it would only be right to depart alongside Yusuf after he was the one who brought him into the fold. The 28-year-old businessman even quipped that Liz Truss had ‘lasted longer than him’. Indeed, the lettuce remains clear.
It’s understood that chief cheerleader of Brexit, Aaron Banks, will now lead the department going forward. Last month, he failed in his bid to become Mayor of the West of England. But Banks believes he will do a better job than Yusuf, as he has a ‘broader depth’ of business experience.
Opposition councillors vent fury over Reform ‘no-shows’
Jonathan Hawkes, Labour’s leader of Dartford Council, has stuck the boot in on the whole messy affair. He lashed out at Reform councillors who have gone ‘AWOL’ since the election, and compared the DOGE fiasco to a ‘clown show’. Words certainly haven’t been minced here…
“Since they took control of KCC, the first priority of Reform was to take down flags and cancel meetings. Their local councillors have gone AWOL. They then send their Chair to lead their ‘DOGE’, only for him to resign two days later. It’s a clown show. We deserve better.” | Jonathon Hawkes