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UK version of Musk's 'DOGE' bureaucracy-slashing agency 'desperately needed', Tory peer claims
29 January 2025, 19:27
Tory peer Lord Agnew told LBC’s Tom Swarbrick that a version of Elon Musk’s Doge department is ‘desperately needed’ in the UK to increase efficiency.
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Musk runs the new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) to "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies".
The efficiency department aims to cut waste within the government, as the tech billionaire forms a key part of Donald Trump’s new administration.
Tory peer Lord Agnew has now told LBC’s Tom Swarbrick that the UK needs a similar department, as the ‘sums of money being wasted are astronomical’.
Lord Agnew said: “Well, I think it's desperately needed, but I mean, the DOGE isn't a clean carry across here because one, they put a very tight timetable on its life.
“I think they've only given it a life of 18 months. But yes, we definitely need something like that to bring a focus to all of this waste.”
Lord Agnew said the money being wasted exceeds the £20 billion figure that Labour said is a black hole they found in Britain’s finances.
“The sums of money being wasted are astronomical, way in excess of the £20 billion that she keeps bleating on about.”
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“I mean, that's just a cheap political stunt. There were no surprises in the accounts. It's all out there, if anybody can take the trouble to read them.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set up a body similar to Doge in her November 2024 budget in the form of the Office for Value of Money (OVfM).
The OVfM advises the chancellor and treasury about the value that policies and plans provide compared to their costs.
Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has also called for an Elon Musk-style efficiency tsar to make budget cuts and grow the economy.
Speaking as a guest presenter at LBC, Hunt said: “They're going to deregulate and they are planning to cut up to $2 trillion from the federal budget through efficiency savings”
“We should be adopting that approach here,” Hunt added, saying the NHS would be the ideal place to start.
“My argument is that we should look at what we can do to transform the way the state works, the big inefficiencies,” Mr Hunt said.
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He pointed out that he gave the NHS £3.4 billion to “completely overhaul their IT systems”.
Mr Hunt added: “And with that, they committed to a 2% increase in productivity every year. That's a kind of technical thing that economists look at.
“If we can get the public sector to boost productivity by 2% a year, you can bring efficiencies that could fund social care, defence spending."
Lord Agnew also spoke about Quangos, as the government has plans to set up more than a dozen of new arms-length government agencies.
Lord Agnew said: "I don't think they are being straight with the public at all. They know that regulation is overpowering us.
“But to my calculation, they've already announced 12 new quangos since they came into office six months ago, and none of those 12 quangos have anything to do with growth."
Chancellor Rachel Reeves today gave a major speech on growth, throwing her weight behind an expansion of Heathrow, and promising that “the sun is out” for British businesses.
