THE Conservatives have challenged Reform UK to publish the outcome of its “efficiency review” at Staffordshire County Council.
It comes after confirmation at a meeting this week that the the process had been completed.
During the election campaign earlier this year, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed the county council had “wasted vast amounts of money”.
But despite Cllr Ian Cooper, leader of the county council, confirming a review had been completed, the opposition Tory group now want to see the full details of what waste has been found – and any savings made as a result.
Cllr Philip White, leader of the Conservatives, said:
“Before the election, we heard from Reform that Staffordshire County Council was full of waste, but now it appears that after an internal efficiency review they can’t find any waste at all.
“Half a year into their term in office, Reform are still sticking to the Conservatives’ budget for Staffordshire – and so far all they have seemed to do is cost the administration money with paid political assistants, extra money for councillors and a costly by-election.
“I think the truth is that the only people wasting money in Staffordshire are Reform UK.
“We are also waiting for the ‘DOGE’ team from Reform to visit Staffordshire, but so far no date has been set for them to visit the council.”
Cllr White said the new administration needed to back up its pre-election claims with facts now it had been able to conduct the review.
“One of the main reasons Reform were elected is that people believed their claims that Staffordshire County Council was wasteful and that Reform could make large scale savings to invest in services and reduce council tax.
“Now they are avoiding telling the public what they have actually found in a straightforward and transparent way.”
