Councillors have raised the alarm over West Northamptonshire’s controversial deal with Reform’s Musk-inspired DOGE team.

Councillors in West Northamptonshire last night slammed Reform UK’s plan to access council data as part of a drive that it claims is intended to reduce local “fraud and waste”.

In a key test of Reform’s battle to access data from councils, West Northamptonshire became the first to welcome unnamed and unpaid “experts” from the party’s ‘DOGE’ unit into the council to find ways to cut its budget.

The council says it will reserve the right to stop DOGE from accessing restricted personal information, and will vet the members of Reform’s unit to ensure they have relevant qualifications. However, opposition councillors protested against the proposal in local cabinet meeting last night.

‘No Such Thing as a Free Lunch’: Opposition Outcry over Reform’s Secretive DOGE Unit, desmog.com