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A senior Reform figure, leading the party’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) unit, set up to mirror billionaire ex-Trump adviser Elon Musk’s US initiative, has been accused of politicising non-political staff, after sharing images of his team posing with a council chief executive.
Un-resigned Reform bigwig Zia Yusuf, now back in the upper echelons of the party, was part of the team which visited West Northamptonshire council earlier this month where they met with Reform councillors – and apolitical council officials, as part of their supposed audit of council ‘waste’.
Senior council staff – public servants who remain regardless of which party is in power – are typically instructed to steer clear of party politics.
So eyebrows were raised locally following a post from Zia Yusuf on 13th June saying: “Great DOGE trip to Reform-controlled West Northamptonshire council. We have an outstanding leadership team there, who have already started saving taxpayers big money.”
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What savings he was referring to are very much unclear – so far Reform councils can point to very few given that successive Government cuts have left them often with budgets 40% smaller in real terms than a decade ago, and the fact that legally-required adult and children’s care services account for over 70% of many of their budgets.
But the really odd part was who was in the photo attached to it: Anna Earnshaw, who serves as both the Chief Executive of the council, and who was the Returning Officer for the May elections that brought Reform to power. And here she is, in what looks like a party-political propaganda shot.
The Local Government Association, in its advice for Chief Executives, puts it like this: “You – and your officers – need to be politically astute, but not political.”
This photo was used in a political context.
Just a few posts later Yusuf was claiming: “Rachel Reeves is destroying the British economy” and: “It’s incredible how little of a council’s time and money is being spent on doing things working people expect it to do.”
Another in the same week, another hyper-political post: “The Westminster elite sends taxpayer money in foreign aid to Vietnam and Turkey” despite their relatively good education systems, calling it a: “Total betrayal.”
Byline Times asked the council if it was appropriate for non-political officials – particularly election staff – to pose with Reform politicians, given the potential conflicts of interest and the risk for voters’ trust in the process.
This is where it gets interesting. A council spokesperson told Byline Times the photo was “spontaneous” following a meeting between council officials and DOGE partisans.
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The spokesperson said: “It was not clear that this photo would be used by Reform HQ and when we were alerted to it, we asked they stop using the photos with the chief executive.”
The photo, of course, remains live on various social media channels.
The spokesperson added: “The meeting with the reform HQ representatives took place on 13 June when they were guests of the Leader. The Leader and his cabinet spent time together. The Chief Executive and some directors later joined the discussion to hear more about the efficiency review and its aims, as well as discuss the legal and other limitations of any such review.
“At the end of the meeting, cabinet asked for a photo for posterity. It was quite spontaneous and, while with hindsight it could be considered a political photo and therefore not something the chief executive should have participated in, she is often asked for photos with the leader. Several more photos were taken later without any officers present.”
For whatever reason, Reform chose to use the one with the council’s non-political chief executive.
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Cllr Jonathan Harris, leader of the Liberal Democrats on West Northamptonshire Council, told Byline Times: “The Lib Dems raised their concerns directly with Statutory Officers once this social media post was brought to our attention…
“Reform UK knew full well that including an officer in a photograph of what was [seemingly] a political meeting, was not acceptable.” But it’s a “trick” they’ve used elsewhere, he added.
Cllr Harris said: “Frankly, our officer staff should have also been cautious about how this media would be used. We had written to officers two weeks before this visit, urging officers not to engage in the theatrics that had been seen elsewhere.
“During the so called DOGE visit, Reform UK asked for no information, were provided with no information and yet proclaimed that they were already saving tax payers money. It’s performative politics.”
It’s clear that Reform and their DOGE ‘audits’ are causing trouble for council officials and their requirement to serve the public, not unelected flacks sent in from parties’ HQs.
In Kent, as we previously reported, Zia Yusuf headed there after the May election victory, where, a councillor told us: “The Council chamber was turned into a Reform UK party propaganda centre, with media interviews conducted by Zia Yusef who is not an elected member or, as far as I know, a resident of Kent.”
“None of the group leaders were informed [of the visit] and the announcement was made on Sunday night via social media, causing maximum inconvenience to Council staff.”
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The councillor added in May: “We have still not been advised by anyone at KCC who the DOGE team is or what they will be doing. And most importantly, what sensitive data will they be able to access?”
In West Northants, the answer appears to be: a lot. The local NN Journal reported that while the party says it is ‘fully committed to complying with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018’, a formal data sharing agreement is being drawn up between the authority and the DOGE audit team so that this bunch of party activists can access confidential council information.
As the NN Journal noted: “They insist ‘where possible’ pseudonymisation will be used, meaning personal identifiers are replaced with coded references so that individuals cannot be directly identified.
“According to Reform UK, every individual involved in the audit has signed a binding confidentiality agreement.” But since volunteers can’t really be sacked, what would the sanctions be for breaking the rules?
In Kent, Northamptonshire and other Reform-run areas, voters will need to be alert to the risk of independent public servants, resources and buildings being co-opted and turned into party-political broadcasts.
With thanks to readers and council staff for story tips. Keep them coming. Do you live in a Reform-run area? Get in touch in confidence on josiah@bylinetimes.com
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