Reform UK claim to have saved 331m at English councils but do the numbers stack up?

"Reform UK has ignored requests to share the evidence for its claim to have saved 331m since it took charge of 10 English councils in May, prompting questions over whether the figure is true. The party has boasted that it had achieved 331m worth of savings at English councils it controls. Warning of a blob of vested interests devoted to ripping off taxpayers, Richard Tice, the new head of the party's self-styled Doge' cost-cutting unit, added: We're going to war with these people."

"In some cases, credit is claimed for initiatives already set in train by predecessors. When the supposed savings initiatives described by Reform are totted up, there is still an unexplained shortfall of 260m. Reform's press team repeatedly told the Guardian that a full list detailing the 331m in savings had been produced and would be shared. But despite numerous requests since Monday, it has not been provided."

"Local government experts say it was always going to be a struggle for Reform to identify wasted spending that could be cut without signifiant trade-offs in services. They are not coming into this at a point where everyone else has sat idly by until now, said Stuart Hoddinott, associate director of the public services team at the Institute for Government (IfG). There are potential ways of making local government more efficient, he added, but they would mostly require upfront investment."

Reform UK claims to have saved 331m since taking control of ten English councils but has not shared the evidence behind that figure. Analysis finds some credited savings were pre-existing initiatives and that a 260m shortfall remains when listed items are totalled. Reform's press team said a full list existed but failed to provide it after repeated requests. Local government experts warn that identifying waste without service trade-offs is difficult and that meaningful efficiency gains often require upfront investment, citing IT and legacy austerity as constraints on immediate savings.

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