The X owner’s mission to cut wasteful government spending is being mimicked across the pond.
LONDON — He may be riling up Democrats back home, but in Britain, Elon Musk has an army of admirers.
A flurry of mini-me Musks have sprung up in recent weeks trying to emulate the X owner’s move-fast-and-break-things Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
They’ve been highlighting British government contracts, taking shots at perceived state over-reach — and in some cases weaponizing publicly available information to score political points. As the British wannabes try to catch Musk’s eye, POLITICO guides you through the beauty parade.
Woke Waste
Freelance journo Charlotte Gill has made highlighting purportedly « woke » government spending her No. 1 mission. The ex-GB News producer’s Woke Waste Substack dates back to February 2024 and claims to chart « how the taxpayer is funding their own demise. »
Gill hits out at perceived wasteful funding for academic research and lambasts global elites. Categories under her microscope include « Charlotte’s Web, » taking shots at the green movement and « looking at the U.K.’s out-of-control charity sector. » Gill is, naturally, a prolific user of Musk’s X.
UK DOGE
Why bother thinking up an original name when you can just steal one? That’s the approach Tory peer and Boris Johnson aide Ross Kempsell took in creating UK DOGE earlier this month.
He’s promising to « fight U.K. government waste and inefficiency and return ALL public expenditure to benefit U.K. taxpayers. » No biggie, then.
Kempsell publishes the Guido Fawkes blog, which has been a thorn in left-wing Westminster’s side for more than two decades. The revelations are being published on the blog and also have their own X account (obvs) and tips line.
It has so far railed against NHS diversity schemes, ministers using private jets, and training for civil servants.
The Waste Files
When’s the best time to complain about government? When you’ve just been booted out of government, of course.
Former Tory adviser Jason Brown launched the Waste Files earlier this month on X, and has told POLITICO he is now « shining a light on what civil servants, ministers and quangos are spending in our name. »
« From funding pet projects to the Foreign Office thinking the U.K. should be the world’s civil service, when taxes are at eye-watering levels this level of outlandish waste is simply unacceptable, » he said.
Brown’s tweets include screenshots of government contracts on diversity training, climate finance, and money for overseas prisons. The cash in question was often doled out under the Tories, which might make things a tad awkward at any former-SpAd reunions.
Sensing the ubiquity of Musk-tribute acts, the Waste Files initiative has now teamed up with Guido’s UK DOGE to help « fight government waste, fraud, and error. » Avengers assemble!
Spectator Project Against Frivolous Funding
It was inevitable that the established press would jump on the new trend.
The Spectator magazine, a centuries-old Conservative bible, launched the Spectator Project Against Frivolous Funding, helpfully abbreviated to SPAFF (look it up).
Rather than relying on screen grabs posted to X, the title uses its extensive data hub to flag areas of government spending « that are in need of the axe. »
The fancy tables divide spending into procurement contracts, research funding, foreign aid and Arts Council England grants. There are tens of thousands of entries. Who edits the Spectator? Former Tory Cabinet Minister Michael Gove, no stranger to fights with Whitehall.
Shadow DOGE
Clearly sensing a gap in the market, BrewDog co-founder James Watt has got in on the act in recent days.
The hipster beer entrepreneur burst onto the scene by announcing Shadow DOGE. He’s called it the « unofficial, underground cousin » of Musk’s venture, complete with an AI-generated picture of a dog operating in the shadows.
Watt is promising an anonymous hotline for public sector workers to report waste and an « entrepreneurial approach » to spending, with regular reports on what he sees as waste and a league table of the « worst offending public bodies. »
The actual X account is sparse on content so far but claims to have had more than 200 offers of help. Unlike some of his competitors, Watt pitches himself as non-partisan, although he’s directly accused Labour of making the country worse, so good luck getting that ministerial meeting.
The Conservative Party
The original DOGE? Britain’s Tories have long railed against government spending, with Margaret Thatcher priding herself on paring back the state and successive leaders since then taking potshots at bits of the government machine they don’t like.
But Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch is going one step further. She’s said she is paying close attention to DOGE, and argued the U.K. will need to « do something like » it if she gets her party back into power.
She’s even said Musk’s outfit isn’t « radical enough. » Time to turn the official Tory X avatar into a picture of a dog on a coin?
