Calls for a UK equivalent of the US’s Department for Government Efficiency have grown significantly as more and more ‘bonkers’ taxpayer funded projects and contracts are exposed.
Tech-billionaire Elon Musk was recruited by Donald Trump to head up the department in the US where one of its first moves was to slash the foreign aid budget to $0 almost overnight.
World’s richest man Musk repeatedly spoke of his shock at some of the projects where American taxpayer dollars were being spent, saying ‘radical left loons’ had infiltrated the system.
Thousands of contracts have since been cancelled, with the cancellation of all DEI projects too, saving the government $105billion, says DOGE.
Calls are now growing for the same axe to be wielded against the UK’s array of taxpayer funded aid, research and diversity projects, many of which have dominated headlines over the last few weeks.
As Rachel Reeves strips back welfare support for the disabled and freezes universal credit for the unemployed, these projects have angered Britain’s population who feel the Chancellor should cut back the bloated, inefficient state before their support.
While Starmer struggles to raise badly needed cash for Britain’s dilapidated Armed Forces after years of underfunding, around £15billion is being spent annually on overseas aid.
Here are ten of the 'barmiest’ projects that have angered Brits so much.
Elon Musk has made a number of controversial cuts since being appointed head of DOGE in the USREUTERS£200,000 research project into the ‘lived experience of gypsies’
British taxpayers are forking out £200k to investigate the needs of the gypsy community in England and Wales.
Once they are recruited, researchers will ‘explore culture, identity, needs and interactions with services’ to ensure gypsies ‘safety and welfare’.
“Peer researchers will be Roma community members who will conduct in-depth interviews with approximately 60 Roma participants aged 14 and above using creative methods, and 4-6 focus groups,” says the contract.
£1.5million electric vehicle fleet for Albanian prisons
The Foreign Office is spending £1.5million taxpayer money on a fleet of vehicles to be donated to Albanian prisons.
This includes £500k on electric Porsches so that Albania can contribute to net zero, 18 minibuses and electric vehicle chargers to the tune of £56,000.
£7.3million renewable energy assistance programme in India
Despite having a larger economy than Britain and sending people to space, British taxpayers are funding Indian renewable energy programmes.
The contract, which was awarded to KPMG, will ‘support India’s energy transition and climate goals’.
“The UK government is committed to support India’s energy transition and climate goals through this programme, deepening our collaboration on climate action,” adds the contract.
£25k tennis court renovation for the British Embassy in Kuwait
As Reeves slashes the amount of support disabled people will receive in Britain, taxpayers were particularly dismayed to learn the government just this month approved a £25,000 tennis court renovation in Kuwait.
Taxpayers asked if the Kuwait-based civil servants’ ability to play tennis was a government priority when the nations finances are so stretched, particularly after Google Maps revealed the embassy already has lavish gardens, a swimming pool and bespoke fitness facilities.
£575k Jordanian Armed Forces’ Gender Mainstreaming Strategy
Another contract that raised eyebrows was the Foreign Office bankrolling of the Jordanian Armed Forces’ Gender Programme.
Specifically, ‘This contract will deliver technical advice to support the Jordanian Armed Forces' (JAF) Directorate of Military Women's Affairs in assessing implementation of the JAF's Gender Mainstreaming Strategy.’
https://x.com/procurementfile/status/1889592296926056785
£15million ‘Climate Smart Jobs’ in Uganda
Critics of Labour’s eye-wateringly expensive drive for net zero will balk at the fact the government is also spending £15million taxpayer money on climate smart jobs in Uganda.
David Lammy's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office contract will ‘deliver services to support market systems development’ which will aim to ‘build resilience to climate change for at least 130,000 Ugandan households through climate smart agriculture.’
The contract will also ‘promote transformational change in Uganda's ability to adapt to and mitigate climate change and promote sustainable land management, with innovations likely to enable transformational change in the agricultural sector due to the programme intervention.’
£133k Bangladeshi shrimp health project
While pensioners were unable to afford to turn their heating on this winter, the Bangladeshi Agriculture University enjoyed funding to the tune of £133,000 to study Shrimp Health in the Bay of Bengal, 5,000 miles away.
The government defended the project as part of its global efforts to fight climate change.
£12million to help Mauritius access climate finance
Not only will British taxpayers be paying millions to Mauritius to surrender strategic islands of the Chagos, but they are also funding the pacific nation’s efforts to access climate change funding.
The ‘Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance’, as the contract states, is a response to calls from climate vulnerable countries that access to climate finance is slow, complex and not of sufficient scale.
The UK’s money will ‘mobilise finance, strengthen climate policy, drive capacity building and manage inclusive platforms to coordinate climate finance activities.’
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The shocking revelations of where Britain’s tax pounds are going have drawn widespread condemnation.
Joanna Marchong, the investigations campaign manager at the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will begin to question the value of UK Research and Innovation and its research projects.
“UKRI has received bigger budgets, year on year, in hopes of fuelling cutting-edge research and innovative technologies, but instead they have wasted millions of pounds on nonsense projects. If research budgets are going to continue to expand, ministers must ensure that they are allocated to effective projects and focus on worthwhile project outcomes.”
Conservative Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride added: “Given the Chancellor's disastrous Budget, it's clear that we must urgently rein in these pointless and eye-watering spending projects to stop further tax rises on hard-working families.
“The time for reckless spending is over.”
Pressed on some of the projects, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said ‘it is clear that all taxpayers' money should be spent properly.
'The whole Government recognises that and the upcoming spending review will go line-by-line through Government spending to ensure taxpayers' money is spent with the public's priorities at the heart of it.
'More generally we've been clear about our commitment to overseas aid to deliver a more stable world and to deliver security here at home.'
