Nigel Farage says he will tackle 'serious problems'

NIGEL Farage says he believes the new Reform UK administration at Lancashire County Council will be able to find financial savings - and reduce what he described as its 'quite excessive' level of debt.

- BY PAUL FAULKNER

The party leader was speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) during a visit to the new team running the authority.

It was revealed during the trip that the party's controversial 'DOGE' team - modelled on the United States' cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, originally run by Elon Musk - would be arriving in Lancashire next week.

Quizzed by the LDRS as to why he believed there was waste to be found within the walls of County Hall after years of austerity during the 2010s and spiralling demand for services since the pandemic, Mr Farage acknowledged: “We don't fully know [what we will find] until we go in and look.”

However, he added: “We believe we will find savings, we will find efficiencies and we're going to do our best to tackle these serious problems.”

Mr Farage said while the overarching aim was to balance the books - by at least achieving the £103m in savings the previous Tory administration had already stated would be needed over the next two years - he also wanted to 'establish some trust with council taxpayers.'

“If you look at the cumulative rise in council tax over the last decade or so, it's very significant.

“It's a big part of household bills and if we can show them that actually the money is being spent where it really should be spent they'll be pleased.”