Reform plans to ‘dramatically’ cut civil service numbers if elected despite lack of government experience
The party has said the reform plans to “significantly” reduce the number of civil servants if they win the next election, although there is no experience of government within the party.
Danny Kruger, who left the Conservative Party last month, told a press conference in Westminster that the party would not renew the lease on a number of government buildings, including those housing the Home Office and the Department for Transport.
He promised to “reverse” the service’s growth in recent years and promised to overhaul the rules governing the work of Whitehall, promising a “more concentrated machine of government”.
Mr Kruger, the East Wiltshire MP who defected to Mr Farage’s party in September, has been given the task of leading Reform’s government preparations.
The MP, who served as a shadow minister but never held a cabinet post, told the press conference: “If we win the election, we will draft the law and be ready to implement it, a new ministerial code and civil service code will be drafted, orders in the council will be prepared, people will line up for important appointments and everything will start from day one.”
He said they had “informed the civil service that we expect the number of employees to fall significantly under the reform government”.
He also said his party “did not come with a chainsaw or a wrecking ball”, adding: “We respect the institutions of the country, the armed forces, the police, the church, the judiciary, and we respect the professionalism and expertise of the people working in these institutions, as long as these people respect the right of Parliament and ministers to set the rules by which they will work.”
Mr Kruger pointed to six buildings currently occupied by government offices for which Reform does not plan to renew its lease.
These included buildings on Marsham Street, Horseferry Road and Victoria Street, which housed the Home Office, Department of Transport and Department of Health and Social Care respectively.
Asked by Independent On whether the reduction in office space would mean civil servants working from home, Mr Kruger said the party was “against” the idea of working from home, believing it was bad for productivity and staff welfare, but they were confident the reduction in headcount meant they could do without these premises.
Mr Kruger was the first Conservative MP to switch to Reform and at the time described the move as “personally painful” and stated that his former party was “finished”.
“We had a year of stagnation and drift,” he said.
“And the false unity and outcome that comes from not doing anything bold, difficult or controversial is at the ballot box.”
Asked if he made the right decision to leave, the MP said on Tuesday: “I’ve been very inspired by the people I’ve met at Reform. This is a serious party that takes its job seriously, and I’m very encouraged by that.”
Addressing the racism row that has roiled the party after MP Sarah Pochin said the sight of black and brown people in adverts “driven me crazy”, Mr Kruger said every party “will have bad days in the media”.
But he insisted that Reformation had seen “a steady increase in popular support” and stressed that he had made his plans public “so that no one can claim to be blind when we come to power”.
Reform continued to consolidate its lead in the polls with new figures released by YouGov on Tuesday.
The data showed Reform was ahead by 10 points, with 27 per cent of people saying they would support the party if there was a general election tomorrow.
Labor and the Conservatives are neck-and-neck with 17 per cent of the vote each, while the Greens and Liberal Democrats are not far behind with 16 per cent and 15 per cent of the vote respectively.
