James Watt, the co-founder of BrewDog, has announced plans to establish a “Shadow DOGE” to monitor and reduce government spending in the UK.
The former BrewDog chief executive took to LinkedIn to announce his plans to fix UK Government inefficiency, following the lead of the quasi-governmental department set up under US President Donald Trump’s new administration
Watt’s proposal comes as he points out that the UK government will spend £1.276 trillion this year, suggesting that a mere 1% reduction in spending could address the budget deficit, while a 10% saving could fund significant infrastructure projects.
The BrewDog founder, announcing his plan on LinkedIn, described it as the “unofficial, underground cousin” to Musk’s department in America.
Setting out his plan of action, Watt listed the things Shadow Doge would do.
“Using extensive Freedom of Information requests to public bodies to delve deeply into how carelessly our tax money is being spent.
“Put an anonymous hotline in place for public sector workers to report waste.
“Publish a monthly report which shows all the ways we have found that the government could be more efficient with how they spend your hard-earned taxes.
“Take an entrepreneurial approach to the public sector and highlight billions of pounds of potential savings.
“Publish a league table of the worst offending public bodies when it comes to wasting our money.”
Watt criticised both the Labour government and the previous Conservative administration, with the government choosing between raising taxes and cutting spending.
He added: “Together with the business community, I want to show there is a better way.
“We show that if our government can become significantly more frugal with how it spends our money that will represent a far better solution than further increasing taxes which just leads to job losses and economic pain for everyone.
“The UK government will spend £1.276 trillion this year. If we save just 1%, we could fix our budget deficit. If we save 10%, we could build the strongest economy in the world.”
As well as the statement on Instagram, a website has also been launched at shadowdoge.org, allowing users to sign up for more information or to “report government waste”.
The timing and style of the announcement, coupled with Watt’s history of attention-grabbing initiatives, might lead some to speculate about whether this is a serious proposal or a publicity move.
Since leaving the brewery business he co-founded and ran for 17 years, Watt has tried various entrepreneurial ventures – the latest being a proposed reality TV show seeking the UK’s next unicorn business.
