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.”