Scottish Labour would set up an Elon Musk-style department to clear out inefficient quangos and government waste if it wins power next year, Anas Sarwar has said.
The Scottish Labour leader said their own “department of government efficiency” – a title identical to Musk’s Doge – would oversee efforts to save money by scrapping dozens of quangos, merging health boards and cutting costs.
A recent decision by the Scottish government to reinstate peak fares on domestic rail services would be reversed, while Labour would also reform local government by allowing regions to elect mayors on the English model.
Sarwar promised that Scottish Labour would reverse the SNP’s longstanding ban on new nuclear power stations to support new jobs and secure baseload energy as part of its pursuit of clean energy.
Most of Scotland’s 50 health boards would be merged, and Scottish ministers would make greater use of English hospitals and private providers to cut waiting lists – a reform close to NHS policy in England and Wales.
