Esther McVey went to war on 'diversity' experts costing taxpayers millions - and won

Former "common sense" tzar succeeded in slashing millions of pounds of wasteful government spending on , new data revealed. The former minister is now calling for the UK to have its own or DOGE, similar to the US body previously led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, to find billions in further savings.

Ms McVey declared war on so-called equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives in her role as a Cabinet Office minister during the last Conservative government. She set out plans to prevent the Civil Service becoming "a pointless job-creation scheme for the politically correct", including axing all EDI jobs outside of human resources departments. The remaining posts would be dedicated to ensuring the Government met its legal obligations rather than political campaigning, she said.

Government figures have now shown that EDI spending on the 2024-25 financial year was just £70,842, plus VAT.

Changes overseen by Ms McVey included ensuring that all spending on external EDI schemes, such as bringing in an outside organisation to provide training, had to be personally signed off by a minister.

Government data showed £20million was spent on staff fully dedicated to EDI in 2022-23, while £5.6million was spent on EDI initiatives within Whitehall and £800,000 was spent on advice and training from external organisations. Another £700,000 was spent on EDI "staff networks".

Ms McVey said: "We cut costs by being ruthless and we showed that it can be done.

"And it demonstrates why we need our own DOGE department here in the UK. You can look at the things that went wrong in the US, in particular the fact that it wasn't actually a government department, but it saved around £60billion.

"You need to close down EDI. We started the process, but there is a lot more to do and it takes a lot of work."

An analysis by campaign group Conservative Way Forward found the total cost to taxpayers of EDI initiatives was £7billion. It followed Freedom of Information Requests to 6,000 bodies, including quangos and charities receiving government grants.

There are signs of a backlash against EDI spending in the private sector, too. The Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates finance firms such as banks and pension providers, launched a consultation in 2023 on plans to require firms to draw up diversity strategies and set targets for staff from minority communities, with larger firms required to publish annual reports. It said this would cost businesses £561million initially and £317million every year. After an outcry, it scrapped the proposals in March.

Polling by Policy Exchange found 50% of people agree that businesses have become too concerned with taking political positions on contested issues. In total, 75%, including a majority of black and Asian people, believe companies should hire employees on merit regardless of race or gender.

The study found 61% of people would rather work for a company that is "passionately committed to delivering excellent customer service", while only 28% of people would choose a company that would "always prioritise creating a diverse and inclusive space for everyone".

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said his government would save £7billion by axing EDI initiatives if he wins a general election, helping to pay for policies such as increasing the income tax personal allowance to £20,000 at a cost of between £50-£80billion a year.

The £70,842 spending in 2024-25 including funding for Islamophobia and antisemitism training, Black History Month and Diwali events and LGBT training events. The Crown Prosecution Service, which spent £17,097.75 in total, renewed a subscription to a group called Inclusive Employers, which says it helps create "truly inclusive workplaces".

In a recent blog post on its website, Inclusive Employers argued the recent UK Supreme Court ruling that references to "sex" in equality legislation mean biological sex "shows LGBTQ+ rights are still under threat".