Around the country, councils run by Reform UK are beginning to come to terms with the fact that there is little wasteful spending left to cut. But not in Leicestershire, where the county council's minority Reform administration is still living in la-la land.
Here's Dan Harrison, the Reform leader of Leicestershire County Council, talking to BBC News the other day:
The Reform UK leader of Leicestershire County Council has said a "deep dive" efficiency drive will be carried out to try to cut the authority's costs.
Dan Harrison said he wanted to bring in specialists from international firms to find ways of reducing the council's annual £1.3bn spend. ...
"They [the specialists] come from big companies. They know what they are doing.
"I'm looking for maximum efficiency that will have an effect on our budget."
When asked how much it would cost to employ the specialists, the council leader said he was unable to say because contracts had yet to be signed.
"Whatever they charge, it will be a hundred times to the benefit of the authority," Harrison said.
That gurgling sound you can hear is public money disappearing down the drain.
Quite why international companies would want to loan members of staff to an English local authority is never explained. Nor is there any recognition that any such project would have to be put out to competitive tender. You can't just call in someone you met at, say, the Reform conference.
So it looks as though the ruling Reform group in Leicestershire will eventually be dragged kicking and screaming into the real world.
Should you wish to, you can listed to the whole of the interview with Dan Harrison on the BBC website.
Anyone who thinks large companies are good at saving money has never worked for one
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