A teenager only just turning 19 has been confirmed as the Reform UK leader of a £2billion council, one of Britain’s biggest local authorities.
George Finch, who celebrated his latest birthday earlier this month, has now been given the seal of approval to run Warwickshire County Council, two months on from being elected as a ward representative.
He had been filling the post in an interim role since the resignation last month of fellow councillor Rob Howard just 41 days after taking charge, on health grounds.
There have been question marks over whether he would stay in place, since Reform UK does not have a majority on the local authority despite winning most seats in May.
But potential challenges from Conservative, Liberal Democrat or Green contenders were seen off in a formal vote held today.
Mr Finch’s colleagues have welcomed his victory, though critics have also warned about the duties now handed to someone so young and who just 12 months ago was in the middle of his A-levels.
Tuesday’s decision makes Mr Finch the UK’s youngest permanent council leader.
Conservative members of the local authority abstained from a vote on who should be granted the role full-time, after their candidate finished third in an earlier round.
George Finch, 19, has been confirmed as permanent leader of Warwickshire County Council
George Finch, pictured here with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, now finds himself in charge of a local authority with more than £1.5billion in assets and a revenue budget of about £500million
Mr Finch then found himself tied on nominations with the Lib Dems’ Jerry Roodhouse.
But he secured victory thanks to a casting vote by Warwickshire’s council chairman Edward Harris, a fellow Reform member.
Mr Harris said afterwards he was ‘disappointed and excited at the same time’, describing the tied vote as ‘not something I take lightly at all, and something I would rather not have happened’.
Mr Finch switched allegiance from the Conservatives to Reform UK year before being elected as a councillor in this May’s local elections, in which his new party formed a minority administration in Warwickshire.
The youngster, ward councillor for Bedworth Central, was put in charge of an authority with assets worth more than £1.5billion and a revenue budget of about £500million.
Before joining Reform, he was a member of the Conservative Party and did work experience in the parliamentary office of Nuneaton’s former Tory MP Sir Marcus Jones.
He reportedly switched support after concluding Reform would take a tougher stance on illegal immigration, an issue he described as central to his political beliefs.
On the New Reformer website, Mr Finch outlined his views under three core themes: ‘Brexit, sovereignty and a strong and united family unit.’
Mr Finch took over from Reform colleague Rob Howard (pictured), who quit his post as council leader with immediate effect just weeks after the party’s gains in the May local elections
Concerns about his lack of ‘qualifications’ were raised in the House of Commons last month by Rachel Taylor, Labour’s Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth – calling his appointment in the interim role ‘of real concern to my constituents’.
Among Mr Finch’s first moves when given his interim leadership position was ordering to be taken down a Pride flag flying outside Warwickshire’s county hall – in line with Reform’s stated policy of only flying British flags.
But he was defied by Warwickshire County Council’s chief executive Monica Fogarty, who said: ‘I am afraid I will not be taking the action that you are requesting.’
Earlier this month Mr Finch declared that the council needed a ‘fresh, bold approach to policy creation’, after the Reform-lead cabinet voted unanimously to accept principles set out in the local authority’s medium-term financial plan – including how it would ‘be necessary to set a very high bar for new permanent budget allocations’.
Mr Finch said in a statement: ‘For years, the council administration has relied on the corporate policy team to come up with the innovative ideas required to shepherd Warwickshire through the crises we face.
‘We’ve found this team to be unable to bring about the change we were elected for.’
He then said last week after being confirmed as Reform’s candidate for the permanent leadership: ‘I’m pleased to have received the overwhelming consent of my fellow Reform councillors to carry on the work I started as deputy leader, and more recently as interim leader.
‘As leader of Warwickshire County Council, I will spearhead the delivery of our comprehensive road renewal plan, be at the forefront of providing better SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) service and oversee Warwickshire’s upcoming local government reorganisation where I’m determined to give every Warwickshire resident proper representation at council level.
George Finch is thought to be Britain’s youngest permanent council leader
‘In May’s local elections, my colleagues and I stood on a promise of delivering meaningful change, and that’s what we will do.
‘As well as overhauling transport to properly fix our roads and delivering adequate bus services, we will be reforming education to help young people get into skills-based training and apprenticeships more easily. Warwickshire needs Reform and with me as leader, Warwickshire will get Reform.’
Mr Finch’s father has worked on construction sites while his mother has been employed in a factory and as a teaching assistant for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
He told the Telegraph last month: ‘I’ve seen everything in life. I know I may be 18 and people might think, well, he knows nothing. I’ve seen a lot, I’ve experienced a lot more than my age should experience.’
He studied history, law and politics at A-level before embarking on a university course whose first year he has just finished, amid ambitions to become a history teacher.
Mr Finch said last month: ‘I love teaching history, but I can’t teach history with the way the curriculum is going, the way the school and the education system is hindering children’s futures and young people’s futures. My aim is to change that and then go back and be a teacher once that’s done.’
Lib Dem group leader Mr Roodhouse today missed out on the permanent leader role despite support from not only his own party but also Green and Labour members.
He said afterwards: ‘Democracy was done today, but it was also a sad day as all political groups could have come together to ensure residents get frontline services.’
Warwickshire county council’s chief executive Monica Fogarty rejected a call by Reform group leader George Finch to take down a Pride flag from outside the authority’s HQ
He also insisted his party would now ‘work hard now for all residents’ and ‘hold Reform to account’.
Meanwhile, Green Party group leader Jonathan Chilvers told of being ‘disappointed’ that there would not be a cross-party unity administration running the authority.
He added: ‘With no party having a majority, that would have been the fairest reflection of what people voted for.’
A unnamed Conservative councillor has been quoted as saying: ‘This is not a moment for experimentation. It is one for experienced leadership.’
Announcing his departure from the top job last month, Mr Finch’s Reform colleague Mr Howard said his decision to step down so soon was made ‘with much regret’.
He added: ‘The role of leader is an extremely demanding role and regretfully my health challenges now prevent me from carrying out the role to the level and standard that I would wish.
‘I am honoured and privileged to have held the role, even if only for a short time. I remain committed to my continued role working as a county councillor for the benefit of Warwickshire residents.’
