Latest news with #GeorgeFinch
BBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Warwickshire residents give their view on the appointment of the UK's youngest council leader
For many Warwickshire residents, finding out a teenager is running their local council has come as a UK's George Finch officially became the UK's youngest council leader on Tuesday when, at 19 years old, he took charge of Warwickshire County BBC visited the streets of Warwick town centre to see what local reaction to the news was. Vic Mann told us he didn't think age was an issue: "I think that's fine, it brings a younger dimension to people in those sorts of positions."Do we know that the people that are there have previous experience anyway? I guess we've all got to learn somewhere, and it's a young head but it could be quite an interesting development."Geoffrey Manion labelled the appointment "crazy". He said: "He hasn't lived long enough to know what's what."At the end of the day, he's just not old enough. It's crazy, absolutely crazy." Pete Weston wasn't happy at the news, but not because of the leader's said: "Personally, I think it's awful because I don't like Reform and what they stand for. The fact that he's young doesn't matter, it's the fact he represents Reform."It's a time for young people to look after things. Our generation have made a right mess. But I don't think Reform is the way forward at all."His wife, Liz Weston, believes age is an issue. She said: "I have no problem with him being a councillor, but I have a big problem with him being the leader of the council."I just think you need more experience of life before you can take on such a position of responsibility. It wouldn't happen in any other walk of life, would it?"Yvonne Stanley said the news was "a little bit of a surprise". She said: "Fair play to him if he can do the job. Just because he's young doesn't mean to say that he's not capable."
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Who is Reform's George Finch? The teenager now in charge of a multi-million pound council budget
Alarm has been raised after 19-year-old George Finch was named leader of Warwickshire County Council weeks after a public spat over a Pride flag - and Reform was immediately accused of hypocracy Alarm has been raised after a 19-year-old Reform politician was put in charge of a cash-strapped council - and immediately agreed to splash £150,000 on advisors. George Finch was appointed at the helm of Warwickshire County Council after his predecessor quit having been in post for 41 days. Voters voiced concern about giving a teenager with no relevant experience so much power - particularly after he started a public spat over a Pride flag at the council. Labour MP Preet Gill said: "This is not work experience." Mr Finch, who served as interim council leader before his hotly-contested appointment, hit the headlines in June when he demanded a Progress Pride flag - showing support for the LGBTQ+ community - was removed. The council's chief executive, Monica Fogarty, refused to do so. The row prompted Nigel Farage to attack the public servant, suggesting she "should look for a new job". Following Mr Finch's appointment at a meeting picketed by protesters, Warwickshire's Reform group was accused of hypocrisy after agreeing to hire political advisors. This was despite pledging to cut wasteful spending. The council, which has an overall budget of £2billion currently faces an £87million defecit. Lib Dem councillor George Cowcher told The Guardian: 'These proposals are all about spending some money so they can have a chum in their group and I think that is not particularly helpful given the financial state of this council." And the Green Party's Sam Jones said: 'Reform have had a sniff of power, they're making it so clear that they never cared a jot for the will of their supporters. No to overpaid, unelected bureaucrats before the election, but yes to up to £150,000 of unfunded spending on political assistants now the campaigning is over.' Mr Finch, who told the BBC he had wanted to be a teacher but was put off by "socialist wokeism", said the leaders of all three big parties on the council - Reform, the Tories and the Lib Dems - would get a political assistant. This was because council officers had not shown enough imagination in past years, he claimed. He hit out at those anxious about his young age, saying: "All I see is age… I don't care about my age. Would people be questioning if there was a 70-year-old at the helm? Probably not. " Joe Biden, Donald Trump, presidents that are older – no-one questions it. But they're questioning someone who is 19." Ms Gill said voters in Warwickshire "frankly deserve better'. 'This is not work experience,' she told the BBC. 'This is not about learning on the job.' His appointment drew a mixed reaction from locals. One woman told Channel 4 news it was "ridiculous". She said: "Too young, no experience, big budget to deal with, a wide range of issues to cover. I just can't see that he would have the experience to do it." Another said: "I think 19-year-olds can be supported. They can be chaperoned and shepherded in those roles. But I think that also takes resources as well. Have we got the time and the money for that in this country? I don't think we have." However not everyone was against it. One young woman told the broadcaster: "I think it's good. I think we need new people to lead and I think it's going to be great for the country and the council."
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Row as Reform councillors back spending £150,000 on political advisers
Reform UK councillors have come under fire over plans to spend £150,000 on political advisers despite vowing to cut costs. George Finch, the 19-year-old leader of Warwickshire county council, put forward the plans, which were narrowly approved, on Tuesday. The money would pay for publicly funded political advisers for Reform and the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, the two next largest parties on the council. Despite losing a vote over climate change, Reform pushed through the £150,000 spending plans. Green councillor Sam Jones told The Guardian: 'Reform have had a sniff of power, they're making it so clear that they never cared a jot for the will of their supporters. No to overpaid, unelected bureaucrats before the election, but yes to up to £150,000 of unfunded spending on political assistants now the campaigning is over.' And Lib Dem councillor George Cowcher said: 'These proposals are all about spending some money so they can have a chum in their group and I think that is not particularly helpful given the financial state of this council.' The spending plans come after Reform's success in the May local elections, during which it campaigned on a promise of cutting costs and boosting efficiency. It has copied Elon Musk and Donald Trump 's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) unit, sending teams of software engineers and data analysts into local authorities to identify wasteful spending. Reform's Doge unit is led by former party chairman Zia Yusuf, who quit and then returned to a prominent role in the party after 48 hours following a row over calls to ban the burqa. Sending the Doge unit into Kent county council last month, Mr Yusuf said: 'For too long British taxpayers have watched their money vanish into a black hole. 'Their taxes keep going up, their bin collections keep getting less frequent, potholes remain unfixed, their local services keep getting cut. Reform won a historic victory on a mandate to change this. 'As promised, we have created a UK Doge to identify and cut wasteful spending of taxpayer money. Our team will use cutting-edge technology and deliver real value for voters.' The row over political advisers at Warwickshire county council threatens to undermine the party's promise to ruthlessly cut costs and save local taxpayers' cash. Mr Finch defended the plans, challenging councillors who opposed not to take advantage of the funding. Mr Finch took over Warwickshire county council temporarily after the previous council leader, also a member of Reform, resigned just weeks after being elected. On Tuesday he was voted in as the leader of Warwickshire County Council, which has £1.5bn of assets and a budget of around £500m.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Reform councillors criticised after voting to spend £150,000 on political advisers
Reform UK councillors have been accused of hypocrisy after voting to spend £150,000 on hiring political advisers at a county council despite pledging to cut waste and save money. The plans were put forward by Reform councillor George Finch, a 19-year-old who was narrowly elected as the leader of Warwickshire county council during a meeting on Tuesday, which was picketed by protesters. The protest came after a row over an attempt by Finch, as interim leader, to have a Pride flag removed from council headquarters before the end of Pride month. The chief executive refused the request, telling him she was responsible for such decisions. However, there was fresh controversy during a meeting of the council, one of several where Reform became the largest party in the recent local elections, as it narrowly pushed through plans to hire political advisers but lost a separate vote relating to the climate crisis. Opposition councillors accused Reform of reneging on promises to voters over the political advisers, who would be publicly funded for it and the other two largest parties, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. 'These proposals are all about spending some money so they can have a chum in their group and I think that is not particularly helpful given the financial state of this council,' said George Cowcher, councillor and deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats. He added that it was almost a quarter of the way through the financial year and there had yet to be any proposals from Reform about managing the authority's budget. Sam Jones, a Green party councillor, said: 'Reform have had a sniff of power, they're making it so clear that they never cared a jot for the will of their supporters. No to overpaid, unelected bureaucrats before the election, but yes to up to £150,000 of unfunded spending on political assistants now the campaigning is over.' Finch defended the plans, which would involve a political assistant for each of the three big parties, on the basis that it was permitted by legislation and occurred in other councils. If other parties were against it, he challenged them to vote against the plan and then choose not to hire political assistants. His colleague, the councillor Michael Bannister, said the party saw the move as 'value for money' and funds would be found from elsewhere. However, there was a defeat for Reform when opposition MPs supported a green motion to recognise that scientific evidence clearly states climate change is happening, and support the council's 2019 vote to declare a 'climate emergency.' 'We are here as local people sorting out local problems. It is ridiculous to be asking for anything else,' said Reform councillor Luke Cooper, who said he had experience of installing solar panels and measures that he said people could not afford. Sarah Feeney, the Labour leader, said the climate crisis was a 'not a hypothetical' and was already having a major impact on farmers, with flooding causing elderly people to sometimes barricade themselves in their homes. Tracey Drew, a Green party councillor, said: 'The least well off in our county are going to be the first and the most to be impacted by the effects of climate change.' Outside the council meeting, demonstrators included Becky Davidson, a district councillor who said she was there to support the LGBT community. Finch was 'using a marginalised community as a propaganda tool', she said. Carolyn, a resident of Stratford-upon-Avon, was holding a placard reading: 'Donald Trump inspires Farage to import to the UK DEI: Division, Exclusion, Inequality'. She said she was worried about Reform overturning 'policies around recognising the climate emergency' and that she was there to object to Finch's 'pettiness' over the Pride flag.
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
How a teenager became council leader just weeks after election
19-year-old George Finch has been appointed as the leader of Warwickshire County Council, which manages £1.5bn in assets and a £500m budget. Finch's appointment follows the resignation of the previous Reform leader, Rob Howard, who cited health challenges. Labour MP Preet Gill criticised the decision, stating that the people of Warwickshire "deserve better" and that the role is "not work experience." Reform UK councillor Finch secured the leadership after a tie vote with the Liberal Democrat nominee, Jerry Roodhouse, which was broken by the council's chair, Edward Harris. The appointment occurs amidst recent turmoil for Reform UK, including several councillor resignations post-local elections and suggestions from a leading pollster that the party's support has "topped out."
