Much of the coverage of Reform UK’s ineptitude in local government has focused on Kent, the party’s so-called “flagship council” which, to be fair, has done the job given to it by Nigel Farage to demonstrate how it would succeed governing at the national level.
But a little further north, in Warwickshire, the party continues to flounder under the leadership of 19-year-old George Finch. The teenager, a GB News favourite, has just been hit with his third code of conduct probe after less than a year in office thanks to his seeming inability to stop hurling around childish insults on social media.
The latest complaints centre around posts Finch made on Facebook and X, one apparently using AI to mock up an image of rival Conservative councillor Jan Matecki as a cartoon burglar in facemask and striped shirt, another depicting Rugby borough councillors as clowns and one describing the then leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth council Chris Watkins as a “squatter” should he participate in scrapping May’s borough elections and remain in his position afterwards.
They follow the council commissioning an external solicitor to examine complaints regarding Finch making public allegations about an ongoing criminal case – a potential breach of contempt of court laws – and Matecki reporting other concerns about Finch’s social media depictions of him. These complaints have been backed by Liberal Democrat councillor Sarah Boad, who has described Finch’s approach as “very rude and very personal”.
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In his defence, Finch says that “people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”, telling the Coventry Telegraph of Boad: “After cabinet I said ‘see you later, have a lovely rest of your day. She said ‘not if I see you first’, so she is just as bad.” A reminder Finch is in charge of a local budget with an annual budget of £141 million!
Meanwhile, the Reform chair of Warwickshire Council has stepped down after being found to be illegally running two unsafe rental properties. The unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in Staffordshire, are owned by Edward Harris, who Tamworth Council described as a “rogue landlord”.
The council said it had issued closure notices on the homes after discovering numerous serious safety failures including a lack of central heating and hot water, no working fire alarms, inadequate cooking facilities and unsafe access to outdoor areas. Harris has now resigned his position as chairman, quit the Reform whip and said he will sit as an independent councillor while the matter was being looked into.
Finch has said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on the details while the proper process is ongoing, and I would urge others not to speculate” – advice he might soon wish he’d taken over a certain criminal case.
