George Finch (councillor)
George Finch | |
|---|---|
| Leader of Warwickshire County Council | |
| Assumed office 22 July 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Rob Howard |
| Deputy Leader of Warwickshire County Council | |
| In office 16 May 2025 – 22 July 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Butlin |
| Councillor for Warwickshire County Council | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2025 | |
| Ward | Bedworth Central |
| Preceded by | Brian Hammersley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 2006 (age 19) |
| Political party | Reform UK (since 2024) |
| Other political affiliations | Conservative Party (2024) |
| Education | Higham Lane School |
| Occupation | Politician |
George Finch (born July 2006) is a British local politician from Reform UK, who is the current leader of Warwickshire County Council.
He is the youngest council leader in the UK, taking permanent office on 22 July 2025 at age of 19.[1]
Career
Finch was educated at Higham Lane School in Nuneaton.[2] Prior to his role as a councillor, Finch was a youth councillor for Nuneaton and Bedworth, and served as associate editor for the New Reformer website.[3] He had been planning to attend university in order to study history, with a view to becoming a history teacher, but decided not to do so because he did not like the curriculum and believed universities and colleges to be "a conveyor belt for socialist wokeism".[4]
Political career
Finch was a member of the Conservative Party prior to the 2024 general election, but has variously claimed he was "kicked out" of the party, and that he left because he felt frustrated because he saw "no traction in the way to stop illegal immigration".[3] After joining Reform UK, he was first elected as a councillor for the Bedworth Central ward in the 2025 Warwickshire County Council election.[3] Reform UK went from having no councillors before the election to being the largest party after the election, albeit falling short of an overall majority. He was selected as deputy leader of the council on 16 May 2025, with fellow Reform councillor Rob Howard being selected as leader.[5]
On 25 June 2025, Howard resigned as council leader for health reasons, leading to the then-18-year-old Finch serving as interim leader.[6] He was confirmed as permanent leader on 22 July after Conservative councillors abstained, leading to a tie that was resolved by the council chairman and Reform member, Edward Harris.[1] Finch's election as council leader put him in charge of a local authority with £1.5bn worth of assets and an annual budget of £500m,[7] and faced criticism from opposition politicians due to his age and lack of experience.[4] Finch has dismissed his critics as "ageist" and "not relevant".[4]
One of his first acts as leader was to oversee a vote on a proposal to hire political advisers, at a cost of £150,000, something that was criticised by opposition politicians as a waste of public funds. The proposal was narrowly passed by councillors.[8] In August 2025, he published a letter on social media claiming that Warwickshire Police had covered up that the suspects of an alleged rape were asylum seekers.[9]
Personal life
Finch lives in Nuneaton. He has played rugby union since the age of four, something he says has given him "great team-building skills and leadership skills".[3]
References
- ^ a b Gilbert, Simon (22 July 2025). "Teenager voted in as UK's youngest council leader". BBC News. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
- ^ Harrison, Claire (22 July 2025). "Teenage Reform leader handed control of Warwickshire council – full vote results". Coventry Live. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ^ a b c d Yip, Ann (26 June 2025). "Who is George Finch – UK's youngest council leader and Reform's new leader for Warwickshire?". ITV News. ITV. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
- ^ a b c Gilbert, Simon (23 July 2025). "Teenage Warwickshire Reform UK council leader George Finch 'wanted to teach'". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ^ Mitchell, Andy (16 May 2025). "Reform takes minority control of Warwickshire County Council via Conservative support – but new leader wasn't there to see it". Warwickshire World. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
- ^ Glinka, Elizabeth (25 June 2025). "Council boss quits, leaving 18-year-old in charge". Retrieved 22 July 2025.
- ^ Devlin, Kate (22 July 2025). "Teenager to run Reform-led county council with multimillion-pound budget". The Independent. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ^ Quinn, Ben; Pidd, Helen (23 July 2025). "Reform councillors criticised after voting to spend £150,000 on political advisers". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ^ Hughes, Chloe (5 August 2025). "Police respond to council leader's 'rape cover-up' claim". BBC News. Retrieved 6 August 2025.