George Finch has been accused of bringing the council into disrepute
George Finch, the Reform leader of Warwickshire County Council, faces a vote of no confidence after being accused of bringing the council into disrepute.
As reported by the BBC, Green Party councillors have called for a vote on Finch’s position at the next full council meeting on 17 March.
Warwickshire Green Party group leader Jonathan Chilvers said the motion had been submitted due to a number of incidents. These include Finch accusing Warwickshire police of “covering up” the rape of a 12-year-old girl by not disclosing the immigration status of the suspects.
Finch also stripped the council’s chief executive, Monica Fogarty, of her authority to decide what flags can fly outside the council’s headquarters, after she refused to have the Pride flag removed.
Chilvers said: “George Finch has abused the office of leader of the council and time and again brought Warwickshire into disrepute.
“His repeated attacks on staff, partner institutions and use of his role for constant cheap and nasty political points scoring is unacceptable and violates rule of law, democratic norms and basic decency.”
Alongside the six Green councillors, the Lib Dems, Labour and Restore Britain councillors are backing the motion.
If the nine Conservative councillors support the motion or abstain, Reform would not have the numbers to keep Finch in place.
Finch is not the only Reform council leader to face a vote of no confidence. Last week, a motion was lodged to oust Worcestershire County Council’s leader Jo Monk after the Reform-run local authority raised council tax by 9%.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.