Bedworth councillor George Finch has been Warwickshire County Council leader for eight months – but could be ousted from his post
Reform’s Warwickshire leader councillor George Finch who faces a vote of no confidence(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
Warwickshire’s under-fire Reform council leader had branded a vote of no confidence bid against him as ‘treachery’. Councillor George Finch has spoken to CoventryLive in the wake of the bombshell move to out him from his position of power at Shire Hall.
Green Party leader Cllr Jonathan Chilvers revealed that he will table the motion at a full council meeting at Shire Hall on Tuesday, March 17. He cited Cllr Finch’s alleged “attacks on officers” and partner organisations including Warwickshire Police, “breaches of confidentiality” and his defiance of the will of council after losing votes that asked him to withdraw his letter to the government on home-to-school transport and the redeclaration of a climate emergency.
But Bedworth Central representative, Cllr Finch told us that the move is ‘treacherous and undemocratic’.
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“There are a good few people have said to me, especially those in Bedworth, ‘you had our backs with the incident in Nuneaton in July last year (where he called out Warwickshire Police for allegedly covering up a rape case) and now we have yours’,” he explained.
“The vast of majority of people that I have spoken to have said to me that it is somewhat treachery that they (the Green councillors) are trying to do this.
“Six councillors that have a combination of 19,000 votes in all of Warwickshire are doing this, it is treachery, its undemocratic and people still have support in me and the faith in me and my administration to carry out the good work we are doing.”
When asked if he thinks the move is against him personally or the Reform party, he said: “They (the Greens) don’t like me and my administration as we are not cycle lane enthusiasts, we are not net zero lovers, we don’t agree with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), this (the vote of no confidence) is on our policy.
“Now, fine, argue that in the chamber, don’t put votes of no confidence in. This is down to political and policy differences.
Should a vote of no confidence be upheld, he would lose his position as leader – but he would not quit.
“I would not resign over this, no, because that would be a betrayal of people in Bedworth. I had their back back in July, with the whole incident in Nuneaton, and they have my back..
“That is why I am here, to stand up for our communities. I cannot allow this coalition of chaos to transcend into Warwickshire.”
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He quoted statistics from the county council elections last May and said that Reform polled 48,790 votes and the Conservatives got 40,040 votes
“The Liberal Democrats, Labour and Greens have 68,000 votes so it clearly shows there is a democratic mandate for the persuasion of a centre right party or parties,” he said.
“This (the vote of no confidence) is undemocratic as the majority voted for either Reform or Conservatives and not the others
“They are willing to jeopardise the democratic will of the people for their own gain,” he said.
Cllr Finch added from ‘day one’ they have been against Reform and it could lead to a Liberal Democrat, Green and Labour ‘coalition of chaos’ .
“They are all in on it to blow the whole place up into chaos,” he said. “They are willing to jeopardise the democratic will of the people for their own gain,” he said.
‘Totally a personal attack’
Cllr Chilvers previously explained to the Local Democracy Reporting Service why they are calling for him to be ousted, claiming he has brought the county into ‘disrepute’.
He claimed that Cllr Finch has made ‘unacceptable’ attacks on staff and partner institutions. “That violation of law, democratic norms and basic decency leaves us as Greens unable to continue to stand by and let our British democracy get attacked and Warwickshire undermined,” Cllr Chilvers said.
“As recently as January he said he wanted boots on the necks of officers – he had the opportunity to back down on that but instead he doubled down. Attacking council officers, who of course cannot reply, is a trend that started last July when he facilitated an attack on the chief executive (Monica Fogarty).
“He asked the chief constable (of Warwickshire Police, Alex Franklin-Smith) to resign when he already knew he was stepping down, that was a deeply cynical move. He has also attacked district and borough councils, refusing to retract those comments.”
But Cllr Finch said: “Unfortunately they have used things that the vast majority of people agree with me on as a way to persuade the public that we are not fit to govern,” he said.
“It is a totally personal attack but with us (Reform) we stick as a team, we are not a one man band so if you attack one of us, you attack all of us.
“I would argue we have a direction of travel, we have the ability to do things and we are doing things.”
Despite being the youngest ever council leader, the 19-year-old added: “There are councillors that do not have the relative life experience that would be appropriate for this role in 2026.
“I am the one that has got closer relevant experience to this year (2026), I get the things that are happening on the ground and that’s what Reform is about, putting the people first.”
He knows that if the vote goes against him, he will not only lose his role but Reform may also lose the minority administration it holds
“Seeing all the personal attacks shows it is a personal vendetta to take me out and Reform out,” he said.
“Therefore they have not got the best interests of Warwickshire at heart, that is very dangerous. A coalition of chaos that won’t last long.
“They will be saying that the Lefties took out Reform, but that is undemocratic and I don’t want to imagine the chaos that this will bring.”
All eyes will now be on the meeting on Tuesday and, in the face of losing his position, he remains defiant.
“We will always fight for the people of Warwickshire as it is our mandate to do that,” he said.
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