Warwickshire Reform County Council leader resigns, leaving 18-year-old in charge

The recently elected leader of Warwickshire County Council has resigned, leaving his 18-year-old deputy in charge.

Reform UK councillor Rob Howard released a short statement in which he said he had made the decision with “much regret”.

Howard was elected in May, when Reform made unprecedented gains in the local elections, becoming the largest party in Warwickshire and forming a minority administration.

The outgoing leader cited his health as the reason for his decision, adding: “The role of leader is an extremely demanding role and regretfully my health challenges now prevent me from carrying out the role to the level and standard that I would wish.”

He also confirmed that his current deputy, George Finch, would serve as interim leader until the council confirmed a new leader in due course.

Mr Finch declined to speak to the BBC about the changes but on Thursday issued a statement in which he said there would be a leadership election in the next week.

“We want to make sure the election process is fair and candidates are competing on a level playing field. Let’s see where we are in a week’s time,” he added.

The 18-year-old said he would ensure the council was in “steady hands” until then and the party’s mission “remained unchanged”.

Rachel Taylor, Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, said Howard’s resignation would be a “real concern” for her constituents.

“We desperately need a functioning council to fill in potholes, deliver our care services and end the crisis in SEND education.”

Taylor added there had been questions about how well the Reform administration had been functioning since the local election.

“[The questions are] not helped by the council leader missing the first meeting to take a holiday to the Dominican Republic or telling the local paper his council didn’t have any specific policies,” the MP said.

She wished Howard well and urged Reform councillors to elect a new leader “as quickly as possible” so the authority could “start governing effectively in the interest of Warwickshire residents”.

Speaking to the BBC earlier this month, Howard said he was “not intimidated” by the challenge of running a local authority with £1.5bn of assets and a revenue budget of about £500m.

Despite resigning the top job with immediate effect, Howard confirmed he would be staying on as a county councillor.

“I am honoured and privileged to have held the role, even if only for a short time. I remain committed to my continued role working as a county councillor for the benefit of Warwickshire residents,” he said.

A spokesperson for Reform UK Warwickshire said the party would not be “distracted” by the resignation and it was “getting on with the job”.

“We’re already exploring how we can implement our Pothole Renewal Plan for the county to fill the 6,500 potholes we inherited from the Conservatives, introduce an apprenticeship programme to kickstart careers, and improve provisions for children with SEND,” the spokesperson added.

Finch, councillor for Bedworth Central, was a member of the Conservative Party for three months before switching to Reform on the grounds that it would better tackle illegal immigration.

On the New Reformer website, he said his politics could be summed up as “Brexit, sovereignty and a strong and united family unit”.