Reform councillors 'standing by George Finch' ahead of no confidence vote
The Warwickshire County Council leader is accused of abusing his position
Reform UK councillors say they are standing by Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch ahead of a vote of no confidence next week.
Green Party councillors have called for him to step down, accusing him of abusing his position.
They have said they are growing tired of what they have called “repeated attacks on staff, partner institutions and the use of his role for constant, cheap and nasty political point scoring”.
Examples they gave include the young councillor making comments in public about "placing boots on necks" of council staff to push through political will, posting defamatory content about opposition councillors, and commenting on a live criminal case during a national press conference that risked contempt of court.
But the deputy leader of the authority insists that Councillor Finch's comments do not meet the threshold for removal.
Councillor Stephen Shaw said: “Some things we agree on, other things we don’t, but at the end of the day you don’t always agree with everyone.
“We voted for George as our leader and fully support him.
“He says some great things, he says some things he shouldn’t say, but that’s politics - I don’t think it is worth a vote of no confidence."
The vote will be held on Tuesday 17 March.