Meet George Finch: The 19-year-old fresher who just became a county council leader

There aren’t many first years I’d trust with a two billion pound budget

6 hours ago

While most 19-year-old uni students are debating whether pesto counts as a vegetable, George Finch is now running a council with a two billion pound budget on behalf of Reform UK. That’s worlds away from trying not to blow your whole student loan on nights out and takeaways.

Despite being a fresher, George Finch has just finished his first year studying politics at the University of Leicester and has been made full time leader of Warwickshire County Council.

George is the youngest council leader in the UK

via Facebook

At 19, he’s now the youngest council leader in the UK. Like many first year students, he still lives at home and can’t drive yet. Unlike every other first year, he is spending his summer overseeing services for an entire county.

George had actually only just finished his A-Levels in history, law and politics this time last year. He then became interim leader in June after the previous council leader, Rob Howard, resigned due to health reasons. And he’s now been confirmed as the full-time leader after winning a tied council vote.

He first got involved in politics through the Conservatives, but switched to Reform UK where he ended up leading the party’s local campaign.

One of his first moves as interim leader was asking for the Progress Pride flag to be taken down from outside the council’s HQ, a request that was publicly rejected by the council’s chief executive and which reached national headlines.

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George has also criticised the opportunities available to young people in the UK at the moment, saying: “People can’t afford homes, they can’t have a car, postgraduate jobs are decreasing.”

He initially planned to become a history teacher after uni

via Facebook

Despite getting into politics, at an early age, George actually planned on going into teaching after uni but said the curriculum and the wider education system actually put him off. He described universities and schools as a “conveyor belt for socialist wokeism.”

He explained: “I wanted to be a history teacher. I loved history and I loved teaching but the problem was the curriculum, especially history. Universities and colleges are a conveyor belt for socialist wokeism.”

Reactions from the public have been mixed

Reactions from residents to George’s appointment have been mixed. One man told the BBC he thought that George “lived long enough to know what’s what”, with another noted that she believed he was taking on a lot of responsibility whilst still being a teenager.

“I have no problem with him being a councillor, but I have a big problem with him being the leader of the council. I just think you need more experience of life before you can take on such a position of responsibility. It wouldn’t happen in any other walk of life, would it?”

Others were in support of George, with one resident from George’s local council area saying: “Fair play to him if he can do the job. Just because he’s young doesn’t mean to say that he’s not capable.”

‘I don’t care about my age’

George hasn’t let the criticism get to him, explaining to the BBC that he doesn’t care that he’s young.

Using other politicians as examples, he said: “I don’t care about my age. Would people be questioning if there was a 70-year-old at the helm? Probably not. Joe Biden, Donald Trump, presidents that are older – no one questions it. But they’re questioning someone who is 19.”

A perk of this new role that he highlighted was that when he goes to the pub he no longer has to buy any of his drinks. The ultimate student dream.

So while most politics students are spending summer wondering whether second year will mean actually having to go to the library, George is running a county. He’s definitely not your typical fresher.

Featured image via YouTube