So, Rob Howard, the fresh-faced Reform UK poster boy who rode a wave of anti-establishment rage to the top of Warwickshire County Council, just bailed. Poof. Gone. Barely a month into his gig as leader, he’s citing “health reasons” like some Victorian fop with a case of the vapors. “Much regret,” he says, in a statement so brief it could’ve been scrawled on a soggy napkin. Health problems, huh? Probably strained his back carrying the weight of his own ego after Reform’s shock election wins in May. Or maybe he just choked on the stench of his own party’s chaos.
Warwickshire, a place best known for Shakespeare and sheep, now finds itself in the hands of an 18-year-old deputy named George Finch. Yeah, you read that right. Eighteen. The kid’s barely old enough to buy a pint, and now he’s interim leader of a council with a £1.5 billion asset pile and a half-billion-pound budget. This is what happens when you let the lunatics run the asylum and then the head lunatic calls in sick.
Finch, a Bedworth Central councillor who ditched the Tories for Reform faster than you can say “Brexit,” is now steering this sinking ship until they pick a new captain next week. The kid’s got balls, I’ll give him that. He’s not ruling out grabbing the top job for himself, saying he “hasn’t given it thought yet” while juggling the council’s mess like it’s just another Tuesday. “Business as usual,” he claims, with the kind of naive grit that makes you wonder if he’s got a spine or just hasn’t learned to run yet.
Howard, meanwhile, is stepping back but not out. He’s still a councillor, vowing to “serve Warwickshire” from the cheap seats. Before he quit, he was already dodging flak for missing the council’s first meeting to sip cocktails in the Dominican Republic. Classy. And then there’s the gem where he told the local rag his council had no “specific policies.” No shit, Rob. That’s like admitting your revolution’s got no bullets.
The locals are pissed. Rachel Taylor, Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, is screaming about potholes, care services, and the SEND education crisis—like anyone in this clown car of a council gives a damn. She’s right, though. Warwickshire’s roads look like they’ve been shelled, and the kids with special needs are getting screwed harder than the taxpayers. Taylor’s begging Reform to pick a new leader fast, but good luck with that. This is a party that thinks “Pothole Renewal Plan” sounds like a manifesto and not a Band-Aid on a broken leg.
Reform’s mouthpiece swears they’re “not distracted” by Howard’s exit, rattling off promises about filling 6,500 potholes (thanks, Tories), starting an apprenticeship program, and fixing SEND provisions. Sounds great, except their track record so far is a holiday in the Caribbean and a policy platform thinner than a junkie’s wrist.
And Finch? The teenage wonder? His politics boil down to “Brexit, sovereignty, and a strong family unit,” according to his blurb on the New Reformer site. Sounds like he’s been mainlining Farage’s old speeches. He jumped from the Conservatives to Reform because he thinks they’re tougher on illegal immigration. Kid’s got a hard-on for borders but probably hasn’t figured out how to balance a checkbook, let alone a county budget.
This is Warwickshire in 2025: a council run by a kid who’s still got acne, led by a party that’s all slogans and no substance, with a resigned leader who thought governing was a side hustle. The potholes keep growing, the kids keep suffering, and the residents are stuck watching this circus while their taxes vanish into the void.
Spider Thompson, signing off, because this place makes my head hurt worse than Howard’s mystery ailment
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