Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch insists he would have the time to lead two councils at once should he get the nod through next week's local elections.

The 19-year-old is standing for Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council, hoping to take the Bede ward for Reform UK.

He was the chair of the association that saw Reform claim all bar one county seat on the Nuneaton & Bedworth patch in 2025, results that saw the party take charge at Shire Hall. 

Since then he has been the focus of attention and is regularly seen at national press conferences, campaigning in different areas of the country and attending events in the East Midlands and Birmingham on top of his roles as strategic lead, portfolio holder for children and families and representative of Bedworth Central at the county council. 

Put to him that it was unusual for a leader to double up at borough level, Cllr Finch told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "As we head into local government reorganisation (merging county and borough councils) and the twinning of powers, I thought it was right to stand for the borough so we can turn it into a more efficient council and work closely together for the people of Nuneaton and Bedworth. 

"I represent Bedworth Central and Bede is virtually the same ward. They are the people I represent at the county and if they want a councillor they can contact for everything it is a one-stop shop with me, they can give me a ring."

Half of Nuneaton & Bedworth's borough seats are up for grabs. Reform is polling well across the patch but without any sitting councillors, an outright majority is impossible.

They could work with the Conservatives – currently in opposition – to oust the Labour leadership, opening up the question of whether Cllr Finch could seek to lead both authorities.

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He laughed at the prospect but said: "I'm the leader of the county council and of Reform in Warwickshire – I'm in charge of the associations in North Warwickshire and Bedworth and I do a lot for the party nationally.

"If I am to be elected to the borough, there will be internal processes for leader, deputy and secretary like we did here."

Pressed on whether he would like to be leader of the borough, he replied: "If you were to have the same leader in both councils, I imagine there is the argument of closer connections between borough and county but it will be solely down to the group members (if Reform has the numbers). I don't have any sway, it is a democratic process.

"There might be some other good candidates for leader. Yes, I am the only (Reform candidate) with experience of leading a council but we need to see what the borough councillors at that point have to offer, see if they can work as hard as I do.

"I think uniting the borough and county, especially with local government reorganisation, there is an argument for combining those."

Asked if he would have the capacity and time to do both, Cllr Finch declared: "I would make sure I had the time because it is a very important job.

"If push came to shove and that decision was made, I would have the time to do it. With my new strategy for the (county) group and the cabinet, it means it will be focused on the cabinet doing a lot more, backbenchers doing a lot more.

"There are things I know I can delegate. You would take a step back from the roles within the party which I am doing anyway because if I got hit by a bus, everything stops."

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He said there were new associate chairs coming forward with Reform "bringing more people into the fold so I can do less", adding: "I think that's fair, let's bring other people up in Reform from the north of the county."

He was also unperturbed by perceptions that Reform's opponents may have on such a plan.

"The opposition would have their go at it but I think the public would understand that we need to join up services," said Cllr Finch.

"If Nuneaton and Bedworth is to get more out of Warwickshire County Council than they ever have before then that would be a good argument to put forward.

"Hypothetically, if the leader of the borough council was the same as the leader of the county you would see a lot closer alignment of services, support to the north of the county through infrastructure, finance and services, support, transport and planning. You would see more emphasis on support for Nuneaton and Bedworth than you would if the leader wasn't the leader of both."

Cllr Finch is one of three candidates for the Bede ward. He is up against Steve Coleman and Ivy Winters