Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch accepted he "could have used better terms" than those that prompted him to endure a vote of no confidence – but stopped short of issuing an apology.

Cllr Finch survived in the top job by just one vote on Tuesday (March 17) after the Green Party declared him unfit to govern, citing "attacks on officers" and Warwickshire Police, "breaches of confidentiality" and his defiance of the will of council after losing votes.

He was backed by all 19 Reform UK councillors, two Reform-supporting independents and six out of the seven Conservatives present in a 27-26 victory. 

That was despite Tory Cllr Jan Matecki breaking ranks and voting to get rid alongside the Greens, Liberal Democrats, Labour and independents Cllr Judy Falp and Cllr Sam Jones.

The absence of two Conservatives – Cllr Chris Mills and Cllr Dean Richards – and Restore Britain duo Cllr Luke Cooper and Cllr Scott Cameron, who are both ex-Reform, choosing not to vote either way proved pivotal. 

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Finch played down any nerves over the close shave but anticipated that a challenge "will happen again".

"I was very confident that the political parties in Warwickshire would look at supporting Reform as it is the only common sense option," he said.

"We will be continuing the work we have been doing. There was not much of an option for the Conservatives or Restore other than to support a coalition of chaos.

"We are a minority administration so things like this will happen again and I think we have to make sure that what the people voted for – an opinion of centre-right parties – is delivered.

"We have spent time, energy and money on this vote of no confidence and it has been a complete waste of all of those things. That is not what the taxpayer wants to see, this county council bickering about whether we want a new leader.

"It is the electorate that decides whether we are good enough, not councillors in this chamber."

Sorry, not sorry

Many of the comments from opponents centred around Cllr Finch's public comments, specifically those where he suggested "boots on necks" were required to make council staff respect the will of elected officials rather than running the authority as they see fit and his social media mock-up of a Cllr Matecki as a burglar.

When asked if he would moderate his tone, Cllr Finch, who described them as "small issues", said: "I got elected to be as transparent and integrity based as possible. I will never go away from that. 

"Comments like 'boots on necks', it is old, outdated terminology. Let's be honest, could I have used better terminology? Probably. I have no issue with saying that. 

"Do I still believe in the principles behind why I said it? Absolutely. We need to make sure it is a member-led organisation, not just in Warwickshire but across the country. That was why I said it but the terminology could have been better, 100 per cent. 

"That is not apologising, that is recognising as a man of integrity that yes, I could have used better terms."

He went on to say that his points about Cllr Matecki "probably have been (made) in a better way" but again stood by his stance on his political rival's record in office.

"I am allowed my opinion and so is he, however, he is probably right in the way you go about it," said Cllr Finch. 

Put to him that an apology to Cllr Matecki would probably go a long way, he replied: "It probably would but I heard his speech in the chamber, they're his views and I have my views. We're not going to agree on everything."

'George or bust'

Asked whether Reform UK had whipped – formally instructed – councillors to back him, Cllr Finch replied: "No."

Put to him there had been suggestions to the contrary, Cllr Finch said: "All of councillors backed me immensely and some of the speeches, particularly (Cllr) Wayne Briggs, they pulled on my heart strings. That is what I am in it for."

He referenced how "people see me as the bad guy and I get a lot of stick" but that challenges that he and his immediate family had faced gave him a unique perspective.

"Not many 60-year-olds have had that, they haven't seen that," he said.

"I have at a young age and I have had to fight through that, that is why I am probably the best guy for the job. 

"Wayne's speech really hit home and I thank him for that, and all the other councillors on our side and the Conservatives. I got the support, no one kicked up a fuss because they knew it was George or bust."

What now?

As for what comes next, Cllr Finch vowed that "nothing will change" in relation to Reform's "new, fresh and innovative" approach and that he remained "committed to making sure there are efficiencies in this council".

"We are going to be changing the foundations and that does take time but I believe the public will have patience with us," he said.

"I understand that we are a minority administration and that makes it more difficult – that's why my job is ten times harder.

"None of them in there apart from Councillor (Rob) Howard understands the pressure of the job because they have never led a county council."

Cllr Finch was keen to stress again that he had not defied the will of council over a Conservative motion on home-to-school transport. 

It requested that he withdraw a letter to the government asking for scope to extend eligibility distances to help bring down a spiralling bill.

"The wording was to request – request denied," he said.

"If it said (specifically) that I had to (withdraw the letter), fine, I would do it."

Asked if he would do that if the motion was brought again, Cllr Finch said: "That's a waste of time. That's political."