Creating one huge council for all of Warwickshire will not solve the most pressing financial pressures it faces, according to the leader of the local Green group.

Cllr Jonathan Chilvers has damned the Warwickshire County Council's (WCC) decision to ask for the May 2025 elections to be postponed as it looks to create a new unitary authority for the county.

Council leader Cllr Izzi Seccombe will write to the secretary of state requesting to be in the first wave of council reorganisation, which would see the five district and borough councils in Warwickshire abolished.

Four of those councils wrote to WCC opposing the plans, but the decision to press ahead with them was backed by county councillors on Friday (January 10).

Cllr Chilvers said the move is akin to rearranging the deckchairs on a sinking ship.

"I spent some more time over Christmas looking through the county council budget reminding me about the huge deficits in home to school transport, SEND and older people care that are taking us to the brink," he said.

"The local authority ship is struggling to stay afloat.

"Unitarisation will do nothing to solve these most pressing of issues – any possible savings are massively dwarfed by these deficits. 

"Indeed unitarisation will mean that huge time and resources of senior leaders will be put into rearranging the Council deckchairs, especially if we go first.

"By wanting to go as a priority it feels like we would be putting our hands up to say 'me, me, let me to be the first to rearrange the deckchairs', all while the deck of the ship dangerously lists."

Cllr Chilvers - who spoke at Friday's meeting - also said the move would leave the Conservatives in charge at WCC for two extra years – one carrying through to 2026 and another 12 months for the new unitary to complete its shadow spell before taking full charge.

He said this would be an "absolutely unacceptable democratic deficit" and said the move felt like a "powergrab" by Cllr Seccombe.

The Green's local leader called on Cllr Seccombe to make sure her request made it clear there was no unanimous backing for the decision across the county.

And he asked her to support devolution of responsibilities to town and parish councils across the county.