Latest news with #WarwickshireCounty
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wicketkeeper Smith signs new two-year Bears deal
Warwickshire wicketkeeper Kai Smith has signed a new contract with the club until the end of the 2027 20-year-old academy graduate made his first-team debut as a batter in the One-Day Cup as a 17-year-old in 2022, and signed a two-year rookie deal ahead of last struck his maiden century - 130 off 104 balls - against Worcestershire to win a One-Day Cup quarter-final in August 2024 and currently averages 35 in List A the retirement of Michael Burgess at the end of last summer, Smith took over the wicketkeeping duties and is currently in his debut season of first-class eight County Championship matches this season, Smith has scored 251 runs, including two half-centuries, and taken 22 catches with one stumping.
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Council executive defies Reform leadership by refusing to take down Pride flag
A council boss has defied their new Reform UK leader and refused to take down a Pride flag flying outside their county hall. Warwickshire county council's chief executive has been blasted by Zia Yusuf as acting like the 'monarch of Warwickshire' when she defied their party orders. George Finch, the 18-year-old new leader of the authority, ordered the emblem to be taken down in line with Reform's policy of only flying British flags. But Monica Fogarty responded: 'I am afraid I will not be taking the action that you are requesting,' The Telegraph reports. The banner depicted the 'Progress Flag', which also includes colours to represent trans people. Ms Fogarty said that throughout and before her tenure in the job - for which she is paid between £196,303 and £213,001 - the flags have been flown during Pride month. She claimed she had already made an agreement with former Reform leader of the council Rob Howard that both the St George's flag and the Pride flag would be flown, before he resigned citing 'health challenges' last week, leaving the teenager in charge. Yusuf claimed Ms Fogarty was undertaking a 'coup d'etat' and said it was a 'subversion of democracy'. He said: 'These people are drunk on their own power, and for decades have been totally unaccountable. Until now – Reform elected officials are fighting back. Unlike the two old parties, Reform will fight for you.' Finch, who only recently switched allegiance from the Conservatives to Reform UK, became interim leader of Warwickshire County Council - one of the largest local authorities in the Midlands - last week. He took over from Mr Howard, who quit his post with immediate effect just weeks after the party's shock gains in the May local elections saw it form a minority administration in Warwickshire for the first time. In a brief statement, Mr Howard, who had been at the helm for less than two months, said the decision was made 'with much regret'. 'The role of leader is an extremely demanding role and regretfully my health challenges now prevent me from carrying out the role to the level and standard that I would wish,' he said. He went on to confirm that Mr Finch, his teenage deputy and fellow Reform UK councillor, would now serve as acting leader until a permanent replacement is chosen. Mr Finch, councillor for Bedworth Central, now finds himself in charge of a local authority with over £1.5 billion in assets and a revenue budget of around £500 million. Just earlier this month, Mr Howard told the BBC he was 'not intimidated' by the scale of the task at Warwickshire County Council and seemed optimistic about the Reform-led administration's ability to deliver results. Before joining Reform UK, he was a member of the Conservative Party for just three months. He reportedly switched allegiance after concluding that Reform would take a tougher stance on illegal immigration — an issue he described as central to his political beliefs. On the New Reformer website, Mr Finch outlines his views under three core themes: 'Brexit, sovereignty and a strong and united family unit.' Reform UK, led nationally by Nigel Farage, made unexpected strides in the local elections earlier this year, gaining council seats in areas previously considered solidly Conservative or Labour. Warwickshire was among the party's most striking victories, with Reform overtaking the Tories as the largest group, though without an outright majority.
Telegraph
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Council boss defies Reform over trans flag
A council chief executive has defied its new Reform leadership by refusing to take down a Pride flag. The new leader of Warwickshire county council, George Finch, ordered Monica Fogarty to take down the banner flying outside county hall, in line with the party's manifesto policy to only fly British flags. But she refused, saying: 'I am afraid I will not be taking the action that you are requesting.' Zia Yusuf, the head of Reform's department of government efficiency, said the refusal showed that 'a coup d'etat is under way in Britain'. He accused Ms Fogarty of 'subversion of democracy' and acting like the 'monarch of Warwickshire'. Mr Yusuf said: 'Unelected bureaucrats are defying instructions from duly elected officials. They've seized control of the country, sabotaging the will of the people.' Reform won the most seats in Warwickshire during local elections in May, when it secured a foothold in local government for the first time. The party's local election pledges included only flying the Union Flag and other British symbols such as the St George's Cross outside municipal venues. In line with this, Mr Finch asked the chief executive to remove the Pride flag outside the county hall. The banner flown was not the traditional rainbow flag, but the more recent 'Progress Pride' one which includes the colours of the trans rights movement. In her response to the request to take the flag down, Ms Fogarty, who earns £210,000 and previously headed up the county's race equality partnership, wrote: In May, Reform won 22 seats and now runs the county as a minority administration. Mr Yusuf said: 'The CEO of Warwickshire council has said they will not follow the instructions of elected officials, and has effectively declared themselves the supreme ruler and monarch of Warwickshire. 'They're drawing huge salaries at your expense, and then refusing to carry out simple instructions given to them by the people you voted for. We've always known this was going on, but now, we have proof. 'The council leader instructed the chief executive of the council, the lead civil servants, to action the flag policy. 'The response he got was extraordinary: the unelected bureaucrat dictating terms to the duly elected representative of the people. While there are no tanks on the streets, this is a coup.' He added: 'I have some news for the CEO of Warwickshire council. You are not the monarch of Warwickshire. You are a public servant. You're there to serve the people. The people voted for change, and your obstruction is nothing less than the subversion and sabotage of democracy… 'This has been going on for years, and it's one reason why your quality of life has got so much worse. These people are drunk on their own power, and for decades have been totally unaccountable. 'Until now: Reform elected officials are fighting back. Unlike the two old parties, Reform will fight for you. 'We will expose where this is happening, demand compliance with democratic leadership and use all available legal powers to hold such people to account.'
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Warwickshire County Council leader resigns, leaving 18-year-old in charge
The recently elected leader of Warwickshire County Council has resigned, leaving his 18-year-old deputy in UK councillor Rob Howard released a short statement in which he said he had made the decision with "much regret".Howard was elected in May, when Reform made unprecedented gains in the local elections, becoming the largest party in Warwickshire and forming a minority outgoing leader cited his health as the reason for his decision, adding: "The role of leader is an extremely demanding role and regretfully my health challenges now prevent me from carrying out the role to the level and standard that I would wish." He also confirmed that his current deputy, George Finch, would serve as interim leader until the council confirmed a new leader in due course. Speaking to the BBC earlier this month, Howard said he was "not intimidated" by the challenge of running a local authority with £1.5bn of assets and a revenue budget of about £ resigning the top job with immediate effect, Howard confirmed he would be staying on as a county councillor."I am honoured and privileged to have held the role, even if only for a short time. I remain committed to my continued role working as a county councillor for the benefit of Warwickshire residents," he said. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Reform UK group leader to head up Warwickshire County Council
A new leader has been chosen for Warwickshire County Council following local elections earlier this Rob Howard, head of the Reform UK group at the authority, was chosen as the council's leader at its annual general meeting on was not present at the meeting, having submitted apologies for his absence in holders for the new cabinet will be announced in the coming weeks. The council now comprises 23 Reform UK councillors, 14 Lib Dems, nine Tories, seven Greens, three Labour councillors and one representing Whitnash Residents are 57 councillors in total, meaning a group needs 29 seats or more to have outright none of the parties crossed that threshold, it meant the council was left in no overall Reform UK was the largest party, it held greater sway when it came to choosing the leader than other parties represented on the authority. Howard was nominated by deputy Reform UK group leader councillor George Finch and councillor Michael Bannister, also of nominations were made for Liberal Democrat councillor Jerry Roodhouse and Green councillor Jonathan Chilvers to be leader, but both won 28 votes from the councillors present at the meeting, while Roodhouse won 15 votes and Chilvers won 10 votes. There was one meeting also saw Reform's councillor Edward Harris chosen as the new chair of the authority and Conservative councillor Dale Keeling elected as role includes chairing meetings of full council every six weeks along with civic duties representing the authority at public events. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
