"£190,000 a year to pay experts to cover Reform councillors' incompetence to do the job?" read the signs held by protesters gathered outside Warwickshire County Council this morning ahead of today's (22 July) pivotal council meeting.

The meeting could see Reform UK's council leader, Cllr George Finch, elected as the official leader of the council.

However, 19-year-old Cllr Finch has continued to spark controversy since he stepped in as interim leader.

In particular, his instruction to chief executive Monica Fogarty to take down the Pride flag that had been flying outside the council headquarters during Pride Month unsettled many residents and harboured national attention.

Cllr Max Langer, representing the Liberal Democrats for Leamington Clarendon, thanked the protesters braving the "rather miserable" rainy morning.

Protesters gathered with signs reading

Speaking to Nub News, he said: "Local politics often doesn't get the prestige that national politics does. So when engaged residents turn out in response to some of the outright ridiculous things said in this chamber, they deserve our thanks and to feel genuinely engaged in the process."

Cllr Langer painted a grim picture of the current political landscape at the council: "The last local elections left us with a fractured chamber, politically speaking. We now have a minority administration supported by the Conservatives, which came to power without a clear plan for local services. Instead, they've been parroting the Reform UK national playbook, seemingly without considering the real impact on our community."

He further commented on Finch and his party's actions regarding the Pride flag and the treatment of the council's chief executive: "Having the Pride flag flying here and then seeing Reform name and shame the chief executive in the press is absolutely unacceptable. No other administration would tolerate this kind of behaviour."

Cllr Max Langer, representing the Liberal Democrats for Leamington Clarendon, thanked the protesters for coming out (image via Nub News)

Cllr Langer also remarked on Reform's stance on environmental policies: "Their comments on net zero policies are equally ridiculous.

"Hopefully, after today's meeting, a new administration will take charge, one that will support a green motion reaffirming this council's commitment to achieving net zero."

At just 27 years old, Langer is the second youngest councillor in the chamber.

He shared his perspective on youth and leadership, drawing parallels to the 19-year-old Finch's experience: "I've also been on the doorstep and had people mistake me for a schoolchild and speak to me dismissively because of my age. But I don't think anyone should be judged purely on how old they are.

"That said, this is a £100 million institution.

"At 27, do I feel I have the experience needed to lead it? No, I don't. And I say that frankly.

"So I would urge someone like George Finch, at 19, to approach this role with humility. He needs to ask himself honestly if he's the right person to lead this organisation. I don't think he is — and it's not just about his age, but the experience required."

Blogger and trans activist, Demitri Rodriguez (left) with Cllr Becky Davidson (Green Party) (right)

Nub News also spoke to Cllr Becky Davidson for WDC's Green Party, who shared the importance of coming out to protest in support of the LGBTQQ+ community: "The pride flag to us is a symbol to show that we support pride, we support people's right to exist without hate, and it's a way to say that we welcome you in our community, we welcome you in our county."

With reference to Cllr Finch's request to remove the flag, she added: "By removing the pride flag, we are removing that welcome sign.

"So, this protest is for us, more than anything, to say, we don't support the actions of Reform, and we support the right community."

When asked what she hoped the outcome of today's council meeting would be, she replied: "I hope the Reform leader doesn't get elected, to be honest, because I think their actions have been appalling.

"They've already shown that they are, you know, incapable of following democracy and following a process.

"And when they don't get their way, they're quite happy to run a sling campaign against the CEO of Warwickshire and without thinking about how that actually affects the members of the community that are most impacted by this and you know, seeing their right to exist, just discussed over and over again on, you know, national news."

The meeting could see Reform UK's council leader, Cllr George Finch, aged 19, elected as the official leader of the council (image via Nub News)

Blogger and trans activist, Demitri Rodriguez, from Warwickshire, also attended the protest. 

Rodriguez expressed: "Respectfully, the way I see it is, you (Reform) say you want people to take their hands off our country, well, you don't belong to our community.

"That flag doesn't represent you. Keep your hands off it.

"Just like you tell people to take their hands off the great British flag, shouldn't you be following your own rule book because it's kind of a little bit controversial and a little bit contradictory.

"To be honest, I just think it's an absolute joke if they elect him, because realistically, what does he represent? 

"He represents what old white men who hate anybody of colour in this country, when, sorry, what hate to break it to you, but look what happened the last time we voted for Brexit.

"We've got hardly any NHS workers, hardly any police officers.

"People are moaning at our coppers and our front line workers - you've got the government's blame. And at the end of the day, if you let people in like that, that's more things are going to happen like that.

"We're going to have less police officers, less nurses.

"You think you're waiting lists are long now? Yeah, try adding another 10 years onto them, because that's what these lot want."

Other signs read 'Reform denies: The planet fries' (image via Nub News)