Reform's George Finch becomes UK’s youngest council leader

A TEENAGER belonging to hard-right Reform UK party was on Tuesday (22) formally appointed to run a local authority that has finances of about £2 billion.

George Finch, 19, is believed to be the youngest permanent council leader in the UK, multiple British media outlets reported.

Finch was elected to lead Warwickshire County council, in the West Midlands area of England, following a vote by councillors, a spokesperson for the local authority confirmed.

Reform does not hold an overall majority on Warwickshire Council, so a vote for Finch from the authority's chairman, who is also a Reform councillor, was needed to break a tie.

Finch is a politics student who recently became temporary leader of the council after his predecessor resigned for health reasons.

The teen made headlines during his stint as interim head by requesting that a Pride flag be removed from the council's headquarters.

He will oversee a budget of £500 million, along with council assets worth £1.5bn, according to the BBC and other media.

Nigel Farage's anti-immigrant Reform party won dozens of local council and mayoral seats during elections on May 1.

The hard-right group leads the ruling Labour and main opposition Conservative party in national polling, although the next general election is still likely to be another four years away.

(AFP)