It’s been over a year since Reform UK’s George Finch became the youngest ever council leader when he took control of Warwickshire County Council.
In that time, his tenure has continued to make headlines, and some locals are concerned his policies threaten to take the area backwards.
“I feel like his views tarnish how our community and how our town [sees itself],” says 27-year-old Mia Andrews. The first thing that comes to mind when asked about Finch is the long-running row over the Progress Pride flag outside Shire Hall, the council headquarters.
Why nicotine vapes are still best chance to quit smoking
Smokers are more likely to quit their habit by using vapes compared to conventional methods such as nicotine gum and patches, according to a new study.
Quit rates are higher
The Cochrane Review examined 80 studies involving almost 30,000 people and found that quit rates were higher with vape use, with it leading to 61 per cent increased odds that a quit attempt would be successful after six months.
- That means that eight to 10 out of 100 people using vaping to quite smoking might succeed compared to six of 100 people using nicotine-replacement therapy.
Providing vapes can help
Researchers looked at behavioural support – offered through advice and counselling – and found that people who were also given nicotine vapes were more likely to quit.
The expert view
We have very strong evidence that regulated nicotine e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than smoking. Based on the consistency of the findings here, it’s clear that they are a proven and viable option for people wishing to quit cigarettes
Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, senior author of the review from University of Massachusetts Amherst
How shingles jab ‘could slash heart risks’
The shingles vaccine currently used by the NHS may slash the risk of heart failure, heart disease and stroke, according to a new study.
What you need to know
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash and the jab that protects against it – Shingrix – is available on the NHS for people aged 65-70, people aged 70-79 (as part of a catch-up program) and for those over 18 with a severely weakened immune system.
Experts say that if all over-60s had the jab, it could prevent tens of thousands of deaths.
4 min read
4 min read
The study
The NHS switched to Shingrix from the former vaccine, Zostavax, three years ago. Researchers from the University of Oxford compared the risk of stroke, ischemic heart disease or heart failure between the two vaccines over seven years.
- They analysed data from more than 70,000 people and found that up to seven years after the jab, people who had Shingrix lived 9 per cent longer without developing a cardiovascular disease.
more on health from the i paper
Children’s eyesight is getting worse. This is what parents can do about it
The rise in short-sightedness is not directly caused by too much screen time, but a related change in children’s behaviour. Fortunately it can be reversed.
Dolly Parton – a life in pictures
Dolly Parton died on Tuesday at the age of 80. Tributes from around the world have honoured the country music superstar, who passed away following a “brief battle with cancer”.
The singer was best known for her genre-defining hits including “9 To 5”, “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene”.
Born into a musical family in 1946
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born in 1946, the fourth of 12 children, into a poor farming family who lived in a one-bedroom cabin in Tennessee.
Her father, Robert Lee Parton, was a tobacco farmer. Parton spoke about her mother, Avie Lee, singing folk songs all the time, and her aunt played the guitar.
Country star’s unique style
During her teens, Parton began modelling herself on a local character known as the “town tramp”.
The lady wore bright red nail polish, low-cut tops and high heels – young Dolly thought she was beautiful.
A musical powerhouse
Despite being unable to read sheet music, Parton was proficient on several instruments including the banjo, harp, piano and saxophone. She had her first No 1 hit with the song “Joshua” in 1971.
- It was the theme song that Parton wrote for the 1980 movie 9 to 5 that fully propelled her to stardom.
A nearly 60-year marriage
Parton maintained a deeply committed, nearly 60-year marriage to Carl Dean until his death in 2025. “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared,” Parton said when he died.
Dean remained out of the public eye, choosing to focus on his asphalt-paving business in Nashville. The couple had no children.
Parton’s life in pictures
At least 15 newborn babies die in Islamabad hospital fire
At least 15 infants were killed when a fire broke out at a state-run hospital in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, triggered by a fault in air conditioning systems, local broadcaster Geo TV reported.
Here is everything we know about the incident so far.
What happened?
The blaze started at around 7am local time on Wednesday at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences on the third floor of the mother and child health ward.
The incident is among the deadliest hospital fires in recent years in the country, where government healthcare is subsidised but facilities are overburdened.
2 min read
4 min read
The story in pictures
A closer look at the detail
- There were 16 newborns in the ward when the fire broke out, one of whom was rescued, Geo reported.
- Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to conduct an immediate investigation, his office said.
- “Those responsible should be identified, and the strictest action should be taken,” Sharif’s office said.
Finch, now 20, requested for the flag, which was on display outside the council building during Pride Month, to be removed last year.
“That was not something I agree with,” says Andrews. The NHS worker added that she does not think his views are representative of the area.
“I’d say the majority of people here would want to make everyone feel welcome, want to represent everyone and want to make everyone feel part of the community, whereas his views go against that.”
Finch’s request was rejected by the council’s chief executive, Monica Fogarty. But her power to decide which flags are flown outside the headquarters was then rescinded and handed to council chairman, Reform’s Edward Harris, following a cabinet vote.
The flag row, along with his public spat with Warwickshire Police’s Chief Constable over suggestions of a cover-up in relation to the rape of a 12-year-old girl by an Afghan asylum seeker, prompted a no-confidence call in Finch.
The councillor, who narrowly survived the motion by just one vote earlier this year, has called the saga a political stunt.
Months later, he appears to double down on his views. “I believe there should only be three flags: the Union flag, the county flag and the Saint George’s flag. They’re the flags that I think should only be flying from public buildings,” he told The i Paper.
Asked if he was concerned that some minority communities may feel less welcome in Warwickshire, Finch said: “I support the residents of Warwickshire, of course I do, every single one of them.
“Will some people not like what I say? Absolutely, and they have every right to disagree with me. I have no problem or qualm about that.”
Reform is currently the largest party at Warwickshire County Council – going from zero to 22 seats in May 2025 – but it does not hold a majority. Since the election last year, the group’s councillor numbers have gone down to 17, with four defecting to Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain party.
Finch challenged those who disagree with his views to vote him out at the next election.
Whatever happens in Warwickshire in the future, it appears that Finch’s career will continue. In May, he was elected the leader of another local authority – Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council.
He is confident he can be “fully committed to both” roles but concerns have been raised by his critics. Warwickshire Green councillor Nicki Scott cautioned that decisions could take longer to implement while one resident saying he was “spreading himself thin”.
‘Everyone should just let each other live’
Another issue bothering locals in Warwickshire is Finch’s review of the area’s libraries after he expressed opposition to displays of some LGBT+ materials, claiming they promote “contested gender ideology”, and Black History Month.
Neel Shah, 35, does not see the issue with the library displays, adding that “everyone should just let each other live”.
“Everything can be anywhere. It’s just up to people whether they want to read it or not. They can have the same thing about World War II history in the library. It’s up to someone if they want to look at it or not.”
But Ruben Nascimento, a 45-year-old publican, agrees with calls for libraries and public places to be free from certain displays.
While he is not familiar with Finch – he “wouldn’t have a clue who to vote for” in an election – Nascimento said: “There are certain areas that we should be able to go to and not have stuff rammed down our throats. “There has to be a level of neutrality somewhere.”
Finch said: “I’m not banning books. The books will still be there… What I’m saying is the books will not be in promotional display cases. Public buildings should not have political persuasion.”
‘Making Warwickshire a less welcome place’
Dan Browne, chair of LGBT+ organisation Warwickshire Pride, worries the area is changing for the worse.
“It’s definitely making Warwickshire a less welcome place for LGBTQ+ people,” he said, adding that he had noticed a link between “every time George Finch makes some kind of public statement in relation to LGBTQ+ communities and a rise in internet trolling and comments to Warwickshire Pride”.
Ahead of the Warwickshire Pride festival, which took place on 22 August, Browne, an independent councillor for Warwick Town, said additional security assessments had to be carried out for the first time, and some attendees were “very anxious” about attending.
Scott, who wears a Progress Pride flag lanyard at work, is determined to show her solidarity with the LGBT+ community.
She said council officers had been coming to her with concerns that “essentially… a lot of them don’t feel safe, particularly if they are from the LGBTQ+ community or if they are people of colour”.
One officer told her they are “too scared” to tell anyone they are gay, describing it like “being back in the closet”.
Labour voter and local resident Christine England said she is “not too keen” on Finch and wishes the council would focus on other issues, such as homelessness.
“One thing that does worry me, slightly, is that there seem to be more and more people as well, for whatever reason, sleeping in shop doorways and so on,” said the retiree.
“What I think is the council should be doing more to help people who have those kind of problems.”