Warwickshire County Council leader faces fresh conduct complaint over libraries statement

On Monday, Cllr Finch (Reform UK, Bedworth Central) posted to social media and issued to members of the press a statement alleging that county council libraries “have been promoting contested gender ideology”.

Warwickshire Pride, the county’s leading LGBTQ+ organisation, and Rugby-based advocacy group Out Out Groups UK have delivered withering assessments with the former declaring publicly that it has submitted a formal code of conduct complaint against Cllr Finch.

Earlier this year, an independent investigation found that Cllr Finch had breached the code by making public comments that could have jeopardised a child rape case. He has the right to challenge that verdict with the process understood to be ongoing.

Other complaints about Cllr Finch's mock-up portraying political rival Councillor Jan Matecki (Con, Budbrooke & Bishop’s Tachbrook) as a burglar are understood to remain under investigation as well.

Titled ‘Safeguarding Children and Ensuring the Neutrality of Warwickshire’s Libraries’, Cllr Finch’s statement claimed “a number of Warwickshire residents” had raised concerns about Warwickshire's libraries without specifying particular issues.

He went on to promise “a comprehensive policy” for libraries and other council-owned public spaces “to combat this trend”, insisting that the council “should not be actively promoting contested political or ideological causes to children”.

Cllr Finch has yet to respond to the Local Democracy Reporting Service’s request for further comment, although portfolio holder for resources and internal affairs Councillor Mike Bannister (Reform UK, Nuneaton Abbey) said residents had raised similar issues with him, including library staff wearing rainbow lanyards and the library having a book that a transgender complainant had told him “would give out the wrong messages” to young people and potentially be “dangerous to young children”.

Cllr Bannister confirmed that there was “no indication whatsoever” that staff had promoted specific literature and promised that the new policy would be “fully discussed with the libraries team and my colleagues”.

However, that assurance was not enough to quell the outrage from representatives of the LGBTQ+ community.

Pride's statement

Warwickshire Pride said Cllr Finch’s language “further marginalises members of our community” and questioned why their identities were being treated as “a political ideology rather than the lived reality of thousands of people across Warwickshire”.

“The suggestion that books or resources acknowledging LGBTQ+ people somehow undermine neutrality is both misleading and dangerous,” it added.

“Representation is not indoctrination. Inclusion is not political campaigning. Ensuring that LGBTQ+ people can see themselves reflected in books, educational materials and public spaces is no different from ensuring that people of different faiths, ethnicities, disabilities, ages and backgrounds are represented.”

They also offered “full support and solidarity with library employees across Warwickshire”, acknowledging the “tireless” work of staff on making libraries inclusive places.

It went on to question why literature on gender identity is being singled out.

“History teaches us important lessons about what happens when politicians begin deciding which books, ideas, identities, or groups are acceptable in public spaces,” it continues.

“The book burnings of Nazi Germany stand as one of history's starkest warnings about the dangers of restricting access to information, suppressing diverse viewpoints, and targeting minority communities. While today's circumstances are clearly different, the principle remains relevant.

“Public bodies should not seek to limit access to information simply because it relates to a minority group or because some people find it uncomfortable. Libraries should be places of learning, exploration, and understanding, not tools for political censorship.”

The code of conduct complaint is linked to allegations of this being a “wider pattern of rhetoric” from Cllr Finch, calling on him to withdraw Monday’s statement but also seeking an opportunity to meet with him.

The statement concludes: “We urge Warwickshire County Council to stand firmly on the side of inclusion, equality, evidence-based policy, and the rights of all residents to access information freely and without discrimination.”

'Disgusted'

Out Out Groups UK was more direct, opening its statement with: “There is no polite way to say this. We are disgusted.”

Calling it “nothing less than a political attack on LGBT+ visibility in public life”, it hits back at Cllr Finch by saying: "A child reading a book that contains two mums, two dads, a trans character or a young person questioning their identity is not being indoctrinated. They are reading about human beings.

“Libraries exist to provide access to information, knowledge, stories, ideas and experiences. They do not exist to erase people because a handful of politicians have decided those people are suddenly ‘controversial’.”

Insisting this is about “whose stories are allowed to be told” and “whose existence is considered acceptable in public spaces”, they urge staff networks, trade unions, equality leads, community organisations, library staff, educators and residents “to speak out now before these proposals become policy”.

More reaction from politicians

Cllr Sarah Boad, leader of the official opposition Liberal Democrat Group at Warwickshire County Council, said: “At a time when many families are struggling with the cost of living, libraries are a wonderful free resource for all our residents - many families value access to free books, rhyme time, computers and free access to the internet and much more. They should not be weaponised in this way.”

A spokesperson for the Warwickshire Lib Dems added: “The Liberal Democrat Group is very concerned to see the comments from Cllr George Finch concerning displays of books at Warwickshire Libraries.

“After the positive news regarding the flying of the Pride Flag on Old Shire Hall earlier this week, something the Liberal Democrat Group lobbied for, the group is disappointed that we now face the prospect of the Reform UK administration trying to take steps that could discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community

“The Liberal Democrat Group believes that we should trust our professional librarians to make independent decisions regarding the purchasing and displaying of books in our libraries, free from political interference.

“History reminds us of the dangers of censorship. Back in 1933 the Nazis targeted LGBTQ+ books and burnt them - books are precious and should not be used for political purposes.

“The Liberal Democrat Group fully supports the statement from Warwickshire Pride issued on Monday (see above) and we will do all we can to ensure that all residents feel welcome, safe and respected in our libraries and all buildings owned by Warwickshire County Council.”

North Warwickshire and Bedworth MP Rachel Taylor, who is the co-chair of the LGBT+ Parliamentary Labour Party, said: “George Finch is too young to remember that Section 28 started with censorship in libraries, but his Reform UK bosses know exactly what they’re doing pushing this kind of poisonous bigotry.

"Parents in Warwickshire don’t want a power-mad nineteen-year-old telling them what their kids can and can’t read. The council leader should drop this threat of Trumpian censorship and focus on his day job of delivering better services for the people of Warwickshire.”