Reform selects 18-year-old to run £2bn council
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyq62072q9o
Posted by F0urLeafCl0ver
Reform selects 18-year-old to run £2bn council
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyq62072q9o
Posted by F0urLeafCl0ver
26 Comments
He looks a lot smarter than half the councillors we have. If he’s just out of school the brain rot might not have set in yet too.
“Reform does not hold an outright majority on the council but is the largest party meaning the 18-year-old and Reform need the support of colleagues in other parties on 22 July, when a full council vote will be held, to officially appoint him as council leader.”
Which means he’s been selected so that when rejected by the majority rest of the council, Reform can frame it as them being scared of an 18 year old, rather than them not wanting to be led by fascists.
He’s a teenager, groomed into a cult, selected to lose.
Richard Tice on the radio this week said he was best placed to deal with child services seeing as he can most relate to children more than someone double his age. What with the fact he was a child about ten minutes ago. If you actually believe in any of that you need to have a good word with yourself.
Judge him on actions rather than his age he says? Kid is too young to have a history of any actions.
Politicians don’t need to be in their 50s to be capable administrators but at least some years of work and living on your own should be the bare minimum. His brain hasn’t finished developing and might not even have finished puberty.
He’s joined reform because of what he’s read online which makes me deeply question his ability to think critically and oversee important administrative decisions. If I was elected based on what I’d read online when I was 18 I’d be a fucking moron ill placed to have a roll in government.
It’s not something to celebrate. It’s an embarrassment. Shame on Reform for putting up someone like this.
.edit – what, he’s replacing his boss who was elected for 41 days, went on holiday during the start of that period and was elected with no actual policies or plans? Fucking hell.
Looks like he’s in his 30s. Guess Reform sucked some of his youth away.
Not sure why everyone is so upset by this, good for him. People complain about the youth of today having no direction or drive for hard work, this guy proved the opposite and he gets slated for it. Literally can’t win!
His critics in Westminster talk about this being ‘not work experience’ but politics is about accountability to voters, not job titles on a CV. He stood for election like everyone else, won his seat, and now his group is the largest on the council. That’s democracy. If voters did not want him or his party they had the chance to say so and will she the chance again in 5 years.
Also, the criticism would be a lot quieter if Finch was 50 and had spent 20 years in the council system doing nothing notable. Plenty of experienced councillors have overseen mediocrity boarding on incompetence for years with no one batting an eyelid.
Age does not guarantees wisdom or ability, or that experience always means effectiveness. Give him a chance to show what he can do, then hold him to account based on results.
Pitt the Younger was 24 when he became Prime Minister and he is one of the greatest political leaders this country has ever produced.
This guy’s haircut alone screams “twat”
At 18, I wouldn’t even know where to begin with running even a department, let alone an entire council.
I’m all for having younger people be more engaged in politics in general, but he’s thrown in the deep end where there will be severe consequences if he screws up
That said, much as it is gonna have those consequences, I feel this is a honeytrap nomination. If the majority council reject him, they’ll point that out. Better to accept him, and then ensure entirely that Reform take the fallout when things go wrong
This has very much got a Darren Grimes/BeLeave feel to it. I hope for the sake of the lads long term future the impending pineapple doesn’t screw him too much.
Shhh, don’t interrupt your enemies when they are making a mistake.
Give the voters what they want… and then put this kid under more scrutiny than any Council leader has ever seen before!
If you can vote at 18 (or 16 as some want) then you’re mature enough to hold an elected position of power.
Regardless of political affiliation, it seems somewhat odd we have a push for lowering the voting age, and then suddenly now people of voting age are too young to take positions they in fact vote on.
I don’t like reform but I think people are getting confused about how much power councillors actually have. They aren’t even paid a salary.
They attend (or often don’t frankly) committee meetings and as a voting block can make relatively minor policy changes. Ultimately the day to day running is by employed workers at the council.
Nothing wrong with young people in politics, they can often be a lot more up to date and offer unique perspectives older people might not have. There are much more valid things to criticise Reform for.
Well shall I work in a kebab shop or run a council…? Uhmmm..
I know local authorities have notably poor employee standards however this is ridiculous.
I haven’t read the full circumstances but doubt his tenure will last long.
Young people getting involved in politics is great. It’s just the politics of him and his party I can’t abide.
I’m sure the 18 year old is a free-thinking, totally not indoctrinated and moulded by his parents individual that definitely has the interest of his community at heart
I wonder how many people will get this reference…
“Ice town!”
Still better than Diane Abbott or Angela “Ultra Chav” Rayner.
Instead of his mum telling what to do it’ll be Farage telling him to put down his phone and clean his bloody room!
And it’s this shower that may well end up running the entire country in 4 years. People are going to look at the mess these clowns make with council services and think to themselves “I’d like them with even more control over my life!”.
They should raise the minimum age to be an elected official to 25
What 18 year old enjoys not having EU FoM and furthermore wants – more – Brexit.
I find it funny that there are now comments saying things like “this doesn’t matter, councils don’t have any real power”.
Well in that case Reform winning control of loads of councils is meaningless then…
So they have an 18yo electorate, that’s nothing new. I’ve lived in places where there have been many 18-20yo councillors. It’s refreshing to bring new blood into politics rather than the old sweaty men and women past retirement age who are only in it for the money.
Absolutely morinic post. Be happy for the lad.
A council leader has very little direct power. Councils are essentially run by qualified staff, and the councillors basically just infight and cut ribbons. They have some sway, sure… But no real direct control. Broad policy direction at most, translated by council staff into policy and signed off at committee. Monitoring officer ensures law isn’t broken.
Wow these fucking billionaires and their allies really apply the exact same template to all target countries huh
I am reminded of the speech William Hague gave at the Conservative Party conference when he was 16.
“half of you won’t be here in 30 or 40 years’ time…, but that others would have to live with consequences of a Labour Government if it stayed in power”
I personally think that Reform are a messianic personality cult, but I think it’s wrong to condemn someone for their age & perceived lack of political experience.