Overview
- After a two-hour debate on March 17, councillors voted 27–26 with two abstentions, leaving 55 members present and keeping George Finch in post.
- Six of the seven Conservatives present opposed the motion, though Cllr Jan Matecki broke ranks to back it and two Tory councillors sent apologies.
- Two ex-Reform councillors now with Restore Britain abstained, while two Reform-supporting independents voted with Finch, shaping the knife-edge outcome.
- Green leader Jonathan Chilvers led the no-confidence bid citing alleged attacks on officers, breaches of confidentiality and defiance of council votes; Finch called it a partisan attempt to overturn voters’ wishes.
- Finch was recently found to have breached the code of conduct over comments that could have jeopardised a criminal case, and fresh standards complaints—including over a social-media mock-up of Cllr Matecki—remain under investigation.