The interim leader of Warwickshire County Council is to fight for the post on a permanent basis, having announced himself as Reform UK's new group leader.

Cllr George Finch, who turned 19 on Monday, issued a press release to say he had been "overwhelmingly" elected on Friday, including a bullish statement calling on rivals to "not play politics" in the upcoming tussle for power at Shire Hall. 

It did not say whether any other candidates had stood for the role or how many votes he got in by, points the Local Democracy Reporting Service has sought clarification on.

It does, however, make clear Cllr Finch's previously articulated intentions for Reform UK, the political group with the biggest number of seats on the county council but not enough to command an outright majority, to stay in office, laying out highways, transport, education and a focus on the upcoming local government reorganisation as his priorities. 

It said Warwickshire's Reform UK councillors had given Cllr Finch consent to "continue his record of delivering the necessary reforms he and his group were given the mandate for".

"I'm pleased to have received the overwhelming consent of my fellow Reform councillors to carry on the work I started as deputy leader, and more recently as interim leader," he said.

"As leader of Warwickshire County Council, I will spearhead the delivery of our comprehensive road renewal plan, be at the forefront of providing better SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) service and oversee Warwickshire's upcoming local government reorganisation where I'm determined to give every Warwickshire resident proper representation at council level.

"In May's local elections, my colleagues and I stood on a promise of delivering meaningful change, and that's what we will do. 

"As well as overhauling transport to properly fix our roads and delivering adequate bus services, we will be reforming education to help young people get into skills-based training and apprenticeships more easily. 

"Warwickshire needs Reform and with me as leader, Warwickshire will get Reform."

Focus now turns to the next meeting of full council on Tuesday, July 22. 

Full council is the only means by which a new leader, whatever party they are from, can be put into office. Once they are, they hold pretty much all the cards, having the outright say as to how the new administration is formed.

That process is simple when a party has a majority – more than half of the 57 council seats – but that is not the case after May's elections resulted in a hung council. 

Reform effectively has 23 seats – 22 plus one independent who had initially planned to run as a Reform councillor until work restrictions prevented him from standing under any political banner.

The Liberal Democrats have 14, the Conservatives nine, the Green Party seven and Labour three. Independent councillor Judy Falp represents Whitnash Residents' Association and has no specific allegiance to any of the main parties. 

Following the elections, initial Reform UK leader Cllr Rob Howard was supported into office by his party and the Conservatives with this reset occurring as a result of his resignation as leader – not a councillor – on health grounds after just 41 days. 

How the vote goes this time, or what form it takes, will be dictated by how many nominees are put forward – only two councillors need to recommend a candidate for them to enter the race.

It is understood that the winner will require half-plus-one of the votes cast but the magic number may not necessarily be 29 for two reasons – councillors who are absent and cannot vote and councillors who abstain from voting for or against a nominee do not count towards the overall total. 

Abstentions could prove particularly important. If a political group decides to abstain en masse then the number of votes required for the new leader to take office comes down dramatically. 

The end of Cllr Finch's press statement appears to allude to the delicate balance, saying that he "hopes the other political groups on the council will not play politics with the governance of Warwickshire and get behind the only person with a clear plan for sustainable leadership".