"He needs to be very clear about what his interests are" The post Reform accused of ‘walking a fine line’ over JCB video after £200,000 Lord Bamford donation appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.
Reform has been accused of “walking a fine line” after the leader of Warwickshire County Council posted a video promoting JCB equipment, following a recent £200,000 donation from the company’s chair, Lord Anthony Bamford.
In the past, several Conservative politicians have promoted the Pothole Pro, with the party having received more than £10 million in donations from JCB.
Earlier this week, Nigel Farage announced that Lord Bamford had donated £200,000 to Reform.
In a video George Finch, the Reform leader of Warwickshire County Council (WCC), shared on his X account on Thursday, he said he’d recently visited JCB’s headquarters in Staffordshire, where he said he’d learnt about JCB’s 80-year long history.
Standing in front of a JCB Pothole Pro, the 19-year-old council leader described the device as “wonderful”, adding: “We’ve seen demonstrations of how they cut potholes effectively, with low costs and quicker times for residents.”
He said: “I’ve just ridden it, moved it around, and it was great.” “That’s what we need to do, bringing new, innovative technologies to Warwickshire County Council,” he added.
A joint procurement contract for highway maintenance across WCC, Coventry City Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council worth £900,000 is currently out to tender, with a decision due in December.
Lib Dem group leader Jerry Roodhouse, told Left Foot Forward: “I think Councillor Finch has to be very careful and is walking a fine line as the highways maintenance contract is currently out to tender.”
However, Roodhouse noted that JCB probably couldn’t apply for the tender directly, and that “they’d have to work through somebody else”.
However, the Lib Dem councillor for Eastlands, said: “He [Finch] needs to be very clear about what his interests are”.
Green Party councillor for Warwick North, Sam Jones, said: “They’ve plastered Councillor Finch’s face all over this video with JCB.”
“My guess is that Reform HQ has had plenty of conversations with Lord Bamford and are recommending this pothole pro to their councillors as the next big thing,” he added.
Jones told Left Foot Forward: “It is not clear at the moment whether WCC is buying one of these things [a Pothole Pro]”, however he said “the way that Reform has been marketing this is very strange”.
Jones said he is looking into the tendering process at the moment, but said that “the highway maintenance contract is not one that JCB, as far as I’m aware, has the capacity to fulfill”.
However, he said JCB could be a supplier, and “sell WCC equipment in an up-front capacity”.
He added: “It feels to me like they’re marketing themselves, ‘donate to us’ and we’ll make a very big song and dance of telling everyone how great your business is.”
The Green Party councillor also noted that councillors received “something through the post from JCB towards the very start of our term, advertising the Pothole Pro as the perfect repair tool or something”.
Another opposition councillor said they were “suspicious as hell” of how the Reform council leader had promoted JCB in the video.
Despite its £200,000 price tag, the Pothole Pro can only cut potholes but is not able to fill them.
The Tories, who have received millions in donations from JCB, have also repeatedly promoted the Pothole Pro. Former Tory MP Jonathan Gullis promoted the machine, and subsequently took a £10,000 donation.
Former transport secretary Mark Harper, ex-prime minister Boris Johnson and former DWP secretary Mel Stride also promoted the device, without making clear that JCB had donated millions to the national party.
Councillor Finch has been contacted for comment.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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The post Reform accused of ‘walking a fine line’ over JCB video after £200,000 Lord Bamford donation appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.
