Pupils Found Farage ‘Guilty’ in Mock Trial Run by Former Lib Dem Candidate

News | By Matt, Editor

Pupils at a Warwickshire girls’ grammar school were asked to sit as the jury in a mock “trial” of Nigel Farage, with a former Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate acting as prosecutor. They found the Reform UK leader “guilty” on six of the seven charges, according to the local paper. (Stratford Herald, 22 October 2026)

Now George Finch, the Reform UK leader of Warwickshire County Council, has lodged a formal complaint with Stratford Girls’ Grammar School. He calls it “a deeply dangerous lesson to teach children”. (statement posted on X, 27 October 2026)

What Reform’s George Finch says happened

Mr Finch set out his complaint in a statement on Reform UK letterhead, which he posted on X on Tuesday afternoon. By Tuesday evening it had been viewed more than 85,000 times. (X)

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He wrote: “I am furious that Stratford Girls’ Grammar School thought it was appropriate to allow the Liberal Democrat activist John Sweeney to put Nigel Farage “on trial” in front of pupils, and I have today submitted a formal complaint to the school, copied to the Chair of Governors.”

According to Mr Finch, “pupils were asked to find Nigel guilty or not guilty of seven political and personal charges, based on the case put forward by Sweeney himself, who acted as the prosecutor in the exercise.”

He added: “Worse still, Nigel’s supposed “defence lawyer” during this exercise was Sweeney’s own partner — who also just so happens to work for the local Liberal Democrat MP. What on earth were they thinking?”

We should be extremely careful about normalising the idea that Reform politicians are people to be put in the dock, or people to be stopped, rather than people whose arguments should be debated. That is a deeply dangerous lesson to teach children and it has consequences far beyond one classroom.

Cllr George Finch, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, 27 October 2026

Mr Finch also asked whether the school would stage the same exercise against other party leaders: “Would they put Ed Davey on trial for the part he played in the Horizon Post Office scandal? I think we know the answer.”

He ended: “Schools should expose young people to different political views, not stage partisan courtroom theatrics against a politician they may dislike. Political impartiality applies to Nigel Farage and Reform UK too.”

Mr Finch also leads Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. (BBN)

What the local paper reported

The Stratford Herald covered the event on 22 October, five days before Mr Finch’s complaint. It described “a talk with a difference” in the school library. (Stratford Herald, 22 October 2026)

According to the Herald:

• Mr Sweeney, who is promoting a new book on Mr Farage, put him “on trial” on seven charges.
• Sixth-formers and some Year 11 students made up the audience and acted as the “jury”. Year 11 pupils are typically 15 or 16.
• Mr Sweeney’s partner, who the paper said works for Stratford’s Liberal Democrat MP, acted as the defence.
• A politics teacher sat as the judge.
• The charges ranged from claims about Mr Farage’s schooldays to his private life and his decision to make Nathan Gill Reform’s leader in Wales.
• The pupils returned “guilty” verdicts on six charges. The one they rejected was the Nathan Gill charge.
• Mr Sweeney handed a signed copy of his book to the pupil with the “most awkward question”.

Mr Farage has denied the claims about his schooldays. He told the BBC in November 2025 that he had “never directly racially abused anybody”. (BBC News) Nathan Gill, Reform’s former leader in Wales, was jailed for ten and a half years in November 2025 after admitting taking bribes to make pro-Russian statements as an MEP. (BBC News)

BBN has not seen the lesson materials. The exact content of what pupils were told has not been independently verified.

Who is John Sweeney?

Mr Sweeney is a former BBC journalist and documentary maker. (Stratford Herald, 22 October 2026) At the 2024 general election he stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Sutton Coldfield. He came fourth with 2,587 votes, 5.4 per cent, down 6.8 points. Reform UK’s candidate won 8,213 votes, more than three times as many. (BBC News)

His book, The Real Nigel Farage: A Would-Be Prime Minister On Trial, was published by Headline on 10 September 2026. It is on general sale. The publisher’s own description says: “John Sweeney makes the case for the prosecution, levelling seven grave charges that Farage is not a fit and proper candidate to become prime minister.” (Hachette UK; Blackwell’s)

Reviewing the book in the Irish Times on 24 October, Enda O’Doherty observed that its “defence counsel is largely absent”. (The Irish Times)

Mr Sweeney and Mr Finch have clashed before. In December 2025 Mr Sweeney, writing as “Reform correspondent” for the website The Nerve, attacked Mr Finch under the headline “Reform UK’s ‘boy wonder’ Warwickshire council leader has gone too far this time”. (The Nerve) In July, Mr Finch was cleared of a code of conduct breach in a separate row over a Pride flag. (BBN)

What the law says about politics in schools

Section 406 of the Education Act 1996 says governing bodies and head teachers “shall forbid… the promotion of partisan political views in the teaching of any subject in the school”. (legislation.gov.uk)

Section 407 requires schools to take “such steps as are reasonably practicable” to make sure that when political issues are brought to pupils’ attention, at school or in extra-curricular activities, “they are offered a balanced presentation of opposing views”. (legislation.gov.uk)

Stratford Girls’ Grammar School is an academy. (Get Information About Schools) The Department for Education’s guidance says these duties “cover all schools, regardless of type or funding arrangement”, and that most academies have a clause in their funding agreement requiring them to follow the same rules. (DfE, Political impartiality in schools)

On outside speakers, the guidance is blunt: “Ultimately, schools remain responsible for what is said to their pupils.” It says that where outside speakers express partisan views, “Pupils must understand that these are contested views and still receive a balanced account”.

In fairness to the school, the same guidance says the rules “should not impede methods of teaching that involve pupils adopting and arguing in favour, or against, partisan political views, such as mock and parallel elections or debates”. It adds: “Teachers should seek to manage these activities to ensure that all pupils receive a balanced account of the political issues being covered.”

So mock debates are not banned. The question Mr Finch is asking is whether this one was balanced, given who played the prosecution and who played the defence. No official body has ruled on that.

Has anyone responded?

The Express reported on Tuesday evening that it had approached Mr Sweeney, the school and the Liberal Democrats for comment. By Tuesday night, BBN could find no public response from any of them. The school’s website and Mr Sweeney’s X account made no mention of the row.

BBN will update this story if they respond.

Key facts

• Pupils at Stratford Girls’ Grammar School, an academy, acted as the jury in a mock “trial” of Nigel Farage. (Stratford Herald)
• Former Lib Dem candidate John Sweeney prosecuted on seven charges. His partner, who works for the local Lib Dem MP, acted as the defence, according to the Herald.
• The pupils returned “guilty” verdicts on six of the seven charges.
• Reform UK’s George Finch has lodged a formal complaint with the school, copied to the Chair of Governors. (X)
• Mr Sweeney won 5.4 per cent of the vote as the Lib Dem candidate in Sutton Coldfield in 2024. (BBC News)
• The law requires schools to forbid “the promotion of partisan political views” and to offer pupils “a balanced presentation of opposing views”. (s.406; s.407)
• No response from the school, Mr Sweeney or the Lib Dems had been published by Tuesday night.

Verdict

This is opinion. Grown-ups are free to read Mr Sweeney’s book and make up their own minds. That is not the same as inviting the author into a school library to prosecute a party leader in front of teenage girls, with his own partner, who works for a rival party’s MP, as the defence. Whatever the intention, the line-up looks one-sided. The official guidance puts the burden on the school, not the guest, to make sure pupils got “a balanced account”.

Mr Finch’s point about double standards is the one many readers will recognise. It is hard to imagine a Reform councillor being invited to stage a mock trial of Sir Ed Davey or Sir Keir Starmer in a state school, and harder still to imagine the reaction if one were. BBN has reported before on public money being spent to steer voters away from Reform. (BBN) If schools want to teach pupils about Reform, they can debate what the party actually proposes. (Reform UK Policies Explained)

The school now has a simple job. It should publish what the session covered and explain what balance pupils were offered.

FAQ

What happened at Stratford Girls’ Grammar School?

According to the Stratford Herald, author and former Lib Dem candidate John Sweeney held a mock “trial” of Nigel Farage in the school library. Sixth-formers and some Year 11 pupils acted as the jury and found him “guilty” on six of seven charges.

Why has Reform UK complained?

George Finch, Reform UK leader of Warwickshire County Council, says the exercise was partisan. He says it was run by a Lib Dem “activist”, with a defence lawyer who works for the local Lib Dem MP. He has made a formal complaint to the school.

Is it legal for schools to hold mock trials of politicians?

Mock debates and elections are allowed. But the Education Act 1996 bans the promotion of partisan political views and requires a balanced presentation of opposing views, and DfE guidance says schools remain responsible for what outside speakers tell pupils. No official finding has been made about this event.

Has the school responded?

Not publicly, as of Tuesday night, 27 October 2026. The Express said it had asked the school, Mr Sweeney and the Lib Dems for comment.

Sources

• Cllr George Finch, statement on X, 27 October 2026
• Stratford Herald, “Former BBC journalist and documentary maker John Sweeney leads ‘trial’ of Nigel Farage at Stratford Girls Grammar School”, 22 October 2026
• Daily Express, “Reform UK fury as Lib Dem ‘activist’ puts Nigel Farage ‘on trial’ at girls’ school”, 27 October 2026
• BBC News, Sutton Coldfield result, 2024 general election
• Hachette UK, The Real Nigel Farage by John Sweeney (Headline, 2026)
• The Irish Times, review by Enda O’Doherty, 24 October 2026
• The Nerve, John Sweeney on George Finch, December 2025
• Education Act 1996, section 406
• Education Act 1996, section 407
• Department for Education, Political impartiality in schools (updated 21 March 2025)
• Get Information About Schools: Stratford Girls’ Grammar School
• BBC News, Farage responds to school racism claims, November 2025
• BBC News, Nathan Gill jailed, November 2025