Newington Local's Billy Taylor previews the 2019 local elections in Thurrock.
Thurrock
The upcoming local council elections on Thursday 2nd May 2019 will be historic, in so far as a large part of the nation will, for the first time since 1975, be voting in a post-EU Britain. Newington seeks to provide an analysis of one Essex local authority, Thurrock, which backed Brexit, and is in the process of producing its Local Plan. How will the current political environment locally and nationally play out in Thurrock, and what does it all mean for planning and development within this corner of Essex that borders East London?
Moreover, a large part of the Thurrock Council area rests in the highly marginal Thurrock constituency, so Conservatives and Labour at a national level will be watching Thurrock Council’s local election results closely and using the swing as a litmus test to see which party might be winning there in the next general election.
Current composition:
Two recent defections from Thurrock Independents to the Conservatives means that the current composition is:
Administration: No Overall Control Council with Conservatives ruling as a minority administration.
Political positions on housing and planning:
Conservatives
Labour
Thurrock Independents
Battleground wards:
Belhus: The traditionally safe Labour ward of Belhus voted UKIP in 2015, and it is anticipated that Labour will regain the seat in 2019. However, in May 2018, the losing Thurrock Independent (ex-UKIP) councillor lost to Labour by 161 votes, and just recently one Thurrock Independent ward councillor defected to the Conservatives, so Labour will have to work hard to ensure that they pass the winning line with certainty.
Chadwell St Mary: This ultra-safe Labour ward flipped to UKIP in May 2015, and there is no doubt that Labour should recapture this ward with a sizeable majority. In May 2018, Labour’s Barbara Rice won re-election with a 981 vote majority over the second place Conservative. One key issue in this ward is the impact the proposed Lower Thames Crossing would have on the Chadwell St Mary community, and will continue to be in 2019 campaign.
Chafford Hundred & North Stifford: A ward that usually votes Conservative, Cllr Mark Coxshall (Cabinet Member for Regeneration), the man overseeing Thurrock’s Local Plan process faces re-election. It is understood that with a changing demographic in this ward that activists on the ground say it will be a closely fought election, with Labour posing a credible threat. This race is one to watch!
East Tilbury: This should be a fairly safe Labour ward, but it has a history of voting Independent, so a UKIP win here in 2015 was no surprise to pundits. However, Green Belt and development issues have been prevalent in this corner of Thurrock for over a decade, and will likely dominate the 2019 campaign. Labour will want to win this seat, but one sitting Thurrock Independent councillor recently defected to the Conservatives, so it makes this battle even more interesting.
Ockendon: A swing ward which in each of the last three years has elected Labour, UKIP and Conservative councillors, all eyes will be focussed on the battle to win Ockendon ward, which elected a Labour councillor in May 2018 and a Conservative one in March 2018 on the toss of a coin. The proposed Lower Thames Crossing, and housing development, particularly around the Ockendon station area, will dominate the 2019 campaign.
Stanford East & Corringham Town: Another swing ward which has elected Conservative, Labour and UKIP councillors in all of the last six years, the current Conservative councillor (a UKIP defector), is working hard to retain the ward, but another unpredictable election as Labour are throwing considerable resource into the seat. It’s too close to call.
Stifford Clays: This swing ward that has elected Labour, Conservative and UKIP councillors in each the last four years is one to watch. The sitting Thurrock Independent (ex-UKIP) councillor is likely to lose, and the Conservatives gained the ward last May. They should be confident about winning again in this ward, but Labour have their eyes on it too, and are placing sizeable resource into it. It’s too close to call, and one that we will be keeping a close eye on.
Prediction for 2019: No Overall Control, with a toss-up as to which political party will be the largest group on the council who will form a minority administration.
