Review of 2024

 A difficult year but far from an annus horribilis

As we enter 2025, I wanted to say a few words about how things went during 2024.

Every year is a mixed bag but I can think of few years that have contained more dizzying personal highs, and misery-inducing lows than 2024. It is certainly not a year I shall ever forget. On the international stage, the appalling wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East continue unabated, while at home my party, the Conservative Party, suffered the most catastrophic General Election defeat in a generation. 

Westminster

Labour won a landslide election victory in the snap election called by Rishi Sunak in July, bringing to an end 14 years of Conservative rule. It was my party's worst electoral defeat in its long history - our largest defeat in purely numeric terms since 1761. We lost 252 parliamentary seats and saw Sir Keir Starmer walk through the famous door to 10 Downing Street as the new Prime Minister at the head of a Labour Government. Locally, our own long-serving Member of Parliament, John Baron, C.B.E., retired after 23 years service. Richard Holden, outgoing MP for North-West Durham and then Conservative Party Chairman, stood in the seat to succeed him, but won with only a rather sobering majority of just 20 votes, where John's majority had previously been over 20,000. My friend Stephen Metcalfe, formerly MP for South Basildon & East Thurrock, sadly lost his seat to a Reform candidate (who, it later turned out, had criminal convictions for assaulting his ex-partner). 

 

To be honest, I could probably write an entirely separate blog just on the subject of the Tory Party's sad and sudden descent into the political wilderness, so I have not the heart to write it here. Suffice it to say, coming so soon after the heady days of 2019, when Boris Johnson won us an 80-seat majority, to watch the party I love and have devoted myself to implode in such a spectacular fashion was far from being one of this year's highlights.  

The horrific election result has necessarily led to an ongoing period of reflection and introspection within the Conservative Party. Following Mr. Sunak's inevitable resignation, the Party held a leadership election, which has resulted in the Rt. Hon. Kemi Badenoch, M.P. (Con, N-W Essex) taking up the reigns - becoming the fourth female Tory leader and the first black leader of a major British political party (those 'racist, misogynist Tories' strike again). In a social media post that aged like milk, I declared for James Cleverly the day he was eliminated from the contest. Now that Mrs Badenoch is in post, she will have my undivided loyalty. She must unite the Party around her, as we begin to rebuild. The vital importance of this period of renewal can hardly be understated, as the consequences of this Labour Government begin to be felt throughout our communities. A renewed and refreshed Conservative Party is badly needed, and cannot come quickly enough.

 

Whether it is the attacks on pensioners and farmers, 'freebiegate' or the Sue Gray débâcle, Labour's apparent determination to completely dismantle the highly successful educational reforms of the past decade, or their threats to concrete all over our Green Belt, I cannot think of any other government in living memory that has come off the rails quite so quickly. They are a disaster. And, as the consequences of Rachel Reeves' budget really start to bite, things will only get worse under Labour.  

 

Closer to home

Locally, as always, Conservative councillors continued to work hard for residents. I started the year grappling with the threatened closure of the Billericay High Street Post Office, which had been based in the One Stop convenience store. Fortunately, through the good offices of John Baron, we held a number of constructive meetings with Post Office Limited and, with support of colleagues, were able to secure a new main counter service. I was pleased to see the Mayor of Basildon at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and services re-provided in the old Coleby's jewellers.

The other big issue looming over us, as it has for years, was the Local Plan. Following the decision of the Conservative Administration to withdraw the previous Submission Local Plan in 2022, the Council remained under pressure to deliver a new Local Plan. As Tories, we were girding ourselves for a fight, even with our own Government if needs be, to defend the Green Belt around Basildon Borough. We had some early successes and I was delighted in late January, when the Planning Inspectorate rejected the appeal against the Council's refusal to grant planning permission for 150 houses and a care home on Green Belt land off Potash Road. I was also able, with support from the Billericay Tree Wardens and the Norsey Wood Society, to secure the Norsey Road Woodland Order to protect the woodland within rear gardens abutting Norsey Wood. We also had Norsey Meadow designated a Local Nature Reserve, offering yet further protection.

Sadly, before we knew it, the May elections were upon us. A boundary review had taken place, altering some ward boundaries, which meant the Council had to be entirely reconstituted. It was Basildon's first 'all-in/all-out' elections in over 20 years. Both my ward colleagues - David Dadds and Stuart Sullivan - had represented Billericay East since the last 'all-out' but both retired this year. I was pleased to be joined by two new ward colleagues - Andy Barnes and Martyn Mordecai. I will confess, however, while I was pleased to be re-elected, it was particularly gratifying to top the poll, even though I was at the bottom of the ballot paper. This was my fifth election in Billericay East and I never take the result for granted. It was a humbling endorsement from my constituents, made the more poignant by the fact that I also became a father for the first time the same night (meaning I missed the election count for the first time in 14 years). 

My son, William, was born on May 2nd - Polling Day, of course! He is my first child, a little brother to my stepdaughter Poppy, and the whole family are completely smitten with him. This introduction of new life came after the sadness of March, when my dear friend, Luke Mackenzie, then Mayor of Basildon, passed away at the young age of just 37, after a brief but valiant battle with cancer. Luke and I were old friends and it was he who recruited me into politics in the first place. His death was a terrible personal blow, and a great loss to the Borough.  

The local election results were a disastrous foreshadowing of the General Election to come. Basildon Conservatives lost control of the Council, reduced to only 13 councillors. I have never known there be so few of us. The Tory Group is now the smallest since the late 1990s. Labour have taken up administration, backed as usual by Basildon's motley collection of 'Independents'. The national picture played its part, of course, but there is no denying the part played by our less than entirely successful changes to waste (ubiquitously known as 'bingate').  

The election necessarily brought an end to my time in Cabinet. I headed the Housing portfolio for 3 years. I am extremely proud of what I and my officers achieved over that period, particularly the creation of Nevendon Place - my homelessness facility in Pitsea. The Council also ended my appointment as a trustee of the Billericay Educational Trust, so I was pleased to re-join in a personal capacity. I am adjusting to my new role in Opposition, having been appointed to the Performance Scrutiny Committee and the Standards Committee.    

Labour's first act was to pension off the old Chief Executive and start restructuring the Council. They now have us borrowed up to the hilt to the tune of millions, which they ploughed into buying up real estate in Basildon. Like their Westminster counterparts, Basildon Labour are never happier than when spending other people's money. I think we shall probably need to brace ourselves for a whacking rise in Council Tax come the budget-setting in February. Goodness only knows what will happen if they are successful in merging Basildon Borough with Thurrock, as is their stated aim.

Albeit now in Opposition, Conservative councillors continue to work hard. I finally got those street lights fixed between Crown Road and Jacksons Lane. Thanks are also due to my county colleague, Cllr. Anthony Hedley (Con, Billericay & Burstead), for finally securing full resurfacing of Hillside Road, Chapel Street and Valley Road, all badly in need to investment for some time. It is also largely through his good offices, as former Cabinet Member for Business Engagement, that we have the Billericay Business Improvement District. We also saw the opening of the long-awaited new play area and skate park in Lake Meadows, along with a state-of-the-art Changing Places toilet facility. Colleagues and I are still lobbying for improvements to local bus services, as well as raising residents' concerns about the proposed National Grid pylons, and closure of South Green GP Surgery. Nothing, however, will be more important than fighting Labour's new Draft Local Plan for 27,000 homes (grossly in excess of realistic local need). The Regulation 18 consultation is due to end on January 12th.    

Looking forward

We have sound mountains to climb in 2025. With no borough elections scheduled this year (and an increasing likelihood that the scheduled county elections will be cancelled as part of Labour's proposed reorganisation of local government), Labour have control of the council in Basildon and of the government in Westminster, and they have the time to inflict their terrible plans. But we shall continue to fight the good fight. There will be challenges ahead but, working together, I know we can continue to achieve good things. 

I wish all of you in Billericay East, or wheresoever you may be, all the best for a very Happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

New Draft Local Plan

Reg 18 Consultation now open

The latest and possibly last chapter in the long-running saga of Basildon's Local Plan is about to commence. 

At a meeting of Full Council last week, Basildon borough councillors voted in favour of putting the new Draft Local Plan out to the Regulation 18 public consultation. This was voted for by the Labour Group and their 'Independent' backers in Basildon and Wickford. Basildon Conservatives voted against. We are not against a public consultation, obviously, but we refuse to even tacitly endorse what is a terrible plan - far worse than the plan we voted to withdraw in 2022. 

Even the Labour Cabinet Member for Planning & Infrastructure, Cllr. Adele Brown (Lab, Fryerns) admitted in her speech, voting for the Reg 18 makes it "our plan" and, as I told her at the meeting, it's certainly not my plan. I don't want her rotten plan and nor do my constituents! 

"...It's certainly not my plan. I don't want her rotten plan and nor do my constituents!"

Ultimately, the difference between Conservative councillors and Labour/Indies, is quite simple. We have been prepared to fight against inflated housing targets being imposed on us by Central Government - even when that meant taking the fight to our own party in Westminster. The Labour Group are not prepared to have that fight with their government. The arguments from Cllrs. Gavin Callaghan (Lab, St. Martin's), Kerry Smith (Ind, Nethermayne) and David Harrison (W/Ind, Wickford Park) were, in essence, 'If we don't accept it, Westminster will intervene to impose it on us'. They have thrown in the towel, and want all of us to roll over and have our tummies tickled. Well, I voted to tell Angela Rayner to get knotted!  

As I said in the meeting, Councillor Brown and I served together for many years on the Planning Committee, so I know she has always been a true believer in the mantra that we need to 'Build! Build! Build!', in the misguided belief that if we just pass a developers' charter and let them flood the Borough with new homes, this will somehow bring down property prices and boost affordability. If I thought that was on the cards, I might be tempted to vote for it myself. There is a housing crisis, and it is largely an affordability crisis. But there is no evidence to support the contention that simply granting permission for more homes (mostly in the irreplaceable Green Belt) will bring down house prices. The developers will never allow that to happen. They are already sitting on scores of extant planning permissions Basildon Council has granted them, yet they refuse to build them out. Why? Because they want to maintain high prices, increase their profits, and continue to put pressure on Local Planning Authorities like Basildon to release Green Belt land in local plans, because it is cheaper to develop and means increased profits for them.

Nobody will get any disagreement from me that we need more homes. After 3 years as Cabinet Member for Housing, I am well aware of the acute need for more homes. I actually built a few myself! We just do not need anything like as many as the 27,000 this Draft Local Plan proposes. We certainly do not need to despoil hundreds of hectares of Green Belt to build them. Apart from anything else, this plan will not deliver the type of housing we need most urgently, which is council housing. Instead, it will allow developers to churn up the green fields of Billericay and Wickford to build posh executive homes nobody who lives here can afford, and cram our town centres in Basildon, Laindon and Pitsea with high-rise rabbit hutches nobody in their right mind wants to live in.

"There is a housing crisis, and it is largely an affordability crisis. But there is no evidence to support the contention that simply granting permission for more homes (mostly in the irreplaceable Green Belt) will bring down house prices."

Fundamentally, Basildon Conservatives voted to withdraw the old Submission Local Plan because we rejected the then Government's faulty logic, and their soulless one-size-fits-all algorithm. We sought independent advice from legal counsel on whether we could withdraw the plan and were told that we could. Given the clear steer councillors were getting from their constituents, and the mood music coming out of Central Government in respect of planning reform, Conservative councillors felt emboldened and resolved to fight against the scale of Green Belt loss we felt was being imposed upon us. The current Administration, sadly, are not interested in that fight.    

Planning became an increasingly vexed question towards the end of the last Government, and with good reasons. I served on the Planning Committee, on and off, for about 7 years. I can think of few things in this country more entirely broken than our wholly dysfunctional planning system. There are a myriad of ways in which it simply does not work. The whole Local Plan preparation process is just one of them.  

The starting point is an 'Objectively Assessed Need' (OAN) - a number, conjured as part of some faceless calculation based on a 'Standard Methodology'. It results in a housing target several orders of magnitude beyond actual local need. The latest Draft Local Plan calls for more than 27,000 new homes to be built over the next 20 years, approximately 17,000 of them in the Green Belt. It amounts to building a whole new town the size of Billericay and Wickford combined. 

"I can think of few things in this country more entirely broken than our wholly dysfunctional planning system."

I believe this plan is unsound, undeliverable and unsustainable. The way in which necessary infrastructure to mitigate the impact of all these developments is to be delivered is yet another area in which current planning processes fail us. Section 106 agreements - which identify 'commuted sums' developers must pay towards provision of infrastructure - are manifestly inadequate. The s.106 requirements do not kick in until a development is already built and people start to move into it - assuming developers do not find some cunning device by which to wriggle out of their responsibilities in the meantime. What little infrastructure is delivered, comes in dribs and drabs and far too late. 

But the die is now cast and battle must be joined. The Reg 18 is now open (link below). Residents have until January 12th, 2025 to submit comments. Although I voted against putting this plan to consultation, because I think it is a bad plan, this is what the Administration is presenting to you. I urge all residents to take the opportunity to have your say and give your views. Please share the consultation with family, friends and neighbours. We need a bumper response from Billericay to ensure this town's voice is heard loud and clear, not just at the Basildon Centre but in the halls of the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol!  

Have Your Say Today - Basildon Local Plan - Commonplace

This is a bad plan, not just for Billericay but for the whole Borough. Even if you do not have a proposed development site near you, you will be affected. This plan will determine the future of this Borough for the next 20 years. As things stand, it could be a future marked by buckling infrastructure, pressure on schools, pressure on GP services, dentists, roads, the railways, parking, our whole quality of life. Nothing will be left untouched by this scale of growth. This is not our first rodeo, folks, and I know we are all tired of the poxy Local Plan and these interminable consultations, but now is not the time to let up. 

The Battle for the Green Belt is now at hand. So it begins...

Conservative Leadership 2024: Post-Conference Update

MPs move towards third ballot

The remaining four candidates set out their stalls at the Party Conference in Birmingham

I did not attend the Conservative Party Conference this year (in truth, I haven’t been in years) but this conference represented a major milestone in the 2024 Conservative Leadership Election, as the four remaining candidates to replace Rishi Sunak set out their respective stalls to the Party faithful last week.

The importance of this stage of the contest can hardly be overstated. It is not a regular feature of Tory leadership elections but the last time it happened it was considered quite decisive. For this, one must cast one’s mind back nearly 20 years, to the 2005 Leadership Election. David Davis entered that contest looking like the ‘obvious successor’ to outgoing leader Michael Howard. Then, as now, we were in Opposition and candidates were vying to become the next Leader of the Opposition.

At the 2005 conference in Blackpool, Mr. Davis delivered his big speech but was widely perceived to have performed poorly. I watched the speech, and I would say it was competent but underwhelming. Meanwhile, Mr. Davis’ younger rival, David Cameron, gave a barnstormer of a speech, delivered without notes, and Mr. Cameron ultimately left Blackpool as the darling of Conference. It led to a steep turnaround in their relative chances. That morning, Mr. Davis had been the clear favourite, with Mr. Cameron trailing in third place behind Kenneth Clarke. By that same evening, the bookies had Mr. Cameron as the odds-on frontrunner. As we all know, Mr. Cameron went on to win the leadership and, in due course, the 2010 and 2015 general elections.

I have tagged each speaker with a link to their speech on YouTube.

The first up on the main stage in Birmingham last week was Shadow Security Minister Tom Tugendhat. I would characterise the Colonel’s speech as brimming with sincerity and high purpose, but a bit of a damp squib, in that it lacked that ‘wow’ factor he really needed to deliver at this stage of the contest. It was a bit like one of those fireworks, that goes up making all the right noises, only to fizzle out with an anticlimactic ‘pop’. His relative lack of experience speaking at this level probably showed. I anticipate that the Colonel will be the first to be eliminated when MPs vote this week, but he can hold his head up high, having fought a plucky rearguard action and I suspect he will feature prominently in the Shadow Cabinet of whomever succeeds Mr. Sunak.

Next up was Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly. His speech is being widely touted as the break-out performance of the match. Colonel Cleverly, who came in third place in the first two MP ballots in September, has steadily been building momentum and delivered an assured performance. He is probably the most experienced of the remaining four candidates, as I outlined in my previous blog. He also wins the prize for the best jokes, particularly a good line about being mobilised as a reservist and assuming he would be sent to Baghdad or Basra and being sent… to Luton. Although he arrived in Birmingham trailing behind Mr. Jenrick and Mrs Badenoch, the Colonel left Conference with a spring in his step and the wind in his sails and is now the bookies’ favourite to make it into the final two with Mr. Jenrick. Colonel Cleverly actually came to Billericay on Friday and addressed members of the Basildon & Billericay Conservative Association and he was very impressive.

Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick was the penultimate speaker, currently seen as the frontrunner and, at 42 years of age, the youngest of the candidates. Mr. Jenrick is an interesting guy. Formerly seen as a broadly centrist politician, he has recently manœuvred himself to the right of the Party, shouldering past more established figures like Suella Braverman and Dame Priti Patel. He gave a strong performance in Birmingham, and he too put in appearance in Billericay, a week or so before Colonel Cleverly. On both occasions, he majored on immigration and leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. If I am being brutally honest, I worry that Mr. Jenrick is a bit of a one-trick pony on immigration, and I cannot say I found myself entirely convinced that leaving the ECHR is the kind of panacea he seems to think it is. I would not say his speech was a gamechanger. He delivered it without notes or autocue, but it did not lift the roof off Conference like Cameron in ’05.

The final speaker was Shadow Housing Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who is in many ways the ‘firebrand’ candidate in this contest. She gave an uncompromisingly robust speech, centred around hard truths and the need to renew both the Tory Party and the country. There is no denying the attractiveness of her plain-speaking, no-nonsense attitude. My only concern remains a worry that she is just too enmeshed in culture wars that turn off, or simply do not interest, huge sections of the electorate. She dropped a couple of clangers at Conference, seeming to oppose maternity pay (comments she later clarified) and suggesting some civil servants wanted ‘locking up’. But her pitch on stage went well and I suspect she will have been happy with how it went down in the hall.

The ball now goes back into the MPs’ court, with a further ballot this afternoon to reduce the remaining four to three, then another ballot tomorrow, which will give us the final two, who will be presented to the Party membership.

I saw an analysis somewhere (apologies, I can’t remember where, so cannot attribute) that compared the process to the ‘Sorting Hat’ in “Harry Potter”. In this analysis, Colonel Tugendhat was ‘Ravenclaw’ for his intellect and attention to detail. Colonel Cleverly was ‘Hufflepuff’ for his steadfastness and Party loyalty. Mr. Jenrick was ‘Slytherin’ for his cunning and ambition. While Mrs Badenoch was ‘Gryffindor’ for her courage and indefatigability. I think I would broadly subscribe to that. All four candidates have great strengths.

I shall be lobbying our local MP, Richard Holden, to support James Cleverly. We should get the results of the penultimate MPs’ ballot at 3:30 p.m. and then the final ballot ahead of the membership vote will take place tomorrow. 

Billericay Post Office latest

 

Light at the end of the tunnel

Andrew has continued to plug away at this with Post Office Ltd. and Basildon Council officers. 

It has been a while since I posted my last update on the Billericay High Street Post Office back in March but I can assure you all that activity has continued behind the scenes and I wanted to give residents a further update on progress so far. 

Obviously, one big advent since my last update has been the General Election and I want to place on record my thanks to our former MP, John Baron, for all his efforts and for facilitating our meetings with the Post Office. I also remain indebted to Jim Sims, Head of Economic Development at Basildon Council, who has been of inestimable assistance in helping find a way forward to secure continuation of a main Post Office counter service in our High Street. 

Firstly, my apologies to those who have been understandably concerned about the future of the service and frustrated by how little information I have been able to share. I hope residents will appreciate that there are commercial sensitivities until such time as Post Office Limited formally exchange contracts with any potential future postmaster and this limits what I am am able to confirm publicly until all relevant parties have officially signed on the dotted line. 

I am aware that many of you have spoken to the existing Post Office staff at the One Stop, who are unaware of what is happening and what the future holds. I know this has been a matter of huge concern to many residents. It is very regrettable and I have communicated this directly to the Post Office. Unfortunately, this is out of their hands, as the existing staff are employed by One Stop, who are responsible for the information that is shared with their staff. I am assured by the Post Office that they have informed One Stop that an application is progressing to transfer the service to a new location and have suggested that they share this update with their staff but this is, ultimately, a matter for One Stop. Obviously, it is also necessarily the case that any future hiring of staff at the new Post Office will likewise be a matter for the new postmaster once they take over the role from One Stop.  

I can reassure residents that Post Office Limited remains committed to maintaining a full counter service in Billericay High Street when the current branch closes in November. Having advertised the opportunity and having received a number of applications, I am happy to report that negotiations with one of the applicants is now at an advanced stage. Some of you probably think you already know where this is (I have seen speculation on the Billericay Discussion Page) and you may well be right but I am unable to confirm until contracts are signed (God forbid I should jinx it). As soon as this happens, an announcement will be made.  

There are still one or two details to be ironed out but I look forward to being able to share a positive announcement very shortly and we hope to be able to secure the Mayor of Basildon to come and officially open the new Billericay High Street Post Office in due course. 

This has been a lengthy collaborative process between the Post Office, Basildon Council and Billericay Town Council over the past 12-18 months, working together to try and do all we can to secure a replacement postmaster. It has been a challenging process at times, as the bureaucracy surrounding the arrangements has been out of this world. It has required the alignment of a suitable premises, with a willing and suitable postmaster, approval of both the Royal Mail and Post Office Limited, and access to capital funding (which has been appreciably constrained since the Horizon IT scandal). We are not yet at the finish line but, after periods where things looked a little touch and go, it does now appear to be heaving into view.

I will, of course, continue to provide updates as and when I can.

Conservative Leadership 2024

The race to replace Rishi is underway

The runners and riders in the 2024 Conservative leadership contest.

 

As in July 2022, I have decided to do a 'Runner & Riders' blog for the Conservative leadership election. This is despite two big changes since then. Firstly, and most obviously, unlike previous Tory leadership elections, this one will not be a race to select the next Prime Minister. In fact, this is the first time in 19 years that the Conservative Party has picked a leader who has not gone on to immediately become PM (not since David Cameron replaced Michael Howard).

The person the Party chooses will, instead, become the Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, following our catastrophic defeat in the General Election in July. It is, in essence, an election to determine who gets to preside over the ashes of our once great party and, hopefully, begin the process of renewal.

Secondly, I write about the contest from a curious perspective, as since the last contest in 2022, I have reached the conclusion that Party members, such as myself, should not have a vote on the leadership. I have come to believe that the Parliamentary Conservative Party (i.e. the MPs themselves) should be the ones to pick the Party Leader. Ultimately, the Leader must, first and foremost, lead our MPs as a group in Westminster. The membership has a nasty habit of electing leaders who appeals to them personally and to their sensibilities, rather than picking a leader who can command the support of our MPs and potentially appeal to the broader electorate. The Conservative Group on Basildon Council elect a leader. This process is not opened up to the wider Party membership locally! The sole qualification needed to become Prime Minister is to command the support of a majority of MPs in the House of Commons. It is essential, therefore, that the Conservative Leader commands the support of a majority of his or her own MPs.

As such, whilst I shall undoubtedly vote – on the principle that I have always voted in every election in which I am entitled to vote – I shall almost certainly use my vote to support the candidate with majority support within the Parliamentary Party. I think it would be sensible to change the rules, so that MPs elect the Party Leader and the membership, instead, directly elect the Party Chairman. But, until that happens, I shall continue to engage in the current process.

This part of the election is governed by the 1922 Committee (the main decision-making body of the Parliamentary Conservative Party). Their new Chairman, Bob Blackman, M.P., announced the close of nominations on July 29th, with six candidates nominated. These candidates are spending the Summer Recess setting out their stall to Party members across the country.

When Parliament returns on September 4^th, Tory MPs will narrow the field down to four candidates through a series of hustings. The ‘Final Four’ will be announced on September 11^th and will go on to make a final pitch to the membership at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham between September 29^th and October 2^nd.

Following Party Conference, MPs will finally whittle the field down to just two candidates, to be announced by October 11^th.

That will end the parliamentary process and the process will be taken over by the Party Board, who will present the last two candidates to a ballot of qualified Party members. Their choice will then be announced by the Chairman of the 1922, and that person will then formally replace Rishi Sunak as Leader of the Opposition.

Gratifyingly, half of the candidates are Essex MPs!  

The Runners & Riders:

 

KEMI BADENOCH

The Rt. Hon. Kemi Badenoch, M.P. is 44 years old and has been MP for North-West Essex (previously Saffron Walden) since 2017. She is currently the Shadow Housing Secretary.

She began her ministerial career under Boris Johnson, who appointed her a Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Education in 2019. Mr. Johnson later promoted her to Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in 2020 and also gave her the Equalities brief. In 2021, she was made a Minister in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities. The following year Liz Truss raised her to Cabinet rank as International Trade Secretary, a position she retained under Rishi Sunak, who added Business to her portfolio. Mr. Sunak also re-appointed her Minister for Women & Equalities, a role in which she has been particularly outspoken, for example refuting ‘critical race theory’.  

Mrs Badenoch was also a candidate in 2022, when Mr. Johnson resigned, but was eliminated in the fourth ballot. Now, as then, I generally find her quite impressive. I met her a few years ago at an event at CCHQ, where she talked passionately about her background. She was born in Wimbledon, where her late father worked as a GP. Her mother is a physiology professor. She spent part of her youth in her parents’ native Nigeria but was born and educated here in the UK. She returned here when she was 16, due to political instability in Nigeria. She worked for a time in a McDonald's before completing a Masters in Computer Engineering at Sussex and later obtained a law degree studying part-time at Birkbeck. She joined the Conservative Party at 25 and worked in IT as a software engineer and systems analyst in financial services and was briefly a member of the London Assembly before being elected to Parliament. She was a Brexiteer and is on the right of the Party. She is married to Hamish Badenoch, a banker and former Tory councillor in Merton, and together they have two daughters and a son. She is agnostic.

Mrs Badenoch was among the less experienced candidates in 2022 and is probably still the least experienced of the six, but this time around is widely considered a frontrunner. Her endorsements include Dr. Alex Burghart (Brentwood & Ongar) and Julia Lopez (Hornchurch & Upminster). Personally, I worry that she is a little too immersed in the ‘culture wars’ at a time when we need to be laser-focused on rebuilding and broadening our appeal to the wider electorate.

  

JAMES CLEVERLY ***ELIMINATED IN THE FOURTH BALLOT***

Lt.-Col. the Rt. Hon. James Cleverly, T.D., V.R., M.P. is 54 years old and has been MP for Braintree since 2015 and is currently Shadow Home Secretary.

He began his ministerial career under Theresa May, who appointed him a Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union in 2019. He then served under Boris Johnson as Party Chairman, with a seat in the Cabinet, and later as a Minister in the Foreign Office for more than 2 years, until he was brought back into the Cabinet as Education Secretary. Liz Truss then promoted him as the first ever black Foreign Secretary, a Great Office of State that he retained under Rishi Sunak. When the former Prime Minister, Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton, was appointed to the post in a reshuffle, Colonel Cleverly was moved sideways to become Home Secretary.

This is the Colonel's first run at the leadership. He was born in Lewisham to an English father and Sierra Leonean mother, who worked as a midwife. He studied Hospitality Management at Ealing College and later worked in publishing. He also became a Royal Artillery reservist and is currently a staff officer with the 1^st Armoured Division based at Woolwich, and holds the active rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 2008, he was elected to the London Assembly and was re-elected in 2012 prior to his election to Parliament. He was a Brexiteer and is largely a centrist figure. He is married to Susannah, a cancer survivor, with whom he has two sons. The family live in Blackheath.

Colonel Cleverly was the first to declare his candidacy and his endorsements include Peter Fortune (Bromley & Biggin Hill) and Gagan Mohindra (South-West Hertfordshire). At the risk of giving him the kiss of death, at this point he would be my own first choice. He was among the more competent and polished performers of the last Government and a good public speaker with sound Conservative instincts.

 

ROBERT JENRICK

The Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick, M.P. is 42 years old (making him the youngest candidate) and has been MP for Newark in Nottinghamshire since 2015. He famously resigned as Rishi Sunak’s Immigration Minister in December 2023.

He had previously served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury under Theresa May before joining Boris Johnson’s Cabinet as Communities Secretary in 2019, until he was dismissed as part of the reshuffle in September 2021. Mr. Jenrick returned to government under Liz Truss in 2022, when she appointed him a Minister at the Department of Health. As Mr. Sunak’s Immigration Minister, he attended Cabinet but ultimately resigned over his strong disagreements with the Prime Minister over the Rwanda plan (feeling the Government was not going far enough).

This is Mr. Jenrick’s first run at the leadership. He was born in Wolverhampton and grew up in the West Midlands. He read History at St. John’s College, Cambridge and the University of Pennsylvania in the US. He subsequently obtained a law degree and qualified as a solicitor, practicing corporate law. Prior to his election to Parliament, he was a director of Christie’s, the London auction house. He was a Brexiteer and is firmly on the right of the Party. His wife, Michal, was born in Israel and is also a corporate lawyer. They have three daughters, who they are raising in the Jewish faith, and reside at Eye Manor in Herefordshire.

Mr. Jenrick’s endorsements include Sir John Hayes (South Holland & The Deepings) and Esther McVey (Tatton), as well as the Father of the House of Commons, Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough). Personally, I worry he is an overly ideological figure, who is too focussed on wooing Reform-voters to successfully rebuild the Conservative Party as the sort of broad coalition it needs to be if it is to regain power.

 

DAME PRITI PATEL ***ELIMINATED IN THE FIRST BALLOT***

The Rt. Hon. Dame Priti Patel, D.B.E., M.P. is 52 years old and has been MP for Witham since 2010. She was Home Secretary under Boris Johnson and was made a dame in his Resignation Honours List.

She is the only candidate not to have served in the Sunak Ministry. She began her ministerial career under David Cameron, who appointed her Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in 2014, later promoting her to Minister for Employment in the Department for Work & Pensions. Theresa May brought her into the Cabinet as International Development Secretary in 2016.

This is Dame Priti’s first run at the leadership and if Mr. Jenrick is seen as a candidate of the Right then Dame Priti is surely Jenrick on steroids! She was born in London to Gujarati Hindu parents, who were driven out of Uganda by Idi Amin. The family later ran a newsagent in Hertfordshire. She grew up in Watford and read Economics at Keele before pursuing postgraduate studies in Politics at Essex. She is a dyed-in-the-wool Thatcherite and joined the Party in 1991, later working as an intern at Central Office. A lifelong Brexiteer, she became involved in the Referendum Party in the mid-‘90s before rejoining the Tories in ‘97 and working for William Hague as a press officer. She then worked in PR in the private sector before being elected to Parliament. She is married to Alex Sawyer, a marketing consultant and Tory councillor in Bexley. They have a son together.  

Dame Priti’s endorsements include Sir Alec Shelbrooke (Wetherby & Easingwold) and former MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns. The latter endorsement alone ought, in my view, to cast serious doubt on her suitability (Dame Andrea is a cask-strength crank). Whilst I have great respect for Dame Priti, her politics are very different to mine. I am a personal admirer of the late Lady Thatcher but have never considered myself a ‘Thatcherite’ politically, and I would struggle to support a candidate who, for instance, favours the restoration of the death penalty. I cannot see her leading the Party back to a position of electability.

 

MEL STRIDE ***ELIMINATED IN THE SECOND BALLOT***

The Rt. Hon. Mel Stride, M.P. is 62 years old (making him the oldest candidate) and has been MP for Central Devon since 2010 and is currently Shadow Work & Pensions Secretary.

He served in the Whips’ Office under both David Cameron and Theresa May, until the latter appointed him as Paymaster-General and Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 2017. Lady May later made him Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons and latterly he was Work & Pensions Secretary under Rishi Sunak.  

Mr. Stride is probably the ‘dark horse’ of this election, as possibly the candidate least well-known to the general public. He was born in Ealing and educated in Portsmouth. He read PPE at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he was President of the Oxford Union. He is married to Michelle and has three daughters. He and Mrs Stride ran a marketing firm together prior to his election to Parliament.

Mr. Stride’s endorsements include Commander Andrew Murrison (South-West Wiltshire) and Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West). He is a close and trusted ally of Mr. Sunak and widely seen as a safe pair of hands. He was a good media performer and is a centrist politically. But I am not sure if he has the public profile to take us forward.   

 

TOM TUGENDHAT ***ELIMINATED IN THE THIRD BALLOT***

Lt.-Col. the Rt. Hon. Tom Tugendhat, M.B.E., V.R., M.P. is 51 years old and has been MP for Tonbridge (previously Tonbridge & Malling) since 2015 and is currently Shadow Security Minister.

He has the least ministerial experience of any of the candidates, having previously served for 5 years as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee before joining the frontbench. He pitched for the leadership in 2022, following the resignation of Boris Johnson and was eliminated in the third round. Afterwards Liz Truss appointed him Minister for Security, a role he retained under Rishi Sunak.

Colonel Tugendhat was born in Westminster and is the son of retired High Court judge, the Hon. Mr. Justice (Sir Michael) Tugendhat. He is also a nephew of the businessman and Tory peer, Lord Tugendhat. He attended public school and later read theology at Bristol before undertaking a Masters in Islamic Studies at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (learning to speak Arabic in the Yemen). He served in the Territorial Army, firstly in the Adjutant General’s Corps and later transferred to the Intelligence Corps, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He saw active service in Iraq and Afghanistan and was a military assistant to the Chief of the Defence Staff. Colonel Tugendhat was made an MBE (military division) in 2009 and retired from active service in 2013. He is married to senior French civil servant Anissia Morel and, although he has Jewish ancestry, is a practicing Roman Catholic. The couple have two children.

Colonel Tugendhat is the only former Remainer among the candidates and is generally seen as part of the ‘liberal’ wing and probably the main candidate for that particular constituency within the Party, but his supporters include prominent Brexiteers. His endorsements include Dame Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands), Nick Timothy (West Suffolk), as well as former MPs Steve Baker, Sir Jake Berry, Damian Green, not to mention Kenneth, Lord Clarke of Nottingham. The Colonel is clearly a highly capable and intellectual candidate, but he is the ‘flip-side candidate’ to Mr. Jenrick and Dame Priti Patel. Like them, I fear he is too ideological. He is so far on the ideological left of the Party that I struggle to see how he can successfully unite us ahead of the next election.

The Results 2024

Results of the Local Elections held on May 2nd, 2024

Conservatives lose control of Basildon Council!

 

There is no way of disguising the fact that these Local Elections were disastrous for Basildon Conservatives. Although the result was well forecast by the dismal national polling and challenging headwinds locally, it was nevertheless spirit-crushing to see my party lose power and Basildon Borough Council fall nominally into No Overall Control, with the Tories emerging as only the second largest group, behind Labour.

Whilst we retained all 12 seats across the three Billericay wards and the new Castledon & Crouch Ward, we retained only one seat in Wickford and lost all our other seats to Labour and Independents, being completely wiped out in the New Town. This has left us on just 13 seats, down from 26. Labour finished on 18 (up from 10), the Smithites on 6 (up from 5) and the Wickford Independents on 5 (up from 1). The magic number for an overall majority is 22 and all the parties fell far short of that, so the Council is notionally hung but, given that the Opposition parties combined now have 29 seats between them, and the three group leaders are all former coalition partners (once Gavin Callaghan inevitably took over the Labour Group, as he now has), it is more or less a foregone conclusion that the former Labour-led Alliance will resume their administration and the Conservatives will go back into opposition. 

For the first time in 14 years, I was absent from the Count, so did not see the horror unfold at close quarters. This was because at 8:57 p.m. on Polling Day itself, my wife gave birth to our son - a bouncing baby boy, weighing in at 7 Ibs 5 oz, whom we have named William (after my father). So, whilst disappointing, the day was not without its consolations!

As this was an All-In/All-Out election, following the recent boundary changes, each of the 14 wards was electing three candidates each. As we will then be resuming the practice of electing the Council by thirds, only the first-placed candidate in each ward will enjoy the full customary 4-year term, running until 2028. The last-placed candidate will need to seek re-election at the next set of borough elections in 2026, while the second-placed candidate will sit until 2027.

The detailed breakdown of results is as follows:

 

BILLERICAY EAST – Con HOLD

 SCHRADER, Andrew (Con) – 1,713 (20%) *Elected 

 BARNES, Andy (Con) – 1,680 (20%) *Elected

 MORDECAI, Martyn (Con) – 1,523 (18%) *Elected

BRENNAN, Andrew (Grn) - 922 (11%)

GOSHAWK, Stewart (Grn) - 784 (9%)

TATMAN, Andy (Grn) - 737 (9%)

CLARK, Laura (Lib) – 447 (5%)

BUNYAN, Sally (Lab) – 424 (5%)

SMITH, Peter (Lib) – 333 (4%)

Turnout: 33.2% (+3.2)

I was, of course, completely elated to be re-elected for a fourth term with a majority of 791 over the nearest-placed Green. There is a truism in politics that in elections where electors have multiple votes, the candidates at the bottom of the ballot usually fare worst, as those voters who split their votes between different parties will tend to pick the first candidate for each party going down the ballot paper. Being a Schrader meant I was at the bottom of the ballot, so to have topped the poll was quite heartwarming. Right behind me were my two new ward colleagues, Andy Barnes and Martyn Mordecai. This means that I get the full 4-year term, running until 2028, and Martyn will be up for re-election in 2026, as we resume triennial elections. Andy and Martyn are both experienced representatives, who have a lot to offer Billericay East and I am looking forward to working with them on ward matters. Following a highly spirited campaign, the three Greens came were the runners-up, whilst the Liberals and Labour, who did not field three candidates each and appeared to do little campaigning locally, brought up the rear. There was more than 600 votes between Martyn and the first-placed Green, so this was a very comfortable win for us. In total, the Conservative vote share here was 58%, only 2 points down on last year when David Dadds was re-elected with 60% of the vote. The Greens did not field a candidate last year and appear mostly to have siphoned votes away from the Liberals and Labour, whose vote shares were down 12 and 14 points respectively.

 

BILLERICAY WEST – Con HOLD

 

 

 

 

HEDLEY, Anthony (Con) - 1,712 (21%) *Elected

TURNER, Philip (Con) - 1,667 (21%) *Elected

LAWRENCE, Daniel (Con) - 1,609 (20%) *Elected   

MAY, Chris (Lib) - 964 (12%)

LANCASTER, Peter (Lib) - 691 (9%)

NICKLIN, Tim (Lib) - 627 (8%)

BUTTON, Brian (Lab) – 420 (5%)

BUTLER, Scion (Grn) - 412 (5%)

 

Turnout: 31.9% (-0.1)

My Conservative colleagues in Billericay West secured all three seats here, with my friend and mentor Tony Hedley (also the local Essex county councillor) topping the poll, with a majority of 748 over the next-placed Liberal. Tony has represented the seat for 24 years and is one of the longest-serving councillors in Basildon. Former leader Phil Turner, who has represented the seat since 2001, came second, whilst Danny Lawrence came third, still a good 645 votes ahead of Chris May. Our total vote share was 62%, which is actually 11 points up on what Danny secured last year. The Lib-Dem vote share is down 7 points. Labour and the Greens also saw their vote share decrease, indicating that the previous vulnerability that had existed for us in West may have dissipated. Indeed, in this election it proved to be our safest seat.

 

BURSTEAD – Con HOLD* (new boundaries)

 

 

 

 

BAGGOTT, Andrew (Con) – 1,785 (22%) *Elected 

MOORE, Richard (Con) – 1,716 (21%) *Elected 

BLAKE, Kevin (Con) – 1,515 (19%) *Elected  

BANKS, Leslie (Lab) – 933 (11%)

DAFFIN, Chris (Lib) – 786 (10%)

CHRAIBI, Idriss (Grn) - 485 (6%)

McGARRY, Daniel (Grn) - 485 (6%)

FRYD, Andy (Lib) – 481 (6%)

 

Turnout: 29.5% (-2.4)

My Conservative colleagues in Burstead also secured all three seats, with Basildon Conservatives Leader Andy Baggott topping the poll, with a majority of 852 over the Labour candidate. Richard Moore (also a local county councillor) came second, whilst Andy's able deputy, Kevin Blake, came third. Kevin has also been a councillor since 1992, with only a small gap, so is also one of our longest-serving councillors. Les Banks fought a plucky campaign for Labour, which saw him displace the Liberals and steal second place, although Labour's total vote share was actually a point down on 2023. Still, in 2023, Malcolm Reid only secured 318 votes and Les got 933. Unfortunately for him, that was still 582 votes behind Blakey. As I mentioned in my 'Runners & Riders' blog, Les is actually my best mate's dad. I've known him since I was a kid. He's a great guy and he and his lovely wife, Kath, fought a plucky campaign, taking a leaf out of the Schrader campaign guidebook by delivering leaflets with a wooden spoon - a shrewd move, as elsewhere in the campaign, Stuart Allen (Con, Castledon & Crouch) suffered a serious dog bite. I won't deliver a leaflet without one! Meanwhile, the two Greens were sandwiched between the Liberals and made little impact.

 

CASTLEDON & CROUCH – Con HOLD* (new boundaries)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MYERS, Alex (Con) – 1,084 (16%) *Elected

SARGENT, Terri (Con) – 992 (15%) *Elected

ALLEN, Stuart (Con) – 987 (15%) *Elected

MOTT, Stewart (Lib) – 869 (13%)

HOAD, Nicola (Lib) – 793 (12%)

STANBROOK, Angela (Lab) – 498 (8%)

WOODS, Michael (Lib) – 477 (7%) 

BATEMAN, Christopher (BDem) – 475 (7%)

GUERNEY, Gillian (Grn) - 399 (6%)

Turnout: 28.1% (+7.1)

My colleagues Alex Myers, Terri Sargent and Stuart Allen held all three seats in the newly constituted Castledon & Crouch Ward, an amalgam of the old Crouch and Wickford Castledon wards. Alex, who had previously represented Castledon since 2022, topped the poll here with a majority of 215 over nearest-placed Lib-Dem rival Stewart Mott. All told, the Conservative vote share in the new ward was 46%, making the ward safer than the old Castledon seat (where Don Morris was re-elected last year with 38% of the vote) but substantially less safe than the old Crouch seat, where Terri was last re-elected in 2022 with a whopping 76% of the vote. Mr. Mott was 118 votes behind Stuart, so the Liberals gave us a run for our money here. The other parties were all miles behind. With the retirement of David Dadds and Stuart Sullivan, Terri is now the last remaining councillor from the 2002-intake. As I mentioned above, party stalwart Stuart Allen suffered a fairly horrific dog-bite during the campaign, so certainly earned his stripes. He has also been a councillor, with a small break, since 1992. 

 

FRYERNS – Lab HOLD

 

 

BROWN, Adele (Lab) – 1,160 (26%) *Elected 

ANSELL, Andrew (Lab) – 1,142 (26%) *Elected

DAVIES, Allan (Lab) – 1,053 (24%) *Elected 

DAWODU, Ola (Con) – 529 (12%)

HOWARD, Vivien (Lib) – 329 (7%)

DONNE, Eleanor (TUSC) - 218 (5%)

 

Turnout: 18.7 17% (+1.7)

Labour comfortably held this traditionally safe seat, being the only party to field three candidates. Adele Brown, who has represented the seat since 2012, topped the poll with a majority of 631 over Conservative candidate Ola Dawodu. Former Pitsea councillor Andy Ansell returns to the Council, after losing his Pitsea seat in 2021. He took the second spot in Fryerns. Somewhat surprisingly, Allan Davies came third, despite having represented the seat since 2007, making him Labour's longest-serving councillor. Still, he was 524 ahead of us, so I doubt he shall lose much sleep over it. All told, Labour's vote share here was a whopping 76%. Safe as houses and Labour's safest seat by far. Despite fighting a vigorous campaign as the lone Tory candidate in the ward, Ola came a distant second behind the Labour candidates and the Tory vote has collapsed by a dispiriting 16 points since last year. The Liberal and TUSC candidates barely got a look in.  

 

LAINDON PARK – 1 Lab HOLD and 2 Lab GAINS from Con

  

 

 

JOSEPH, Victoria (Lab) – 1,013 (16%) *Elected 

POWER, Jessica (Lab) – 972 (15%) *Elected

WEBB, Terry (Lab) – 880 (14%) *Elected

HENRY, Jeff (Con) – 863 (14%)

WINGFIELD, Kevin (Con) – 845 (13%)

GASCOYNE, Samuel (Con) – 761 (12%)

COJOCARU, Iurie (Ind) - 358 (6%)

McCARTHY, Eugene (Grn) - 312 (5%)

McCARTHY, Stephen (Lib) – 218 (3%)

MURRAY, David (TUSC) - 137 (2%)

 

As I feared, there is little justice in politics and the hard work of our two sitting Laindon councillors, Jeff Henry and Kevin Wingfield, simply was not sufficient to save them. Both lost their seats and Sam Gascoyne, who switched seats from Pitsea North-West to Laindon Park, also failed to get elected. Labour's Victoria Joseph was re-elected with a majority of 150 over Jeff, which is pretty amazing from a councillor who seems nice enough but has been pretty invisible since she won the third seat last year, only making her maiden speech in the chamber at the last meeting before the election. But there is not much point in being churlish. Labour's vote share here was 45%, which is a massive 10-point leap from last year. Councillor Joseph is joined by newcomer Jessica Power (formerly a council officer) and sitting councillor Terry Webb, who clearly had less reason to fear from being shunted out of his safe Lee Chapel North seat than I thought - although he was only 17 votes ahead of Jeff, so it was very tight for him! But the overall Tory vote share was 39%, which is a far cry from when Jeff was re-elected in 2022 with 52% of the vote. We can't even blame the Smithite Independent for nicking our votes, as Iurie Cojocaru came a distant third, 8 points down on what Tina Arnold scored last year. It is a depressing loss and Jeff, Kev and Sam will be sorely missed within the Conservative Group, albeit Jeff remains an Essex county councillor for the Laindon Park & Fryerns Division. The lone Green, Liberal and TUSC candidates were all trailing far behind. We are back to square one in Laindon but will rebuild.

LANGDON HILLS – Ind HOLD* (new boundaries)

   

GREEN, Hazel (Ind) - 1,855 (22%) *Elected

ROBBINS, Valerie (Ind) - 1,850 (22%) *Elected

BROWN, Walter (Ind) - 1,842 (22%) *Elected

ALLEN, Chris (Con) – 718 (8%)

SHARPE, Dean (Lab) – 583 (7%)

SANDHU, Sandeep (Con) – 496 (6%)

EDEMAKHIOTA, Stanley (Con) – 439 (5%) 

GRANT, Elizabeth (Grn) - 355 (4%)

NICE, Stephen (Lib) – 286 (3%)

X, None Of The Above (Ind) - 26 (0%)

 

Turnout: 30.3% (+9.3)

In a depressing but predictable result, the newly enlarged Langdon Hills Ward was retained by the Kerry Smith-backed 'Independents'. Topping the poll was Hazel Green, who has successfully migrated to Langdon Hills from Nethermayne. Councillor Green enjoys a stonking majority of 1,137 over former Conservative councillor Chris Allen. Val Robbins and Walter Brown also retained their seats. Sadly, Chris Allen failed in his bid to rejoin the Council. In total, the Smithites enjoy a 66% vote share in the new seat, while Chris's vote share is down a massive 18 points from when he lost the seat in 2022! He was more than a thousand votes behind the lowest-placed Smithite. Sadly, Langdon Hills now appears to have completed it's astonishing transition from being a safe Tory seat for well over a decade to joining Nethermayne as a 'pocket ward', entirely at the disposal of Councillor Smith, who is also the local county councillor for the Westley Heights Division. As baffling to me as it is infuriating. Oddly (and I'm not sure if this is any kind of record), Councillor Green has now been a councillor for 8 years, having represented three different seats, being elected at every election she has fought but having never sought re-election in the same place. She was elected in Laindon Park for UKIP in 2016, defected to the Smithites in 2018, when UKIP collapsed, then decided not to seek re-election in Laindon Park in 2021 and switched to Nethermayne instead. She has served one term there and now been elected in Langdon Hills instead. Labour's Dean Sharpe came 135 votes behind Chris but out-polled the other two Tory candidates, Sandeep Sandhu and Stan Edemakhiota. The Green and Liberals were trailing at the rear and None Of The Above X secured just 26 abstentious votes.   

 

LEE CHAPEL NORTH – Lab HOLD

 

HARRISON, Alex (Lab) – 1,148 (25%) *Elected 

McGEORGE, Melissa (Lab) – 1,005 (22%) *Elected 

McGURRAN, Aidan (Lab) – 900 (20%) *Elected

SHUKLA, Deepak (Con) – 474 (10%)

WINGFIELD, Joanna (Con) – 472 (10%)

CHANDLER, Mike (Lib) – 289 (6%)

McDONALD, Elaine (TUSC) - 227 (5%)

 

Turnout: 17.9% (+1.9)

Labour's Alex Harrison was re-elected comfortably to his Lee Chapel North seat, 674 votes ahead of nearest Tory rival Deepak Shukla. Councillor Harrison is joined by Cllr. Melissa McGeorge, who was elected here for Labour following the abolition of her former Vange seat, and Aidan McGurran, currently Essex county councillor for the Pitsea Division, who returns to Basildon Council following the loss of his own seat in Vange in 2021. Councillor McGurran sent me a slightly pious email the morning of Polling Day, remonstrating with me because of the "violent imagery" of my 'Runners & Riders' blog, in which I refer to him and Gavin Callaghan as "people who would shank you in the back just for the fun of it". Whilst I may have found such reproof a little sanctimonious, if I am being completely honest, I received it the day my son was born. Maybe I am going soft, but it occurs to me, begrudgingly, that he may have a point. To be fair to Aidan, I never had any personal run-ins with him myself and when we served together on Planning, he was broadly courteous (whilst nevertheless making it abundantly clear that he despises Tories at a cellular level). I was pretty sore when he succeeded me in the Economic Development brief in 2019 and almost immediately scrapped my scheme to create an 'Innovation Warehouse' in Pitsea. But, that aside, I have no strong animus against him. Hopefully, rather than simply upbraiding me though, he will actually prove me wrong by not now setting about shafting Billericay. It would be a neighbourly thing, given that he lives here. All told, Labour enjoy a 67% vote share in Lee Chapel North, making it pretty safe. Deepak and first-time Tory candidate Jo Wingfield put in a respectable showing but our vote was still 9 points down. The Liberal and TUSC candidates made no impact at all. 

 

NETHERMAYNE – Ind HOLD* (new boundaries)

SMITH, Kerry (Ind) – 1,490 (27%) *Elected 

LARKIN, Mo (Ind) – 1,307 (24%) *Elected

MURPHY, Eddie (Ind) – 1,168 (21%) *Elected

MOYET, Yanik (Lab) – 576 (10%)

BLAKE, Ann (Con) – 313 (6%)

CHAMBERS, Lewis (Lib) – 266 (5%)

MARTIN, Dave (Con) – 251 (5%)

ULUHAN, Maz (Con) – 163 (3%)

 

Turnout: 21.9 22% (-0.1)

In the foregone conclusion that is Nethermayne, Kerry Smith and his minions predictably romped home with 72% of the vote. Councillor Smith topped the bill, with a majority of 914 over the Labour candidate. Mo Larkin was re-elected and newcomer Eddie Murphy joins the Smithite faction on the Council. Lone Labour candidate Yanik Moyet came in 592 votes behind Councillor Murphy. Our three candidates and the lone Liberal, sadly, made little impact on the Smithites unassailable lead in Nethermayne, a traditionally anti-establishment ward. One interesting observation is that Councillor Larkin rejoined the Council in a by-election in 2022, more than a year after Gavin Callaghan had resigned his previous Pitsea North-West seat following his loss of power in 2021. Now that Councillor Callaghan has returned and immediately installed himself as Labour leader, he seems certain to become Leader of the Council. This is only possible, however, as part of an alliance with the Smithite faction. It will be interesting to see how Mo copes with this arrangement, given that she harbours a deep and intense loathing for Callaghan. I cannot overstate the degree to which she absolutely detests him, and the feeling has long been mutual. When Callaghan was first elected in Pitsea North-West in 2012, Mo (a Tory in those days) was a councillor in the neighbouring ward of Pitsea South-East and serving as Mayor at the time. They immediately clashed and their mutual persecution is the stuff of Basildon political folklore. The mind boggles at how they will now serve in a coalition alongside one another, particularly if Councillor Smith chooses to advance her as the Smithite candidate for Mayor, as he has in the past. Callaghan was a remorseless critic of Mo's long tenure as 1st Mayor of Basildon and, even with his famously relaxed principles, it would be an utter marvel to witness him put his hand up at the Annual Meeting to support her return to the chair. Watch this space. I suspect the fur will fly before too long. 

 

PITSEA NORTH-WEST – 1 Lab HOLD and 2 Lab GAINS from Con

 

 

 

BAKER, Michael (Lab) – 1,026 (20%) *Elected 

CALLAGHAN, Emma (Lab) – 1,012 (19%) *Elected 

REID, Patricia (Lab) – 965 (19%) *Elected

BURKE TERSON, Stuart (Con) – 706 (14%)

SMITH, Lewis (Con) – 605 (12%)

COTTRELL, Mark (Con) – 558 (11%)

HOWARD, Martin (Lib) – 200 (4%)

HUGGINS, Jack (TUSC) - 137 (3%)

 

Turnout: 22% (+3)

Very disappointingly, sitting Conservative councillor Stuart Terson lost his seat after only 3 years in post, having won the 2021 by-election occasioned by the resignation of Gavin Callaghan. Sadly, despite working the ward like a Trojan, Labour swept the board. Sitting councillor Pat Reid (also an Essex county councillor for the Laindon Park & Fryerns Division) was re-elected, albeit, surprisingly, at the bottom of the poll. The top spot went to newcomer Michael Baker, who was elected with a majority of 320 over Stuart. In second place was Emma Callaghan, Gavin's wife. The remaining two Tories, along with the Liberal and TUSC candidates, trailed far behind. Labour's total vote share was 58%, a 9-point increase from when Councillor Reid was re-elected last year, whilst our vote has barely budged. Certainly a far cry from when Stuart won the seat in July 2021 with 57%. Sadly, democracy is a fickle mistress.   

 

PITSEA SOUTH-EAST – Lab GAIN from Con* (new boundaries)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HILLEARD, Christopher (Lab) – 1,093 (16%) *Elected

PALMER, Gillian (Lab) – 1,082 (16%) *Elected

WESTWICK, Ben (Lab) – 1,001 (15%) *Elected

RIMMER, Craig (Con) – 938 (14%)

CANHAM, Gary (Con) – 901 (14%)

ADESHILE, Yetunde (Con) – 895 (13%)

HARRISON, Linda (Ind) - 301 (5%)

WILLIS, Steven (Grn) - 272 (4%)

SPOWART, Steven (Lib) - 193 (3%)

 

Turnout: 24.1% (-0.9)

Very disappointingly, we lost all three seats in Pitsea South-East to Labour. First-time Labour candidate Chris Hilleard topped the poll in an infuriatingly close race and was only 155 votes ahead of sitting Conservative cabinet member Craig Rimmer. His ward colleague, Gary Canham, and current Deputy Mayor Yetunde Adeshile, whose Vange seat has been abolished and who was seeking election in Pitsea South-East in place of the late Mayor Luke Mackenzie, both also lost their seats. In addition to Councillor Hilleard, Gillian Palmer and Ben Westwick also join the Council. There was only 63 votes between Craig and the new Councillor Westwick. The other single candidates made no impact on what was clearly a very tight two-horse race between us and Labour. Labour's total vote share is only 47% to our 41%. Just 6 points between us. All to play for at the next borough elections in 2026.

 

ST. MARTIN'S – 1 Lab HOLD and 1 Lab GAIN from Con* (new boundaries)

 

CALLAGHAN, Gavin (Lab) – 990 (20%) *Elected 

FERGUSON, Jack (Lab) – 965 (20%) *Elected 

YAQUB, Maryam (Lab) – 820 (17%) *Elected

ADEMUYIWA, Davida (Con) – 532 (11%)

ROY, Deepak (Con) – 514 (11%)

MATTHEWMAN, Ellie (Grn) - 319 (7%) 

BREEDON, Simon (Ind) - 305 (6%)

JENKINS, Phil (Lib) - 243 (5%)

BUXTON, Andrew (TUSC) - 190 (4%)

 

Turnout: 20.3% (+3.3)

Somewhat astonishingly, St. Martin's - the ward that covers Basildon Town Centre itself - has returned Gavin Callaghan to Basildon Council. The man that was booted out of office just 3 years ago, in part because of his attempts to steamroller through plans for high-rise tower blocks in the Town Centre, now tops the poll, 458 votes ahead of Conservative incumbent Davida Ademuyiwa, who took the seat from the sitting Labour mayor in 2021. I am, frankly, staggered at the short memories of the electorate here. Davida was a conscientious and hard-working councillor, who advocated tirelessly for her ward. I try to be magnanimous in defeat but, honestly, whatever happens next to Basildon Town Centre, the residents there have nobody to blame but themselves. Joining Councillor Callaghan in the new enlarged St. Martin's ward, which now includes around half of the old Vange seat, is another former Labour leader, Jack Ferguson (a pretty good egg, to be fair), and the now former Labour leader, Maryam Yaqub. Despite being one of the incumbent St. Martin's councillors, Councillor Yaqub polled last for Labour, though that is probably simply a feature of her surname beginning with a Y. She was still 288 votes clear of Davida, which is dispiriting. All told, Labour's vote share in this traditionally safe seat was 57%, 5 points up since Councillor Yaqub was re-elected last year, whilst our share was down 4 points on last year but 18 points down on what Davida achieved in 2021, when she became the first Tory ever elected to the ward. Councillor Callaghan wasted little time and has already replaced Councillor Yaqub as Leader of the Labour Group. Well, on your own heads be it, St. Martin's. Enjoy your transformation into Mega City 1!

 

WICKFORD NORTH – 1 W/Ind HOLD and 2 W/Ind GAINS from Con

 

 

 

BROCKMAN, Eunice (W/Ind) – 1,228 (17%) *Elected 

ALDRIDGE, David (W/Ind) – 963 (14%) *Elected 

HAMMOND, Trevor (W/Ind) – 936 (13%) *Elected

HOLLIMAN, Peter (Con) – 872 (12%)

MORRIS, Carole (Con) – 794 (11%)

MORRIS, Don (Con) – 720 (10%)

NEMETH, Joe (Lab) – 493 (7%)

COLLINS, Dave (RUK) - 447 (6%) 

WRIGHT, Penny (Grn) - 337 (5%)

MANTERFIELD, Karen (Lib) – 235 (3%)

 

Turnout: 26.5% (+1.5)

Sadly, both the sitting Conservative councillors in Wickford North lost their seats, as the Wickford Independents (Windies) swept the board. Eunice Brockman was comfortably re-elected once again, with a majority of 356 over nearest Tory rival (and former Windy himself), Peter Holliman. Councillor Brockman is now joined by two new Windy councillors, David Aldridge and Trevor Hammond. In addition to Peter, we say farewell to Carole Morris, the erstwhile 'Mother of the Council', who has lost her seat after 24 years service. Carole was first elected in 2000 and had been re-elected six times. I feel a particular pang of sadness at Carole's loss, as she mentored me on two committees. When I was first elected in 2013, I was appointed to the Leisure & Community Services Scrutiny Committee, which she chaired. The following year, I was appointed to the Planning Committee, to which she was also appointed as chairman. All told, I have served with Carole on Planning for about 7 years, much of that time under her able chairmanship. I shall miss her. We also say goodbye to her husband, the legendary Don Morris, who was unsuccessful in being elected here, following the abolition of his former Wickford Castledon seat. Don was first elected to the Council in 1990 - 34 years ago! - and has served, on and off, ever since. The Windies' total vote share here is 44%, verses the Tories on 33%, so there will be a long road to recover the ward.

 

WICKFORD PARK – 1 Con HOLD and 1 W/Ind GAIN from Con* (new boundaries)

 

 

BALL, Alan (W/Ind) – 881 (18%) *Elected

JEFFERY, George (Con) – 853 (17%) *Elected 

HARRISON, David (W/Ind) – 831 (17%) *Elected

CHILD, Yvonne (Con) – 747 (15%)

TAGG, Gary (Con) – 666 (13%)

BUNYAN, Peter (Lab) - 629 (13%)

BLAKE, Simon (Lib) - 395 (8%)

 

Turnout: 23.4% (+1.4)

Another tantalisingly close result, whereby incumbent Conservative councillor George Jeffery was re-elected. There were only two Wickford Independent candidates and he wound up sandwiched between them, with former councillor Alan Ball returning to the Council at the top of the poll, just 28 votes ahead of George. Meanwhile, wily old fox David Harrison has also returned, snatching the third seat from incumbent Tory Yvonne Child, who only won the seat narrowly last year but has now lost it to Councillor Harrison by 84 votes. The Windies' total vote share was 35% to our 45% but, in this game, it's votes that count and the fact there were only two Windies seems to have worked in their favour, as they have clearly benefited from some split votes. 

 

CONCLUSION:

As I said in my opening, there is no disguising that this is a catastrophic defeat for the Conservative Party, in what has clearly been a bad set of local elections nationwide. The national picture certainly worked against us but it would be delusional not to acknowledge that recent changes to the waste and recycling collection service (known ubiquitously as 'Bingate') loomed large in these elections, not least since Labour and the Independents essentially reduced the election into a referendum on the bins, pledging to return us to weekly collections. This is Basildon Conservatives' worst result since 1996 (which preceded the 1997 General Election Labour landslide), when we were almost wiped off the political map in Basildon. The Conservative Group is now only 13 strong, which is the least number of Conservatives we have had on the Council in over 20 years, since we went into the 2000 Local Elections with just 11.

This result makes us, officially, the second party on Basildon Council, with Labour now ahead of us on 18. In total, we lost twelve excellent councillors, including two members of the Cabinet. Two of them, Don & Carole Morris, had served on the Council for a combined total of 51 years. As Tories, we prided ourselves on having representation in every part of the Borough - Billericay, Basildon, Laindon, Pitsea and Wickford - but now only retain seats in Billericay and Wickford. As someone who was born in Basildon and spent half my life living south of the A127, this is deeply upsetting.  

Nonetheless, we look forwards and, whilst it is sad to say 'goodbye for now' to so many fine colleagues, I warmly welcome my two new ward colleagues. We formally welcomed Cllr. Martyn Mordecai (Con, Billericay East) into the Conservative Group at the recent Group AGM. It was also a case of 'welcome back' to Cllr. Andy Barnes (Con, Billericay East), who previously served as a Conservative councillor for Laindon Park (2015-19). It is great to have Andy back in the Group. Both will be tremendous assets. 

But, ultimately, this was very much Labour's election. They are now the largest party on the Council, for the first time since 2002. They gained a total of 8 seats, including the return of 4 former Labour councillors. But it was also a good night for Cllr. Kerry Smith, whose faction now command all 6 seats across his Westley Heights fiefdom. Labour did a deal with the Devil when they went into coalition with the Independents. As these elections show, they have set a horizon on their own ambitions. They have 18 seats now and that is all the seats they shall ever have. They need 22 seats or more to command an overall majority on Basildon Council and govern alone. They will never achieve this because they do not get a look-in in Billericay. They have handed Westley Heights over to Councillor Smith and have left Wickford for the Windies. So it is now official - Labour will never be able to govern Basildon Council alone, at least not for the foreseeable future. Their fates are inextricably tethered to the motley assortment of waifs and strays that make up the two Independent groups. If I were a Labour councillor, or even a Labour Party member or supporter, that is not a position I would relish! At least as a Tory, even from our current unenviable position, I can aspire to see my group govern Basildon again, alone and on our own terms. Labour cannot.

Although much of the social media comment I have seen in the days since has focused on the low turnout, turnout across the Borough was actually up in most wards - though continues to be depressingly low. The highest turnout was in my own Billericay East Ward, at 33.2%. It is a sad state of affairs though. The lowest turnout was, as usual, in Lee Chapel North at just 17.9% but even that was up on last year (when only 16% bothered to go vote).

Just enough time for some pointless stat-crunching! The single highest number of votes won by any borough candidate was Cllr. Hazel Green (Ind, Langdon Hills), who received 1,855 votes. The lowest was None Of The Above X (former boxer Terry Marsh), also in Langdon Hills, at just 26 votes. He, not unsurprisingly, also has the lowest vote share (0%). The largest single vote share went to Cllr. Kerry Smith (Ind, Nethermayne), who personally commanded 27% of the votes cast in Nethermayne. The largest vote share for any party in a ward was in Fryerns, where Labour commanded an incredible 76% of the vote. The lowest was Wickford Park, where the Windies won two seats with 35% of the vote. The highest Tory vote share was jointly in Billericay West and Burstead, where we achieved 62% in both. 

The single largest personal majority was won by Councillor Green, who was 1,137 votes ahead of her nearest rival. She and here two Langdon Hills ward colleagues were the only councillors elected with majorities over a thousand. The lowest personal majority among the first-placed candidates belongs to Cllr. Alan Ball (W/Ind, Wickford Park), who topped the poll only 28 votes ahead of runner up Cllr. George Jeffery (Con, Wickford Park). Our leader, Cllr. Andrew Baggott (Con, Burstead), won the largest personal Tory majority, being 852 votes ahead of his nearest rival in Burstead. The largest Labour majority went to Cllr. Alex Harrison (Lab, Lee Chapel North), whose personal majority is 674.  

The Conservative Group will now go through the motions. We held our AGM last Tuesday and re-elected Andy Baggott and Kevin Blake as our Leader and Deputy Leader respectively. Danny Lawrence and Alex Myers will be our nominees for the mayoralty, to be presented at the Annual Meeting of Basildon Council scheduled for May 23rd. But the re-establishment of the Labour-led 'Rainbow Alliance' seems all but certain. We must now focus on being an effective Opposition and ensure we hold Labour and the Indies to their fanciful campaign promises, some of which are being watered down as we speak (their trenchant opposition to the so-called 'Garden Tax' now reduced to a loose commitment to reduce the green waste charge back to our £25 introductory rate). 

We are, as always, hugely grateful to everyone who voted for us and remain committed to acting as a strong voice across the whole borough.

If there is one thing I have learned over the last week, where there's a Will, there's a way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ William Andrew Horatio Schrader ~

(b. 02.05.24 @ 8:57 p.m.; 7 Ibs 5 oz)