At the previous council election in May 2023, the Labour opposition led by John Kent made gains against the incumbent Conservative administration led by Mark Coxshall.[1][2] Labour gained five seats, increasing its total share of seats in the council to 19. The Conservatives, now having 26 seats, retained control of the council but saw their majority reduced to three. The Thurrock Independents lost two seats but held one, leaving them with a single councillor. The election also returned three independents not affiliated to any party.[3][4] Coxshall lost his seat in the election, and later in the month the council elected Conservative Andrew Jefferies as the new leader of the council.[2][5]
In July 2023, Conservative councillor Sue Sammons left her party to become an independent in protest of its decision to cut local bus services. This action left the Conservatives with a majority of two on the council.[6] In the same month, the Thurrock Independents de-registered as a political party.[7] The make-up of the council now consisted of five seats being held by independents, 19 held by Labour and 25 held by the Conservatives.[6] The independents in the council later organised themselves into a single group, the Non-Political Alliance of Independent Councillors (NPAIC),[8][9] with councillor Neil Speight as their spokesman.[10][11] NPAIC candidates are running in this election as independents.[12]
In February 2024, it was revealed that the Conservative administration was considering an increase in council tax of 7.99% from April to present a balanced budget for 2024–2025.[13] Council tax had already been increased by 10% the previous year as a condition for additional financial support from the government to help reduce the council's £636 million deficit.[14] The administration also planned to make savings of £18.2 million over the next two years. It had already introduced several measures to cut spending, which included a 7.7% increase in rent for council housing and an introduction of charges for school transport among other measures.[13]
The Conservative administration put forward its economic proposals in its budget for 2024–2025, which was voted on by councillors in March 2024. Conservative councillors were whipped to vote in favour of the budget.[9] Labour abstained from the vote, allowing the budget to pass.[15] Two Conservative councillors, Jack Duffin and Alex Anderson, rebelled against the party leadership and voted against the budget with three NPAIC councillors. Duffin and Anderson were subsequently suspended from the Conservative group as a disciplinary measure and became independents, resulting in the Conservatives losing their majority and the council falling under no overall control.[16][8] Duffin and Anderson did not join the NPAIC and have instead sat alone as unaffiliated independents.[17][9] Following their suspension, the Conservatives have continued to run the council in a minority administration.[16]
The election is due to be held on 2 May 2024, the same day as other local elections across England.[16][18] Under its current electoral system, elections to the council are held annually every three in four years, with a third of its 49 councillors elected to represent one of its 20 wards for a term of four years at each election.[19] As such, three wards will not be contested this year, including Stifford Clays, Little Thurrock Rectory, and Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park. This will be the last election held under this system, as all 49 seats will be contested in elections every four years from May 2025 onwards following reforms implemented by the government as part of its ongoing intervention in the council after its effective bankruptcy in 2022.[20][21] Electors will also be able to vote in the 2024 Essex police and crime commissioner election which is being held on the same day, including in the wards which are not up for contention in this council election.[22]
The Labour Party and the Conservative Party will stand in every ward at the election.[23] It is expected that the low national polling numbers of the Conservatives, as well as the financial difficulties faced by the council during the Conservative administration, will influence the outcome of the election, with local election experts Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher suggesting that Labour could regain its traditional control of the council.[24][23] According to its leader John Kent, Labour "cannot promise the earth" amid the financial burden faced by the council but will focus on maintaining public services and being open and transparent, protecting services for the elderly and the young while maintaining basic services.[23] The strengthened local presence of independent candidates and the Green Party led by Eugene McCarthy, standing in seven and four wards respectively, is also expected to pose a potential challenge to the Conservatives. According to McCarthy, the Greens will focus on building new council homes, investing in high streets and delivering "common-sense" finances.[23]
The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Thurrock Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023.[20][12] One candidate will be elected per ward.[22] The final results are expected to be declared overnight at around 3AM on 3 May 2024.[25]
^Spokesman of the Non-Political Alliance of Independent Councillors, which represents the majority of independent councillors at the time of this election.
^Including five members of the Non-Political Alliance of Independent Councillors and two unaffiliated independents.
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