The 2026 Thurrock Council election took place on 7 May 2026 to elect members to Thurrock Council in Essex, England.[1] 49 seats were elected, on the same day as the UK's 2026 local elections.

Originally scheduled for 2025, the election was brought forward by a year to 2026 after the government intervened in the council after it declared bankruptcy, with a new electoral system installed where all 49 seats to the council would be up for a term of four years.[2] In February 2025, elections in the borough were brought back to 2026, ahead of local government reorganisation and devolution.[3] The 2026 election was due to be cancelled ahead of local government reorganisation, but in February it was reinstated.[4]

Thurrock Council is soon to be abolished under the plans of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and will be merged with Basildon Council to form a new South West Essex Unitary Authority. [5]

Background

The 2026 election will be held under new ward boundaries.[6] The council is switching to all-out elections, having previously elected by thirds, as a result of a period of government intervention in the running of the council's finances.[7]

At the last election in 2024, the Labour Party led by John Kent won an overall majority with 27 seats. The Conservatives led by Andrew Jefferies won a total of 13 seats, leaving the council administration and entering opposition. Independent politicians won 9 seats, five of whom were aligned with the Non-Political Alliance of Independent Councillors (NPAIC) led by Neil Speight. By July 2024, eight of the nine independents had joined the alliance. Alex Anderson, the unaffiliated independent, joined Reform UK in September 2024, becoming Reform's first councillor in Thurrock. In October 2024, NPAIC councillor John Allen left the NPAIC to sit as an unaffiliated independent, as he was considering standing for Reform UK in the 2025 council election, leaving the NPAIC with seven independents.

In January 2025, Ockendon councillor Ryan Polston of the Labour Party resigned his seat ahead of a career move.[8] He was followed in March by fellow ward councillor Andrew Jefferies, the leader of the Conservative group, who resigned for personal reasons.[9] Reform UK won both seats at the subsequent by-election in May 2025.[10] Ahead of the by-election, Labour leader John Kent resigned from the leadership to make way for his deputy Lynn Worrall ahead of devolution and local government reorganisation negotiations.[11] Later that year, NPAIC members Gary Byrne and Ross Byrne left the group to sit as unaffiliated independents, which left the council with 26 Labour members, 12 Conservatives, five NPAIC members, three unaffiliated independents and three Reform UK members.[12]

Campaign

The Conservatives, Labour, and Reform all stood a full slate of 49 candidates in Thurrock.[13] The Green Party, for the first time, stood at least one candidate in every ward.[14] There were also six Independent and two Liberal Democrat candidates.

Candidates by party

Conservative Party (49/49)










Reform UK (49/49)










Labour Party (49/49)










Green Party (24/49)










Independent (6/49)










Liberal Democrats (2/49)










Election result

2026 Thurrock Council election
Party Candidates Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Reform 49 45 N/A N/A Increase41 91.8 51.6 55,118 N/A
  Labour 49 2 N/A N/A Decrease 24 4.1 22.6 24,125 –28.8
  Conservative 49 2 N/A N/A Decrease 9 4.1 14.1 15,055 –14.8
  Green 23 0 N/A N/A Steady 0.0 8.1 8,612 +5.3
  Independent 6 0 N/A N/A Decrease 8 0.0 3.3 3,473 –12.2
  Liberal Democrats 2 0 N/A N/A Steady 0.0 0.4 375 N/A

Ward results

Aveley

Aveley (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Chris Irvine 1,189 53.3
Reform George Monk 1,154 51.7
Reform Aiden Prince 1,110 49.8
Labour Cathy Sisterson 737 33.0
Labour Srikanth Panjala 634 28.4
Labour Mo Hoque 588 26.4
Green Ollie Beck 359 16.1
Conservative Colin Adams 318 14.3
Conservative Maureen Pearce 315 14.1
Conservative Anthony Coyle 288 12.9
Turnout 2,476 35.6
Registered electors 6,957
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Belhus

Belhus (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Linda Benson 1,388 61.5 N/A
Reform Tom Kelly 1,287 57.1 N/A
Reform Bogdan Enache 1,190 52.8 N/A
Labour Benjamin Agyemang 565 25.0 –43.9
Labour Fahima Danishmal 495 21.9 –47.0
Labour Lalitha Panjala 437 19.4 –49.5
Independent Sophie Corcoran 396 17.6 N/A
Green Geraldine Jane Roche 390 17.3 N/A
Conservative Rosalyn Jenkins 269 11.9 –19.2
Conservative Oluwatoyin Imole-Sontan 197 8.7 –22.4
Conservative Shamim Miah 153 6.8 –24.3
Turnout 2,466 32.0 +10.2
Registered electors 7,693
Reform gain from Labour
Reform gain from Conservative
Reform gain from Labour

Chadwell St Mary

Chadwell St Mary (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Jack Fuller 1,358 58.9 N/A
Reform Matt Lake 1,348 58.4 N/A
Reform James Mackintosh 1,298 56.3 N/A
Labour Daniel Chukwu* 622 27.0 –45.0
Labour Jo Potter 588 25.5 –46.5
Labour Ngozi Alike* 579 25.1 –46.9
Green Yogesh Taylor 337 14.6 N/A
Conservative Melissa Perry 282 12.2 –15.8
Conservative Abbie Akinbohun 258 11.2 –16.8
Conservative Elizabeth Onibokun 250 10.8 –17.2
Turnout 2,530 33.7 +11.7
Registered electors 7,511
Reform gain from Labour
Reform gain from Labour
Reform gain from Labour

Chafford Hundred East

Chafford Hundred East (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Peggy Davies 739 39.7
Reform Stephen Davies 726 39.0
Labour Vikki Hartstean* 631 33.9
Labour Julie Eke-Lawrence 538 28.9
Conservative Adam Carter 410 22.0
Conservative Peter Eates 359 19.3
Green Jessica Bartlett-Hyde 318 17.1
Turnout 2,049 37.5
Registered electors 5,422
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Chafford Hundred West

Chafford Hundred West (2)
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour Susan Shinnick* 536 36.2
Reform Oscar Ellis 516 34.9
Reform Jason Mitchell 480 32.5
Labour Gary Watson* 426 28.8
Conservative Tunde Ojetola 377 25.5
Green Caitlin Fallows 344 23.3
Conservative Wilmer Luna 279 18.9
Turnout 1,668 32.4
Registered electors 5,151
Labour win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Corringham & Fobbing

Corringham & Fobbing (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Holly Bennett 2,226 69.2 N/A
Reform Ian Croom 2,174 67.6 N/A
Reform Sara Poyntz 2,036 63.3 N/A
Labour John Cecil* 624 19.4 –4.8
Labour Anita Nuss 526 16.4 –7.8
Conservative Shane Ralph 517 16.1 –13.0
Labour Kamlesh Kumar 442 13.7 –10.5
Conservative Sam Flatt 418 13.0 –16.1
Green Gbenga Olajugbagbe 374 11.6 N/A
Conservative Jimmy Thandi 307 9.5 –19.6
Turnout 3,532 44.9 +11.6
Registered electors 7,864
Reform gain from Conservative
Reform gain from Independent
Reform win (new seat)

East Tilbury, Linford & West Tilbury

East Tilbury, Linford & West Tilbury (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Michelle Burton 1,073 63.1
Reform Kevin Lawrence 973 57.2
Green Sandra Elliott 297 17.5
Labour Adam Breese 293 17.2
Labour Alastair Craft 273 16.0
Liberal Democrats Jon Bowler 192 11.3
Conservative Lesley Maney 179 10.5
Conservative Alan Reilly 123 7.2
Turnout 1,811 36.3
Registered electors 4,986
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Grays Riverside

Grays Riverside (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Darren Dennis 716 36.4 N/A
Reform Joe Soper 657 33.4 N/A
Reform Catalin-Daniel Farcas 650 33.0 N/A
Green Chloe Anderson 633 32.2 +16.0
Labour Funmi Ademilua 569 28.9 –34.5
Green Kimberley Dennis 562 28.6 +12.4
Labour Tony Fish* 520 26.4 –37.0
Green Paul Parfitt 516 26.2 +10.0
Labour Mark Hurrell 482 24.5 –38.9
Conservative Claudia Luna 238 12.1 –8.3
Conservative Rakhi Rashmi 186 9.5 –10.9
Conservative Adeleke Taiwo 174 8.8 –11.6
Turnout 2,112 30.7 +8.9
Registered electors 6,875
Reform gain from Labour
Reform gain from Labour
Reform gain from Labour

Grays Town

Grays Town (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Milena Bingley 1,004 40.6
Reform Michael Kevin Shakespeare 998 40.3
Reform Marc Stanley 970 39.2
Labour Lynda Heath* 915 37.0
Labour Lynn Worrall* 895 36.2
Labour Cici Manwa* 770 31.1
Green Zoe Duran 464 18.7
Green Howard Simmons 400 16.2
Conservative Michael Antai 317 12.8
Conservative Gurkiran Maan 277 11.2
Conservative Harold Ogunfemi 232 9.4
Liberal Democrats Simon Lancaster 183 7.4
Turnout 2,670 34.7
Registered electors 7,689
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Little Thurrock Blackshots

Little Thurrock Blackshots (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Steven Pester 1,242 52.4 N/A
Reform Robert Willoughby 1,205 50.8 N/A
Conservative Lizzie Rigby 575 24.3 –16.9
Labour Mike Fletcher* 505 21.2 –27.0
Conservative Joglur Rahman 499 21.0 –20.2
Labour Abidemi Agidee-Adekunle 375 15.8 –32.5
Green Laura Perrett 341 14.4 +3.9
Turnout 2,511 46.6 +17.2
Registered electors 5,383
Reform gain from Conservative
Reform gain from Labour

Little Thurrock Rectory

Little Thurrock Rectory (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Marion Cherry 1,016 53.1 N/A
Reform Eddie Stringer 967 50.5 N/A
Labour Marcel Abaneke 444 23.2 –14.4
Labour Sanjit Das 437 22.8 –14.8
Conservative Allen Mayes 304 15.9 –23.8
Conservative David Morgan 273 14.3 –25.4
Green Davina Wager 266 13.9 N/A
Independent Jay Hayers 119 6.2 N/A
Turnout 2,078 41.4 +9.1
Registered electors 5,025
Reform gain from Conservative
Reform gain from Conservative

Ockendon

Ockendon (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Alan Benson* 1,500 57.6 N/A
Reform Russ Cherry* 1,473 56.6 N/A
Reform Jay Varley 1,324 50.9 N/A
Labour Jayden O'Brien 607 23.3 –29.8
Labour Peter Singh 521 20.0 –33.1
Conservative Sue Johnson 506 19.4 –27.5
Green Rory Hildick 468 18.0 N/A
Conservative Leo Dredge 442 17.0 –29.9
Conservative Graham Snell 421 16.2 –30.7
Labour Prince Ogbomoh 410 15.7 –37.4
Independent Kameel Mohammed 138 5.3 N/A
Turnout 2,857 34.6 +5.6
Registered electors 8,243
Reform hold
Reform hold
Reform gain from Conservative

Orsett, Horndon & Bulphan

Orsett, Horndon & Bulphan (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Bill Cook 1,451 57.8
Reform Steve Taylor 1,411 56.2
Conservative David Day* 550 21.9
Conservative Barry Johnson* 510 20.3
Independent Jack Speight 394 15.7
Labour Martin Kerin* 244 9.7
Green Daniel Fallows 234 9.3
Labour Carlos Diaz 231 9.2
Turnout 2,711 50.6
Registered electors 5,356
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Purfleet-on-Thames

Purfleet-on-Thames (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour Aaron Green* 515 40.6
Reform Michelle Heal 475 37.5
Reform Danny Reynolds 458 36.1
Labour Lee Watson* 451 35.6
Green David Beesley 290 22.9
Conservative Angela Bolesworth 187 14.8
Conservative Cornell Olive Heiser 158 12.5
Turnout 1,376 29.3
Registered electors 4,699
Labour win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Stanford-le-Hope South

Stanford-le-Hope South (3)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Alex Anderson* 1,864 59.3
Reform Mark Turner 1,658 52.8
Reform James Poyntz 1,592 50.7
Independent Neil Speight* 1,283 40.8
Green Michelle Brownscombe-Adu 494 15.7
Labour Teresa O'Keeffe 482 15.3
Green Steven Woolrich 466 14.8
Labour Phil Smith 434 13.8
Labour Suraj Lohia 384 12.2
Conservative Mitchell Uncle 287 9.1
Conservative Andrea Ekong 277 8.8
Conservative Bunmi Ojetola 206 6.6
Turnout 3,607 43.7
Registered electors 8,259
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Stifford

Stifford (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Richard Bingley 1,115 56.4
Reform Bill Mumford 1,112 56.2
Labour Mark Hooper* 576 29.1
Labour Sam Thomas 329 16.6
Conservative Alex Howell 301 15.2
Conservative Joy Redsell 283 14.3
Green Kevin Rankin 238 12.0
Turnout 2,224 41.0
Registered electors 5,425
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

The Homesteads & Stanford-le-Hope North

The Homesteads & Stanford-le-Hope North (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Pam McCabe 1,580 56.7
Reform Joanne Quirk 1,566 56.2
Reform James Scarsbrook 1,438 51.6
Independent Gary Byrne* 1,143 41.0
Labour Gena White 457 16.4
Green Eric Bevan 449 16.1
Conservative Gary Collins 404 14.5
Labour Mark Kimpton 365 13.1
Conservative Esther Ajilore 350 12.6
Labour Brian Whiten 325 11.7
Conservative Hanna Uwakwe-Mangse 284 10.2
Turnout 3,271 45.9
Registered electors 7,120
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Tilbury Riverside

Tilbury Riverside (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform David Hollenbach 613 50.6
Reform Harley Pyman-Brickwood 539 44.5
Labour Christina Dallyn 467 38.5
Labour Mina Hoque 398 32.8
Green Emmanuel Andrews 235 19.4
Conservative Michelle Macadangdang 88 7.3
Conservative Dennis Maney 85 7.0
Turnout 1,364 30.4
Registered electors 4,487
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Tilbury St Chads

Tilbury St Chads (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Shirley Bartlett 703 55.7 N/A
Reform Bailey Scott 675 53.5 N/A
Labour Clare Baldwin 412 32.7 –47.3
Labour Steve Liddiard* 381 30.2 –49.8
Green Alfie Rees 177 14.0 N/A
Conservative Ben Maney* 93 7.4 –12.6
Conservative Devante Likando 81 6.4 –13.6
Turnout 1,420 31.5 +12.8
Registered electors 4,498
Reform gain from Labour
Reform gain from Labour

West Thurrock & South Stifford

West Thurrock & South Stifford (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Qaisar Abbas* 669 44.8 +18.6
Conservative Elena Pelin 499 33.4 +7.2
Reform John Pearson 445 29.8 N/A
Reform Vincent Bye 426 28.5 N/A
Labour Shalini Bhatt 372 24.9 –38.4
Labour Ron Green 318 21.3 –42.0
Green Chris Gilbody 257 17.2 +6.7
Turnout 2,224 41.0 +18.8
Registered electors 5,424
Conservative hold
Conservative gain from Labour

Post-election changes

By-elections

Grays Town

Grays Town by-election: 23 July 2026
Resignation of Marc Stanley (Reform)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Amin Hoque
Liberal Democrats Simon Lancaster
Green Rhea Nathan
Reform John Pearson
Conservative Joglur Rahman
Independent Neil Speight

Grays Riverside

Grays Riverside by-election: 23 July 2026
Resignation of Joe Soper (Reform)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Jason Mitchell
Conservative Srikanth Panjala
Labour Jo Potter
Green Pauline Weir

Notes

  1. ↑ Leader and spokesman of the Non-Political Alliance of Independent Councillors, which represents the majority of independent councillors on the council.
  2. ↑ Including five members of the Non-Political Alliance of Independent Councillors and four unaffiliated independents.
  3. ↑ Including seven members of the Non-Political Alliance of Independent Councillors and one unaffiliated independent.

References

  1. ↑ "Election timetable in England". Electoral Commission. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  2. ↑ Sexton, Christine (19 December 2024). "Reform councillor is critical of plans to cancel May elections". Thurrock Nub News. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  3. ↑ Weakley, Kirsty (5 February 2025). "Nine polls cancelled as devo priority programme unveiled". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  4. ↑ "Government abandons plans to delay 30 council elections". BBC News. 16 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  5. ↑ "Essex councils to be replaced with five unitaries, says Reed". BBC News. 2026-03-25. Retrieved 2026-04-11.
  6. ↑ "Next stage of consultation for council wards launched". Thurrock Council. 9 July 2024.
  7. ↑ "Government order all out elections in Thurrock in 2025". 5 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Labour councillor resigns, borough looks set for intriguing by-election". Thurrock Nub News. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  9. ↑ "By-election in Ockendon will have two posts up for grabs after top Tory's resignation". Thurrock Nub News. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  10. ↑ Dexter, Aimee (2 May 2025). "Reform UK wins three seats in Essex by-elections". BBC News. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  11. ↑ "Lynn Worrall takes helm of council's Labour group". Thurrock Nub News. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "Current councillors". Thurrock Council. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  13. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated 2026 | Local elections 2026 | Thurrock Council". www.thurrock.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-04-11.
  14. ↑ Reporter, Nub News (2026-04-10). "Candidates announced as election battle begins in earnest in Thurrrock. Old faces disappear but there are some familiar (and controversial) returnees". Thurrock Nub News. Retrieved 2026-04-11.

See also

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Thurrock_Council_election