A FORMER leader of Basildon Borough Council is hoping to make a comeback as a councillor – almost three years after his surprise resignation.

Former leader Gavin Callaghan who stepped down from Basildon Council as a councillor in 2021 – citing wanting to spend more time with family and pursuing other interests – is contesting the St Martin's Ward at next month's local elections.

Every seat is being contested at Basildon Borough Council following a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) of the ward arrangements in the borough. The commission says residents should be represented by 42 councillors – the same as now.

There will be 14 three-councillor wards – two fewer than currently. Six wards will remain the same, eight will have different boundaries.

Changes include renaming Crouch ward as Castledon and Crouch and amending the boundary between Nethermayne and Pitsea South East wards to avoid dividing the Kent View Road area.

The council is currently run by the Conservatives – at last year's election both the Tories and Labour gained six seats in the election, with the Tories having 39 per cent of the vote and Labour 29 per cent. The Wickford Independents party won one seat, as did an independent candidate.

The council is normally elected by thirds – whereby a third of councillors are elected each year for three years with the fourth year having no elections. Local elections will be held on Thursday, May 2 2024.

Borough council elections will be combined with the election of a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for the Essex Police Area.

Find out who is standing for election in each ward:

Billericay East Ward

Andy Barnes, Conservative

Andrew Brennan, Green Party

Sally Bunyan, Labour

Laura Clark, Liberal Democrats

Stewart Goshawk, Green Party

Martyn Mordecai, Conservative

Andrew Schrader, Conservative Party Candidate

Peter Smith, Liberal Democrats

Andy Tatman, Green Party

Billericay West Ward

Scion Butler, Green Party

Brian Button, Labour

Anthony Hedley, Conservative

Peter Lancaster, Liberal Democrats

Daniel Lawrence, Conservative

Chris May, Liberal Democrats

Tim Nicklin, Liberal Democrats

Philip Turner, Conservative

Burstead Ward

Andrew Baggott, Conservative

Leslie Banks, Labour

Kevin Blake, Conservative

Idriss Chraibi, Green Party

Chris Daffin, Liberal Democrats

Andy Fryd, Liberal Democrats

Daniel McGarry, Green Party

Richard Moore, Conservative

Castledon & Crouch Ward

Stuart Allen, Conservative And Unionist Party

Christopher Bateman, British Democrats

Gillian Gurney, Green Party

Nicola Hoad, Liberal Democrats

Stewart Mott, Liberal Democrats

Alex Myers, Conservative And Unionist Party

Terri Sargent, Conservative And Unionist Party

Angela Stanbrook, Labour

Michael Woods, Liberal Democrats

Fryerns Ward

Andrew Ansell, Labour

Adele Brown, Labour

Allan Davies, Labour

Ola Dawodu, Conservative

Eleanor Donne, Trade Unionist And Socialist Coalition

Vivien Howard, Liberal Democrats

Laindon Park Ward

Iurie Cojocaru, Independent

Samuel Gascoyne, Conservative

Jeff Henry, Conservative

Victoria Joseph, Labour

Eugene McCarthy, Green Party

Stephen McCarthy, Liberal Democrats

David Murray, Trade Unionist And Socialist Coalition

Jessica Power, Labour

Terry Webb, Labour

Kevin Wingfield, Conservative

Langdon Hills Ward

Chris Allen, Conservative And Unionist Party

Walter Brown, Independent

Stanley Edemakhiota, Conservative And Unionist Party

Elizabeth Grant, Green Party

Hazel Green, Independent

Stephen Nice, Liberal Democrats

Valerie Robbins, Independent

Sandeep Sandhu, Conservative And Unionist Party

Dean Sharpe, Labour

None Of The Above, X

Lee Chapel North Ward

Mike Chandler, Liberal Democrats

Alex Harrison, Labour

Elaine McDonald, Trade Unionist And Socialist Coalition

Melissa McGeorge, Labour

Aidan McGurran, Labour

Deepak Shukla, Conservative

Joanna Wingfield, Conservative

Nethermayne Ward

Ann Blake, Conservative And Unionist Party

Lewis Chambers, Liberal Democrats

Mo Larkin, Independent

Dave Martin, Conservative And Unionist Party

Yanik Moyet, Labour

Eddie Murphy, Independent

Kerry Smith, Independent

Maz Uluhan, Conservative And Unionist Party

Pitsea North West Ward

Michael Baker, Labour

Stuart Burke Terson, Conservative And Unionist Party

Emma Callaghan, Labour

Mark Cottrell, Conservative And Unionist Party

Martin Howard, Liberal Democrats

Huggins, Trade Unionist And Socialist Coalition

Pat Reid, Labour

Lewis Smith, Conservative And Unionist Party

Pitsea South East Ward

Adeshile Yetunde, Conservative And Unionist Party

Gary Canham, Conservative And Unionist Party

Linda Harrison, Independent

Christopher Hilleard, Labour

Gillian Palmer, Labour

Craig Rimmer, Conservative And Unionist Party

Steven Spowart, Liberal Democrats

Ben Westwick, Labour

Steven Willis, Green Party

St Martin's Ward

Davida Ademuyiwa, Conservative

Simon Breedon, Independent

Andrew Buxton, Trade Unionist And Socialist Coalition

Gavin Callaghan, Labour

Jack Ferguson, Labour

Phil Jenkins, Liberal Democrats

Ellie Matthewman, Green Party

Deepak Roy, Conservative

Maryam Yaqub, Labour

Wickford North Ward

David Aldridge, Wickford Independents

Eunice Brockman, Wickford Independents

Dave Collins, Reform UK

Hammond, Wickford Independents

Peter Holliman, Conservative

Karen Manterfield, Liberal Democrats

Carole Morris, Conservative

Don Morris, Conservative

Joe Nemeth, Labour

Penny Wright, Green Party

Wickford Park Ward

Alan Ball, Wickford Independents

Simon Blake, Liberal Democrats

Peter Bunyan, Labour

Yvonne Child, Conservative

David Harrison, Wickford Independents

George Jeffery, Conservative

Gary Tagg, Conservative