THE leadership of Basildon Council hangs in the balance after Thursday's (2 May) elections saw Labour become the largest single group on the 42 seat council.

They now have 18 seats, with the previously ruling Conservatives reduced to 13 from the pre-election 24.

The election for all councillors included some reshaped wards following boundary changes.

The balance of power lies with the six Independent councillors or the five Wickford Independent councillors. Independents have previously formed coalitions with both the two major parties.

Basildon Conservatives' leader, Cllr Andrew Baggott, put the blame for his party's dramatic fall from power on the national party, criticising its change of leadership.

He said the decision to axe Boris Johnson was the root cause of his party's problems, saying: "We've got Rishi Sunak who was unelected, we had Liz Truss who was effectively unelected. We should never have got rid of Boris in the first place."

How the elections went:

Billericay East

Andrew Peter Schrader (Con) 1713                       

Andy Barnes (Con) 1680

Martyn James Mordecai (Con) 1523       

Andrew Brennan (( )) 922            

Stewart Goshawk (( )) Party         784

Andy Tatman (( )) 737

Laura Clark (Lib Dem) 447            

Sally Bunyan ((Lab) 424

Peter Smith (Lib Dem) 333

Billericay West

Anthony Michael Hedley (Con) 171

Philip Charles Turner (Con) 1667

Daniel Lawrence (Con) 1609       

Chris May (Lib Dem) 964              

Peter Lancaster (Lib Dem) 691   

Tim Nicklin (Lib Dem) 627            

Brian Edward Button (Lab) 420  

Scion Elan Butler (Green ) 412   

Burstead

Andrew Simon Baggott (Con) 1785                       

Richard Andrew Moore (Con)    1716

Kevin Blake (Con) 1515

Leslie Frederick Banks (Lab) 933

Chris Daffin (Lib Dem) 786           

Idriss Chraibi (Green) 485            

Daniel McGarry (Green ) 485      

Andy Fryd (Lib Dem) 481              

Castledon & Crouch

Alex Myers (Con) 1084

Terri Lilian Joan Sargent (Con) 992           

Stuart Johns Allen (Con) 987       

Stewart Mott (Lib Dem) 869                      

Nicola Hoad (Lib Dem) 793          

Angela Stanbrook 498                  

Michael Woods (Lib Dem) 477                  

Christopher David Bateman (Brit Democrats) 475              

Gillian Rose Gurney (Green) 399

Fryerns

Adele Brown (Lab) 1160               

Andrew Ansell (Lab) 1142            

Allan Robert Davies (Lab) 1053  

Ola Dawodu (Con) 529  

Vivien Howard (Lib Dem) 329     

Eleanor Mary Donne (Trade Unionist & Soct Coalition) 218                          

Laindon Park

Victoria Onyinyechi Joseph (Lab) 1013                  

Jessica Louise Power (Lab) 972                 

Terry Webb (Lab) 880                   

Jeff Henry (Con) 863                     

Kevin Wingfield (Con) 845                          

Samuel John Gascoyne (Con) 761

Iurie Cojocaru (Independent) 358                           

Eugene McCarthy (Green) 312   

Stephen Edward McCarthy (Lib Dem) 218             

David Murray (Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition) 137                 

Langdon Hills

Hazel Patricia Green (Independent) 1855             

Valerie Jane Robbins (Independent) 1850             

Walter Clarence Brown (Independent) 1842      

Chris Allen (Con 718

Dean James Sharpe (Lab) 583    

Sandeep Singh Sandhu (Con) 496                            

Stanley Fona Edemakhiota (Con) 439                     

Elizabeth Grant (Green) 355       

Stephen William Nice (Lib Dem) 286                      

None Of The Above X 26              

Lee Chapel North

Alex Harrison (Lab) 1148                             

Melissa Anne McGeorge (Lab) 1005                       

Aidan McGurran (Lab) 900                         

Deepak Shukla (Con) 474                            

Joanna Teresa Wingfield (Con) 472                          

Mike Chandler (Lib Dem) 289                    

Elaine McDonald (Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition) 227           

Nethermayne

Kerry Smith (Independent) 1490               

Mo Larkin (Independent ) 1307  

Eddie Murphy (Independent) 1168         

Yanik Moyet (Lab) 576                 

Ann Blake (Con) 313      

Lewis Chambers (Lib Dem) 266  

Dave Martin (Con) 251                

Maz Uluhan (Con) 163  

Pitsea North West

Michael John Baker (Lab) 1026  

Emma Callaghan (Lab) 1012       

Patricia Reid (Lab) 965                 

Stuart James Burke Terson (Con) 706

Lewis Christopher Smith (Con) 605                          

Mark Richard Cottrell (Con) 558                          

Martin Howard (Lib Dem) 200   

Jack William Huggins (Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition 137                    

Pitsea South East

Christopher Paul Hilleard (Lab) 1093                      

Gillian Mary Palmer (Lab) 1082                

Ben Lewis Westwick (Lab) 1001               

Craig Ronald Rimmer (Con) 938               

Gary Canham (Con) 907               

Yetunde Adeshile (Con) 895                       

Linda Harrison (Independent) 301           

Steven Willis (Green) 272            

Steven Robert Spowart (Lib Dem) 193   

St Martin's

Gavin Dominic Callaghan (Lab) 990                         

Jack Ferguson (Lab) 965               

Maryam Yaqub (Lab) 820            

Davida Ominira Ademuyiwa (Con) 532                  

Deepak Roy (Con) 514                 

Ellie Matthewman (Green) 319                

Simon John Breedon (Independent) 305               

Philip Edward Jenkins (Lib Dem) 243       

Andrew Charles Buxton (Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition) 190                             

Wickford North

Eunice Christine Brockman (Wickford Independents) 1228           

David Martin Aldridge (Wickford Independents) 963       

Trevor Terence Hammond (Wickford Independents) 936

Peter John Holliman (Con) 872                 

Carole Morris (Con) 794               

Don Morris (Con) 720   

Joe Nemeth (Lab) 493                  

Dave Collins (Reform UK ) 447                   

Penny Wright (Green) 337           

Karen Manterfield (Lib Dem) 235              

Wickford Park

Alan Ronald Ball (Wickford Independents) 881                  

George Elliot Jeffery (Con) 853  

David Harrison (Wickford Independents) 831                     

Yvonne Mary Child (Con) 747     

Gary Leonard Tagg (Con) 666     

Peter Bunyan (Lab) 629               

Simon Blake (Lib Dem) 395         

In addition to the Basildon Council election there was a by-election for the county council seat of Laindon Park and Fryens, which was won by Labour's Patricia Read with 50 per cent of the votes cast.

Laindon Park and Fryens

Patricia Reid (Lab) 2748

Terri Lilian Joan Sargent (Con) 1890

Oliver Eugene McCarthy (Green) 445

Mike Chandler (Lib Dems) 444