Labour are largest single group after Tory vote collapses but there's no overall control in Basildon

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.