BASILDON MP James McMurdock has criticised the Government after confirming that Basildon Borough Council's election of a third of its members, scheduled for 2027, will not take place.

Instead there will be elections for 'shadow members' as the new merged Basildon and Thurrock Council is established. It is due to launch as the new unitary authority for the two boroughs in 2028. It will be called South West Essex Council.

The decision means that around a third of councillors at Basildon Borough Council due to face election in 2027 will instead remain in post, a move Mr McMurdock says raises serious concerns about democratic accountability.

The MP South Basildon and East Thurrock says he has raised the issue repeatedly with ministers through Written Parliamentary Questions in recent months, pressing for clarity on whether the 2027 elections would proceed. The Government has now confirmed to him that they will not.

Mr McMurdock said: "Local elections are a cornerstone of democratic accountability. Cancelling them and extending the terms of sitting councillors denies residents the opportunity to have their say. That should concern anyone who believes in democracy."

He argued that there were clear and workable alternatives that would have preserved voters' rights:

"If reorganisation is the justification, then elections should either proceed as planned alongside the new shadow authority elections, or they should have been brought forward to 2026. What should not happen is simply cancelling elections and keeping people in office without a vote." 

Mr McMurdock also questioned the political implications of the decision, pointing to the current administration in Basildon:

"It is difficult to ignore the fact that this decision benefits the incumbent Labour-Independent administration locally at a time when it looks like they're going to lose their seats to Reform UK.

"By cancelling these elections, six Labour councillors and multiple independents supporting the administration who would otherwise be facing voters are effectively kept in post at a time when there is a clear likelihood they would lose their seats."

He added: "Residents are perfectly capable of making their own decisions at the ballot box. Preventing that choice from taking place risks undermining trust in the system and fuels the perception that decisions are being taken for political convenience rather than democratic principle."

Basildon Council's Labour leader Cllr Gavin Callaghan responded by saying: "Elections are going ahead for Basildon Council in 2026 and elections to South West Essex Council are going ahead in 2027.

"It will be for the public to decide if they wish to continue to back the progress we've made in Basildon over the last two years or whether they want to back a party that hid Mr McMurdock's violent conviction for assaulting a woman from them. I look forward to the campaign."

A formal statement from Basildon Council press office said: "This is a decision that's out of our hands."