The2007 Thurrock Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members ofThurrock Council inEssex,England. One third of the council was up for election and theConservative Party lost overall control of the council tono overall control.[1]
The Conservatives,Labour andBritish National Party (BNP) contested all 16wards which were up for election. In total 55 candidates stood in the election including 6Liberal Democrats, 3 from theUnited Kingdom Independence Party, 2independents and 1 candidate from theIndependent Working Class Association.Anti-social behaviour, recycling and cleanliness were seen as major issues by the parties,[2] on a council which was seen as a top Labour target.[3]
The British National Party put up candidates in everyward, for the first time.[4] However, they secured no seats despite claiming that they were picking up votes from right wing Conservative supporters disaffected withDavid Cameron, particularly in middle class areas.[5] In the West Thurrock and South Stifford ward, Ken Daly stood for the BNP in protest at the treatment of his son's killer.[6]
The results of the election saw the Conservatives lose their overall majority on the council after losing 3 seats and only gaining one. The Labour Party made a net gain of two seats, while the BNP came second in 6 seats after a strong rise in votes.[7] Overallturnout was 31% and after the election the balance of power on the council was held by 3 independents.[8]
After the election, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 8 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 50.0 | 34.1 | 9,920 | -1.8 | |
| Conservative | 7 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 43.8 | 30.7 | 8,934 | -10.6 | |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 | 4.2 | 1,226 | +2.3 | |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 24.6 | 7,149 | +12.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 1,187 | -3.1 | |
| UKIP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 507 | +1.7 | |
| Ind. Working Class | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 144 | +0.5 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Cowell | 671 | 37.0 | −14.6 | |
| BNP | John Cotter | 562 | 31.0 | +31.0 | |
| Labour | Martin Healy | 436 | 24.0 | −3.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Livermore | 146 | 8.0 | −1.5 | |
| Majority | 109 | 6.0 | −17.7 | ||
| Turnout | 1,815 | 28.0 | −0.8 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Charles Curtis | 645 | 36.0 | −5.5 | |
| Conservative | Billy Taylor | 618 | 34.5 | +6.0 | |
| BNP | David Strickson | 407 | 22.7 | −7.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Biddall | 121 | 6.8 | +6.8 | |
| Majority | 27 | 1.5 | −10.0 | ||
| Turnout | 1,791 | 27.1 | +0.5 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Anthony Fish | 973 | 43.3 | +4.8 | |
| BNP | Bryn Robinson | 738 | 32.8 | +8.0 | |
| Conservative | Lee Dove | 395 | 17.6 | −9.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Arthur Bowles | 141 | 6.3 | −3.5 | |
| Majority | 235 | 10.5 | −1.1 | ||
| Turnout | 2,247 | 31.0 | −2.6 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Neil Rockliffe | 564 | 36.5 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Earnshaw Palmer | 447 | 28.9 | ||
| Labour | Grant Smith | 233 | 15.1 | ||
| BNP | Donna Stickson | 228 | 14.8 | ||
| UKIP | Alan Broad | 73 | 4.7 | ||
| Majority | 117 | 7.6 | |||
| Turnout | 1,545 | 28.7 | +0.7 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Anne Cheale | 734 | 41.5 | ||
| Labour | John Cecil | 565 | 32.0 | ||
| BNP | Warren Parish | 469 | 26.5 | ||
| Majority | 169 | 9.5 | |||
| Turnout | 1,768 | 39.7 | +3.6 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | John Purkiss | 957 | 66.3 | ||
| BNP | Linda Geri | 350 | 24.2 | ||
| Labour | Manuel Sanwo | 137 | 9.5 | ||
| Majority | 607 | 42.1 | |||
| Turnout | 1,444 | 30.8 | −4.3 | ||
| Independenthold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Valerie Morris-Cook | 741 | 43.7 | +0.1 | |
| BNP | Rob Maloney | 436 | 25.7 | −2.1 | |
| Conservative | Priscillar Wren | 352 | 20.7 | −7.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | William Jackson | 168 | 9.9 | +9.9 | |
| Majority | 305 | 18.0 | +3.0 | ||
| Turnout | 1,697 | 23.2 | −1.9 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Catherine Kent | 1,034 | 48.5 | +6.5 | |
| Conservative | Amanda Redsell | 570 | 26.7 | −10.6 | |
| BNP | Rickey Strickson | 530 | 24.8 | +7.3 | |
| Majority | 464 | 21.8 | +17.1 | ||
| Turnout | 2,134 | 33.6 | −3.4 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Stuart St.Clair-Haslam | 566 | 38.3 | −30.0 | |
| Labour | John-Paul Garner | 430 | 29.1 | −2.6 | |
| BNP | Terry Gowen | 318 | 21.5 | +21.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Thomas Kelly | 164 | 11.1 | +11.1 | |
| Majority | 136 | 9.2 | −27.4 | ||
| Turnout | 1,478 | 32.7 | +0.6 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Barry Johnson | 728 | 34.8 | −4.2 | |
| Labour | Oliver Gerrish | 714 | 34.1 | −11.1 | |
| BNP | Mark Gorman | 434 | 20.7 | +20.7 | |
| UKIP | Matthew Knowles | 218 | 10.4 | +10.4 | |
| Majority | 14 | 0.7 | |||
| Turnout | 2,094 | 31.1 | +0.5 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Roisin O'Reilly | 905 | 37.7 | −2.5 | |
| Conservative | Hazel Daniels | 844 | 35.2 | −1.1 | |
| BNP | Christopher Roberts | 505 | 21.1 | −2.4 | |
| Ind. Working Class | David Amis | 144 | 6.0 | +6.0 | |
| Majority | 61 | 2.5 | −1.4 | ||
| Turnout | 2,398 | 36.8 | +0.8 | ||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Edward Hardiman | 587 | 39.7 | ||
| Labour | Gerard Rice | 409 | 27.7 | ||
| BNP | Lauren Kay | 266 | 18.0 | ||
| UKIP | Clive Broad | 216 | 14.6 | ||
| Majority | 178 | 12.0 | |||
| Turnout | 1,478 | 31.2 | +1.6 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Diana Hale | 762 | 41.7 | +0.3 | |
| Conservative | Leopoldo Milan-Vega | 632 | 34.6 | −8.6 | |
| BNP | Angela Daly | 435 | 23.8 | +23.8 | |
| Majority | 130 | 7.1 | |||
| Turnout | 1,829 | 38.3 | −2.6 | ||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Pauline Tolson | 1,077 | 41.3 | −1.4 | |
| Labour | Salvatore Benson | 877 | 33.7 | −0.9 | |
| BNP | Paul Woodley | 652 | 25.0 | +25.0 | |
| Majority | 200 | 7.6 | −0.5 | ||
| Turnout | 2,606 | 39.0 | +1.8 | ||
| Conservativegain fromLabour | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Paul Attah | 383 | 33.9 | −2.7 | |
| BNP | Nicholas Geri | 341 | 30.2 | +30.2 | |
| Independent | June Brown | 269 | 23.8 | −8.4 | |
| Conservative | Paul Coutts | 137 | 12.1 | −19.2 | |
| Majority | 42 | 3.7 | −0.7 | ||
| Turnout | 1,131 | 25.0 | −0.4 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Julieann Burkey | 676 | 41.9 | +5.5 | |
| BNP | Kenneth Daly | 478 | 29.6 | −5.8 | |
| Conservative | Georgette Polley | 459 | 28.5 | +0.3 | |
| Majority | 198 | 12.3 | +11.3 | ||
| Turnout | 1,613 | 26.6 | −2.3 | ||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | ||||
