The2022 Thurrock Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect a third of the members ofThurrock Council in England.[7] Sixteen of the council's 49 seats were contested in sixteen ofThurrock's twentyelectoral wards.[8][1] There are two or three seats in each ward depending on its population.[9] This was on the same day as otherlocal elections across theUnited Kingdom.
TheConservatives won the popular vote by 91 votes and retained their thirty-seat majority in the council whileLabour came out with fourteen seats, the lowest amount they have ever held on the council.[6] The average turnout for the election was 26.41% per ward, meaning that one in four of all of Thurrock's eligible voters had participated.[6]
In the run-up to the election, both theConservatives andLabour ran on local manifestos focusing on financial prosperity. The Conservatives, who administered the council, promised continued local investment and aid to combat thecost of living crisis,[10] while Labour, the council's main opposition, criticised the Conservatives for highcouncil tax, overborrowing, overspending and an alleged lack of transparency, promising to instead focus on openness and the community.[11] There were also accusations by the Conservative council leader Rob Gledhill that Labour's councillors had supported theJust Stop Oil protests in the borough, adding that the Labour Group on the council had "close links" to the organisation.[12]
The Conservatives won and lost two seats, retaining their thirty-seat majority in the council.[13] One Conservative to lose his seat was councillorDavid Van Day, who lost to Labour's Srikanth Panjala by twenty votes.[14][8] Labour won two seats in total but lost another three, resulting in a fourteen-seat minority; the lowest amount of seats Labour has ever held on the council.[15] TheThurrock Independents stood its leader's son Ross Byrne in the ward of Stanford East & Corringham Town,[6] although their own seats were uncontested. A non-alignedindependent councillor was elected in the Tilbury Riverside & Thurrock Park ward, leaving a total of two independent councillors in the council.[8]
Mayor Sue Shinnick[16] vacated her Labour seat in Ockendon to stand in the Conservative-held South Chafford ward. Although she won, her old seat fell to Conservative councillor Paul Arnold. Labour's loss was attributed to changing demographics in theSouth Ockendon area.[17] Meanwhile, Conservative council leader Rob Gledhill retained his seat with a small majority of 157, mirroring his near-defeat toUKIP in the2014 council elections.[18]
The Conservatives won the popular vote with 12,442 votes, a small majority of 91 against Labour's 12,351. The election suffered a low turnout, with only one in four eligible voters participating.[6]
^John Kent is the leader of the Labour Group on the council[4] but his seat was not contested.
^Gary Byrne is the leader of the Thurrock Independent Group on the council[5] but his seat was not contested. His son Ross Byrne contested a seat in the Stanford East & Corringham Town ward.[6]
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