2026 Basildon Borough Council election

2026 Basildon Borough Council election
7 May 2026 (2026-05-07)
14 out of 42 seats to Basildon Borough Council
22 seats needed for a majority
Registered139,316
Turnout57,899
41.6%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Gavin Callaghan Andy Barnes None
Party Labour Conservative Reform
Last election 18 seats, 25.5% 13 seats, 38.7% 0 seats, 0.5%
Seats before 16[1] 13 1
Seats won 0 3 11
Seats after 12 12 11
Seat change Decrease 4 Decrease 1 Increase 10
Popular vote 8,772 14,641 23,535
Percentage 15.2% 25.4% 40.8%
Swing Decrease 10.3% Decrease 13.3% Increase 40.3%
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Kerry Smith Eunice Brockman
Party Independent Wickford Ind.
Last election 6 seats, 11.7% 5 seats, 5.4%
Seats before 8[a] 4
Seats won 0 0
Seats after 4 3
Seat change Decrease 4 Decrease 1
Popular vote 2,433 727
Percentage 4.2% 1.3%
Swing Decrease 7.5% Decrease 4.1%
Winner of each seat at the 2026 Basildon Borough Council election.
Leader before election

Gavin Callaghan
Labour
No overall control[b]

 Leader after election

Andy Barnes
Conservative
No overall control[c]

The 2026 Basildon Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2026 to elect members of Basildon Borough Council in Essex, England.[2] This was on the same day as other local elections.

Prior to the election, the council was under no overall control, being led by Labour with support from some of the independent councillors. Reform UK won eleven of the fourteen seats being contested at this election, but the council remained under no overall control. A Conservative minority administration subsequently formed with support from Reform UK, who were not included in the administration but were given the mayoralty and a number of committee chairmanships. Conservative group leader Andy Barnes was formally appointed as the new leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 21 May 2026.[3]

Basildon Borough Council is soon to be abolished under the plans of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and will be merged with Thurrock Council to form a new South West Essex Unitary Authority. [4]

Summary

Council composition

After 2024 election Before 2026 election
Party Seats Party Seats
Labour 18 Labour 16
Conservative 13 Conservative 13
Wickford Ind. 5 Wickford Ind. 4
Reform 0 Reform 1
Independent 6 Independent 8

Changes 2024–2026:

  • April 2025: David Harrison (Wickford Independents) dies – by-election held June 2025[5]
  • June 2025:
    • Sarah-Jane Shields (Reform) gains by-election from Wickford Independents
    • Maryam Yaqub (Labour) resigns – by-election held July 2025[6]
    • Ben Westwick (Labour) suspended from party[7]
  • July 2025: Sam Journet (Reform) gains by-election from Labour[8]
  • March 2026: Sarah Shields leaves Reform and continues to serve as an independent

Election result

2026 Basildon Borough Council election
Party This election Full council This election
Candidates Seats Net Seats % Other Total Total % Votes Votes % +/−
  Conservative {{{candidates}}} 3 Decrease 1 21.4 9 12 28.6 14,641 25.4 –13.3
  Labour {{{candidates}}} 0 Decrease 4 0.0 12 12 28.6 8,772 15.2 –10.3
  Reform {{{candidates}}} 11 Increase10 78.6 0 11 26.2 23,535 40.8 +40.3
  Independent {{{candidates}}} 0 Decrease 4 0.0 4 4 9.5 2,433 4.2 –7.5
  Wickford Ind. {{{candidates}}} 0 Decrease 1 0.0 3 3 7.1 727 1.3 –4.1
  Green {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 4,755 8.3 +1.8
  Liberal Democrats {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 2,454 4.3 –5.9
  TUSC {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 262 0.5 –0.5
  British Democrats {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 49 0.1 –0.4

Candidates by party

Reform (14/14)










Conservative Party (14/14)










Green Party (14/14)










Labour Party (14/14)










Liberal Democrats (12/14)










TUSC (7/14)










Independent (5/14)










Wickford Ind. (2/14)










British Democratic Party (1/14)










Incumbents

Ward Incumbent councillor Party Re-standing
Billericay East Martyn Mordecai Conservative Yes
Billericay West Daniel Lawrence Conservative Yes
Burstead Kevin Blake Conservative Yes
Castledon & Crouch Stuart Allen Conservative No
Fryerns Allan Davies Labour No
Laindon Park Terry Webb Labour Yes, in different ward
Langdon Hills Walter Brown Independent Yes
Lee Chapel North Aidan McGurran Labour No
Nethermayne Eddie Murphy Independent Yes
Pitsea North West Pat Reid Labour Yes
Pitsea South East Ben Westwick Independent No
St Martins Sam Journet Reform Yes
Wickford North Trevor Hammond Wickford Ind. Yes
Wickford Park Sarah-Jane Shields Independent Yes

Results by ward

Billericay East

Billericay East[9][10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Martyn Mordecai* 2,341 44.9 –4.0
Reform Denise Martin 1,662 31.9 N/A
Green Stewart Goshawk 773 14.8 –11.5
Labour Peter Bunyan 249 4.8 –7.3
Liberal Democrats Laura Clark 184 3.5 –9.2
Majority 679 13.0 N/A
Rejected ballots 24 0.5
Turnout 5233 54.8
Registered electors 9,546
Conservative hold

Billericay West

Billericay West[12][10][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Daniel Lawrence* 2,536 50.7 +1.9
Reform Krupa Kollabathula 1,436 28.7 N/A
Liberal Democrats Chris May 410 8.2 –19.3
Green Kevin Blackmore 334 6.7 –5.0
Labour Tracey Hilton 285 5.7 –6.3
Majority 1,100 21.8 N/A
Rejected ballots 36 0.7
Turnout 5,037 53.2
Registered electors 9,473
Conservative hold

Burstead

Burstead[14][10][15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Kevin Blake* 2,654 45.2 +0.5
Reform Phil Bruce 2,173 37.0 N/A
Green Daniel McGarry 408 6.9 –5.3
Labour Les Banks 391 6.7 –16.7
Liberal Democrats Peter Lancaster 252 4.3 –15.4
Majority 481 8.2 N/A
Rejected ballots 17 0.3
Turnout 5,895 52.8
Registered electors 11,165
Conservative hold

Castledon & Crouch

Castledon & Crouch[16][10][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Zoe Hockton 2,329 50.5 N/A
Conservative Mark Cottrell 1,123 24.3 –8.3
Liberal Democrats Stewart Mott 654 14.2 –11.9
Labour Stewart Blackett 240 5.2 –9.8
Green Maximillian Giddens 217 4.7 –7.3
British Democrats Christopher Bateman 49 1.1 –13.2
Majority 1,206 26.1 N/A
Rejected ballots 11 0.2
Turnout 4,623 49.8
Registered electors 9,292
Reform gain from Conservative

Fryerns

Fryerns[18][10][19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Eileen Brown 1,594 44.4 N/A
Labour Chelsea George 1,185 33.0 –18.9
Conservative Ann Blake 356 9.9 –13.8
Green Rainbow Serina 303 8.4 N/A
Liberal Democrats Vivien Howard 78 2.2 –12.5
Independent Eleanor Donne 38 1.1 N/A
TUSC Simon Breedon 33 0.9 –8.8
Majority 409 11.3 N/A
Rejected ballots 20 0.6
Turnout 3,607 34.0
Registered electors 10,612
Reform gain from Labour

Laindon Park

Laindon Park[20][10][21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Darren Gardner 1,679 46.5 N/A
Labour Wayne Milne 806 22.3 –12.6
Conservative Jeff Henry 693 19.2 –10.5
Green Jessica Whitehead 278 7.7 –3.1
Liberal Democrats Stephen McCarthy 116 3.2 –4.3
TUSC Dave Murray 39 1.1 –3.6
Majority 873 24.1 N/A
Rejected ballots 5 0.1
Turnout 3,616 36.5
Registered electors 9,898
Reform gain from Labour

Langdon Hills

Langdon Hills[22][23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Damion Lewis 1,720 34.9 N/A
Independent Walter Brown* 1,579 32.1 –16.4
Conservative Chris Allen 584 11.9 –6.9
Labour Brian Button 567 11.5 –3.7
Green Ian Murray 338 6.9 –2.4
Liberal Democrats Steve Nice 93 2.0 –5.5
Independent None Of The Above X 36 0.7 ±0.0
Majority 141 2.9 N/A
Rejected ballots 19 0.4
Turnout 4,936 44.9
Registered electors 10,985
Reform gain from Independent

Lee Chapel North

Lee Chapel North[24][25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Jose Kattady 1,420 43.2 N/A
Labour Terry Webb 1,075 32.7 –21.0
Green Emma Blackmore 334 10.2 N/A
Conservative Deepak Shukla 315 9.6 –12.6
Liberal Democrats Mike Chandler 112 3.4 –10.1
TUSC Elaine McDonald 29 0.9 –9.7
Majority 345 10.5 N/A
Rejected ballots 12 0.4
Turnout 3,297 32.7
Registered electors 10,082
Reform gain from Labour

Nethermayne

Nethermayne[26][27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Wayne Lowther 1,290 39.0 N/A
Independent Eddie Murphy* 750 22.7 –33.6
Labour Elsa Benn 629 19.0 –2.8
Green Matthew Hornsby 321 9.7 N/A
Conservative Yetunde Adeshile 265 8.0 –3.8
TUSC Chris Huggins 52 1.6 N/A
Majority 540 16.3 N/A
Rejected ballots 9 0.3
Turnout 3,316 33.4
Registered electors 9,925
Reform gain from Independent

Pitsea North West

Pitsea North West[28][29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Jeff Noble 1,468 47.0 N/A
Labour Pat Reid* 893 29.0 –21.1
Conservative Stuart Terson 384 12.4 –21.8
Green Michelle Savage 223 7.3 N/A
Liberal Democrats Martin Howard 85 2.7 –7.0
TUSC Sine Surridge 22 0.7 –5.9
Majority 578 18.7 N/A
Rejected ballots 12 0.4
Turnout 3,087 33.3
Registered electors 9,281
Reform gain from Labour

Pitsea South East

Pitsea South East[30][31]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform David Abrahall 1,738 47.2 N/A
Labour Ryan McDonald 847 23.0 –16.1
Conservative Craig Rimmer 709 19.2 –14.3
Green Steven Willis 271 7.4 –2.3
Liberal Democrats Steven Spowart 86 2.3 –4.6
TUSC Jack Huggins 34 0.9 N/A
Majority 891 24.1 N/A
Rejected ballots 10 0.3
Turnout 3,695 36.7
Registered electors 10,063
Reform gain from Independent

St Martin's

St Martin's[32][33][d]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Sam Journet* 1,280 40.9 N/A
Labour Elizabeth Atkinson 1,133 36.2 –2.2
Conservative Deepak Roy 351 11.2 –9.4
Green Ellie Matthewman 316 10.1 –2.3
TUSC Andrew Buxton 53 1.7 –5.7
Majority 147 4.7 N/A
Rejected ballots 18 0.6
Turnout 3,151 32.6
Registered electors 9,667
Reform hold

Wickford North

Wickford North[35][36]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Steven Swaby 2,106 45.3 +32.9
Conservative Billy Merrin 1,175 25.3 +1.2
Wickford Ind. Trevor Hammond* 545 11.7 –22.3
Green Penny Wright 360 7.7 –1.6
Labour Viviane Morris 252 5.4 –8.2
Liberal Democrats Nicola Hoad 208 4.5 –2.0
Majority 931 19.9 N/A
Rejected ballots 28 0.6
Turnout 4,674 45.2
Registered electors 10,351
Reform gain from Wickford Ind.

Wickford Park

Wickford Park[37][38]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform John Peters 1,640 44.5 N/A
Conservative Lewis Hooper 1,155 31.4 +0.5
Green Sam Twigg 279 7.6 N/A
Labour Dean Sharpe 220 6.0 –16.8
Wickford Ind. Sean Mundy 182 4.9 –27.0
Liberal Democrats Mike Woods 176 4.8 –9.5
Independent Sarah-Jane Shields* 30 0.8 N/A
Majority 485 13.1 N/A
Rejected ballots 16 0.4
Turnout 3,698 41.2
Registered electors 8,976
Reform gain from Independent

References

  1. ↑ The 8 Independent councillors sat in the Independent and Non-Aligned Group.
  2. ↑ Labour minority.
  3. ↑ Conservative minority.
  4. ↑ Vote share change calculated relative with July 2025 by-election; no Liberal Democrats or Social Democratic Party as previously.[34]
  1. ↑ "Basildon Council Composition: Latest". opencouncildata.co.uk. Open Council Data UK. Archived from the original on 16 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  2. ↑ "Update on May 2026 local authority elections". mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk. Ministry Housing, Communities and Local Government. Archived from the original on 16 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  3. ↑ Dedman, Simon (22 May 2026). "Tory and Reform deal in place to run council". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "Essex councils to be replaced with five unitaries, says Reed". BBC News. 2026-03-25. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  5. ↑ Fidler, Laura (6 April 2025). "Tributes paid to former Basildon Mayor, Councillor David Harrison". Essex Live. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  6. ↑ Spriggs, Peter (16 June 2025). "By-election for Basildon ward announced after Labour councillor resigns". Echo. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  7. ↑ Dedman, Simon (20 June 2025). "Councillor loses Labour whip over 'offensive' social media posts". BBC News. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  8. ↑ "Local Elections Archive Project — St Martin's Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  9. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Billericay East" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Simon Coyle (7 May 2026). "Basildon local election results 2026 in full". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "Election results for Billericay East". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Billericay West" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  13. ↑ "Election results for Billericay West". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Burstead" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  15. ↑ "Election results for Burstead". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Castledon & Crouch" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  17. ↑ "Election results for Castledon and Crouch". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Fryerns" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  19. ↑ "Election results for Fryerns". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Laindon Park" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  21. ↑ "Election results for Laindon Park". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Langdon Hills" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  23. ↑ "Election results for Langdon Hills". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  24. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Lee Chapel North" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  25. ↑ "Election results for Lee Chapel North". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Nethermayne" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  27. ↑ "Election results for Nethermayne". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  28. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Pitsea North West" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  29. ↑ "Election results for Pitsea North West". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  30. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Pitsea South East" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  31. ↑ "Election results for Pitsea South East". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  32. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – St Martins" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  33. ↑ "Election results for St Martin's". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  34. ↑ "St Martin's Ward — Basildon: 17th July 2025 [Resignation of Maryam Yaqub; RUK gain from Lab]". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  35. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Wickford North" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  36. ↑ "Election results for Wickford North". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  37. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Wickford Park" (PDF). Basildon Borough Council. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  38. ↑ "Election results for Wickford Park". Basildon Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.