Thurrock Council

Thurrock Council is the local council for the borough of Thurrock in Essex, England. Since 1997, Thurrock is a unitary authority, combining the functions of a non-metropolitan county with that of a non-metropolitan district. The other such authority in Essex is Southend-on-Sea. One further Council of the 16 in the Thames Gateway development area enjoys unitary responsibility, Medway. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.

Councillors

Thurrock is divided into 20 wards and elects 49 councillors. The council comprises (as of 11 May 2015):

Prior to the Thurrock Council election, 2015 the council was run by a Labour minority administration, after the Labour Party lost its small majority at the 2014 election. Thurrock had previously been a hung council for several years after the Conservatives lost control in 2007.

The Borough has electoral wards:

Thurrock

Thurrock /ˈθʌrək/ is a unitary authority area with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council.

The borough

It lies on the River Thames just to the east of London. With over 18 miles (29 km) of riverfront it covers an area of 64 square miles (166 km²), with more than half defined as Green Belt. With Greater London to the west and the river to the south, the county of Essex abuts the Borough to the north and east, and across the river lies Kent.

Politics

The local authority is Thurrock Council. Elections are held 3 out of every 4 years. In the last election in 2015, Labour remained in control of a minority council, with no overall control.

Thurrock is covered by two parliamentary constituencies. Thurrock includes most of the borough while South Basildon and East Thurrock includes some wards in the east of the borough. Both seats were Conservative gains from Labour at the 2010 general election.

Thurrock (UK Parliament constituency)

Thurrock is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Jackie Doyle-Price, a Conservative.

Boundaries

1945-1983: The Urban District of Thurrock.

1983-2010: The Borough of Thurrock wards of Aveley, Belhus, Chadwell St Mary, East Tilbury, Grays Thurrock North, Grays Thurrock Town, Little Thurrock, Ockendon, Stifford, Tilbury, and West Thurrock.

2010–present: The Borough of Thurrock wards of Aveley and Uplands, Belhus, Chadwell St Mary, Chafford and North Stifford, Grays Riverside, Grays Thurrock, Little Thurrock Blackshots, Little Thurrock Rectory, Ockendon, South Chafford, Stifford Clays, Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park, Tilbury St Chads, West Thurrock, and South Stifford.

History

Thurrock was for 38 years from 1945 a safe Labour seat, at which time it saw a relatively marginal majority of fewer than 2000 votes, and four years later a Conservative gained it in 1987 with a slim majority and held it for one Parliament before it was regained by Labour, namely Andrew MacKinlay, who was during his tenure as MP criticised for his questioning technique used of weapons expert Dr. David Kelly.