# 2022 Thurrock Council election

The 2022 Thurrock Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect a third of the members of Thurrock Council in England. Sixteen of the council's 49 seats were contested in sixteen of Thurrock's twenty electoral wards. There are two or three seats in each ward depending on its population. This was on the same day as other local elections across the United Kingdom.
The Conservatives won the popular vote by 91 votes and retained their thirty-seat majority in the council while Labour came out with fourteen seats, the lowest amount they have ever held on the council. 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.

## Election

In the run-up to the election, both the Conservatives and Labour ran on local manifestoes focusing on financial prosperity. The Conservatives, who administered the council, promised continued local investment and aid to combat the cost of living crisis, while Labour, the council's main opposition, criticised the Conservatives for high council tax, overborrowing, overspending and an alleged lack of transparency, promising to instead focus on openness and the community. There were also accusations by the Conservative council leader Rob Gledhill that Labour's councillors had supported the Just Stop Oil protests in the borough, adding that the Labour Group on the council had "close links" to the organisation.
The Conservatives won and lost two seats, retaining their thirty-seat majority in the council. One Conservative to lose his seat was councillor David Van Day, who lost to Labour's Srikanth Panjala by twenty votes. 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. The Thurrock Independents stood its leader's son Ross Byrne in the ward of Stanford East & Corringham Town, although their own seats were uncontested. A non-aligned independent councillor was elected in the Tilbury Riverside & Thurrock Park ward, leaving a total of two independent councillors in the council.
Mayor Sue Shinnick 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 the South Ockendon area. Meanwhile, Conservative council leader Rob Gledhill retained his seat with a small majority of 157, mirroring his near-defeat to UKIP in the 2014 council elections.
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.

## Results

Below are the results for all sixteen contested seats in their respective wards. Winning candidates are shown in bold.

### Aveley & Uplands

Aveley & Uplands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Srikanth Panjala | 877 | 50.6 | +16.9 |
| | Conservative | David Van Day | 857 | 49.4 | −16.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,750 | 23.28 | |
| | Labour gain from Thurrock Ind. | Labour gain from Thurrock Ind. | Swing | | |

### Belhus

Belhus :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | George Coxshall | 864 | 51.2 | +6.4 |
| | Labour | Mark Hurrell | 822 | 48.8 | +15.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 42 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,706 | 23.76 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Chadwell St. Mary

Chadwell St. Mary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sara Muldowney | 1,144 | 59.8 | +20.5 |
| | Conservative | Gavin Holland | 770 | 40.2 | −5.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 374 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,929 | 26.72 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Grays Riverside

Grays Riverside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Martin Kerin | 1,208 | 71.9 | +20.6 |
| | Conservative | Obinna Obi-Njoku | 472 | 28.1 | −7.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 736 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,703 | 21.09 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Grays Thurrock

Grays Thurrock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Lynn Worrall | 1,153 | 68.1 | +10.7 |
| | Conservative | Joanne Swash | 540 | 31.9 | −10.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 613 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,710 | 25.97 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Little Thurrock Blackshots

Little Thurrock Blackshots :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Benjamin Maney | 906 | 61.3 | +9.5 |
| | Labour | Clifford Holloway | 571 | 38.7 | +17.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 335 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,488 | 29.07 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Little Thurrock Rectory

Little Thurrock Rectory :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Rob Gledhill | 765 | 55.7 | +15.3 |
| | Labour | Aaron Green | 608 | 44.3 | +24.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 157 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,388 | 30.53 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
* Change shown from 2019, when this ward was last up for election

### Ockendon

Ockendon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Paul Arnold | 1,021 | 53.8 | −1.4 |
| | Labour | Ruth Clapham | 877 | 46.2 | +12.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 144 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,923 | 23.35 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Orsett

Orsett :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Barry Johnson | 1,095 | 72.8 | −7.8 |
| | Labour | Gary Watson | 410 | 27.2 | +14.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 685 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,532 | 30.38 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### South Chafford

South Chafford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sue Shinnick | 697 | 55.2 | +8.2 |
| | Conservative | Abosede Akinbohun | 566 | 44.8 | −8.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 131 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,272 | 25.41 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Stanford East & Corringham Town

Stanford East & Corringham Town :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Alex Anderson | 824 | 46.4 | −14.8 |
| | Labour Co-op | John Cecil | 524 | 29.5 | +7.6 |
| | Thurrock Ind. | Ross Byrne | 427 | 24.1 | +7.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 300 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,786 | 28.17 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Stifford Clays

Stifford Clays :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Elizabeth Rigby | 749 | 53.0 | +22.4 |
| | Labour | Mark Hooper | 665 | 47.0 | +16.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 84 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,434 | 28.71 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
* Change shown from 2019, when this ward was last up for election

### The Homesteads

The Homesteads :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Halden | 1,363 | 65.9 | +6.0 |
| | Labour | Jacqueline Dobson | 704 | 34.1 | +15.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 659 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,117 | 33.23 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Tilbury Riverside & Thurrock Park

Tilbury Riverside & Thurrock Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | John Allen | 562 | 43.5 | N/A |
| | Labour | Bukky Okunade | 439 | 34.0 | −0.5 |
| | Conservative | Judan Ali | 290 | 22.5 | +14.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 123 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,292 | 27.35 | |
| | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Swing | | |
* Change shown from 2019, when this ward was last up for election

### Tilbury St. Chads

Tilbury St. Chads :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Stephen Liddiard | 670 | 75.2 | +29.0 |
| | Conservative | David Morgan | 221 | 24.8 | +6.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 449 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 901 | 20.91 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### West Thurrock & South Stifford

West Thurrock & South Stifford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Qaisar Abbas | 1,139 | 53.7 | +8.8 |
| | Labour | David Harris | 982 | 46.3 | −8.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 157 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,141 | 24.65 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |