The Conservative Leader of Essex County Council, Cllr Kevin Bentley, has confirmed that he, and the local Conservative Group, fully support Essexโs elections going ahead in 2026. โ ๐ณ๏ธ
๐จ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐จ
Epping Forest District Council has launched legal action in the High Court to close the Bell Hotel in Epping and stop it from being used to house asylum seekers. 1/2
Today @Essex_CC backed a Conservative motion calling for urgent Gov action on economic growth, jobs & skills.. amid rising costs, red tape & Labourโs scrapping of the A12 upgrade.
๐๏ธ Sign the petition to reinstate the A12 upgrade: https://t.co/Qi7WB8Ahqf
#BackEssexBusiness
๐ข HANDS OFF ESSEXโS GREEN BELT!๐ณ๐ก
Our countryside is under threat from top-down Government housing targets & backdoor building plans.
Essex Conservatives say:
โ No to building on the Green Belt
๐๏ธ Homes where people want to live
๐ง The infrastructure people actually need
Back on the campaign trail in sunny Chelmsford for the City&County Council by-elections, where we were joined by Witham MP & Shadow Foreign Sec, @pritipatel
Lots of positive conversations, drumming up support for our excellent candidates, @seena_shah & Dr Renga Subramanian.
Itโs not going well for Reform here in Essex. Recently they โ lost the Stock county by-election, โ lost the Tiptree Colchester by-election & last week โ lost the Maldon North by-election where they finished 3rd. Real voters at real elections voting for the Conservatives ๐ณ๏ธ
A 3 min tour de force by @grahamstuart on the family farms taxโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
The Labour MPโs idiotic intervention shows they donโt get it. โ
Conservatives will reverse APR and BPR when back in govt. These taxes on family businesses harm the very people who create Britainโs wealth.
Reform UK's Councillor @McivorJaymey has failed to attend the Essex County Council budget meeting this morning. He was due to present a petition on the postponement of elections.
Could it be that yet again he is in arrears with his council tax?
โ Protecting services | Keeping tax low | Investing in priorities
I was proud to back a Conservative budget that delivers for residents.
Meanwhile, our local Reform Councillor missed budget full council againโฆ is there a reason why he canโt vote on the budget? ๐ค
Congrats to the businesses,which were shortlisted or won their category at the Rochford Business Awards.
Thanks for inviting me & Iโm delighted to have presented an award. ๐
Also, good to catch up with @DeniseRossiter1, Essex Chamber of Commerce re: inward investments opps.
๐ ยฃ12.3M Extra for Essex Highways! ๐ง
Weโre investing in better, safer roads in the 2025/26 budget:
โ ยฃ8.5M for local road repairs
โ ยฃ1.6M for road safety
โ ยฃ1.3M for cycle paths
โ ยฃ500K for sign repairs
โ ยฃ400K for drainage & flood prevention
Iโm running to be CCA Chairman to amplify councillorsโ voices, rebuild our Party from the grassroots, and equip councillors to win, serve their communities, and navigate the future of local government.
Read more about my vision in @ConHome : https://t.co/8aR9VlC2cP
@CCACllrs
Great evening with @ECCConservative colleagues, members and friends for our annual dinner with the amazing guest speaker ( and near namesake ๐) @cmackinlay, who was both inspiring and insightful. Thank you for joining us ๐
Following an extraordinary council meeting held earlier today (10 January), Essex County Council, alongside Southend-on-Sea City Council and Thurrock Council, will write to the government to request inclusion on the governmentโs Priority Programme for devolution.
The councils will now formally put a request to the Minister for Local Government to be part of the Programme, which includes a commitment to local government reorganisation.
Essex County Council and Thurrock Council will also request the postponement of elections scheduled for May this year in their areas.
Southend-on-Sea City Council has no planned elections for 2025.
Leader of Essex County Council, Councillor Kevin Bentley, said:
"Following todayโs debate, we are one step closer in our ambition to bring devolution to Essex, and I want to express my gratitude to all the councillors who contributed.
"Today's meeting showed that despite our differing political views, we all want to make Essex as great as it can be for our residents and businesses.
"Devolution is key to making this happen. It presents us with an opportunity for growth and productivity across the county like no other.
"I would also like to thank our partners in Southend-on-Sea City Council and Thurrock Council for their continued collaboration. Together, we are embarking on a journey that will transform Essex for the better.โ
The councils will now wait to hear from the government on whether Greater Essex has been accepted as part of the Priority Programme for Devolution.
More details on Devolution can be found here: https://t.co/xKJnj7ezD0
NEW: The Conservatives HOLD Stock division on Essex County Council in a by-election.
Susan Dobson won 1304 receiving 327 more votes than Reform UK candidate Michael Allison.
We are delighted to see Gillian Bonnett elected as a Chelmsford City Councillor and Sue Dobson as an Essex County Councillor today. Two well deserved victories showing Essex remains TRUE BLUE. ๐ Thank you to every resident who voted Conservative at these important elections. ๐
๐ฆ๐๐๐ก ๐ง๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐!
โ๏ธ https://t.co/dZxMG0FAsJ
We are urging the Government to direct these funds to repair Essexโs roads with a ringfenced tax for the County's Roads.