THE candidates for the local elections in Thurrock have been announced.
One’s eyes are immediately drawn to the battle in Aveley and Uplands where the (now concentrate), defending candidate is Tim Aker. He won the seat for Ukip but he is standing as a member of the Thurrock Independents (a new party and group formed a few months ago). Tim Aker is still a UKIP MEP. However, one of the four candidates is Peter Curtis and he is standing for UKIP.
UKIP are standing in five wards but strangely they are not standing in Belhus or Ockendon, two of the wards they are, technically, defending. They are, however, standing in Stifford Clays and Stanford East and Corringham Town where the leader and deputy leader of the Thurrock Independents (Graham Snell and Roy Jones) are defending seats that they won when they were Ukip. You still with us?
You may also have noticed that the newly formed Democrats and Veterans Party have a candidate in West Thurrock and South Stifford. He is Chris Boosey, who used to be, yep, you guessed it…UKIP..
The Conservatives, Labour and Thurrock Independents have candidates in all sixteen wards.
There is lots more to discuss. We will, over the next four weeks, have a look at each ward, the issues within and voting patterns.
A reminder of all the candidates.
Aveley and Uplands
Tim Aker (Thurrock Independents)
Peter Curtis (Ukip)
David Van Day (Conservative Party
Rafal Zak (Labour Party)
Belhus
Chris Baker (Thurrock Independents)
Mike Fletcher (Labour Party)
Georgette Polley (Conservative Party)
Chadwell St Mary
Paul Arnold (Conservative Party)
Barbara Rice (Labour Party)
Paul Stevens (Thurrock Independents)
Grays Riverside
Wendy Herd (Conservative Party)
Martin Kerin (Labour Party)
Shane McDonagh (Thurrock Independents)
Grays Thurrock
Evelina Vulpe (Conservative Party)
Gillian Wardrop (Thurrock Independents)
Lynn Worrall (Labour)
Little Thurrock Blackshots
Jacqueline Dobson (Labour Party)
Ben Maney (Conservative Party)
Oliver Smith (Thurrock Independents)
Little Thurrock Rectory
Lawson Akhigbe (Labour Party)
Rob Gledhill (Conservative Party)
Jay Hayers (Thurrock Independents)
Ockendon
Janet Baker (Thurrock Independents)
Romanus Nwakuna (Conservative Party)
Sue Shinnick (Labour Party)
Orsett
Barry Johnson (Conservative Party)
James Mower (Thurrock Independents)
Vince Offord (Labour Party)
Adrian Short (Ukip)
South Chafford
Abbie Akinbohun (Labour Party)
Tunde Ojetola (Conservative Party)
Torren Snell (Thurrock Independents)
Stanford East and Corringham Town
Alex Anderson (Conservative Party)
George Elcock (Labour Party)
Roy Jones (Thurrock Independents)
Michael Keal (Ukip)
Stifford Clays
Stephen Andrews (Ukip)
Elizabeth Rigby (Conservative Party)
Graham Snell (Thurrock Independents)
Lee Watson (Labour)
The Homesteads
Gary Byrne (Thurrock Independents)
Daniel Chukwu (Labour Party)
James Halden (Conservative Party)
Peter Prendegast (Ukip)
Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park
Allen Mayes (Thurrock Independents)
Bukky Okunade (Labour Party)
Elaine Parker (Conservative Party)
Tilbury St Chads
Steve Liddiard (Labour Party)
Paul Martin (Thurrock Independents)
Steve Minett (Conservative Party)
West Thurrock and South Stifford
Qaisar Abbas (Labour Party)
Chris Boosey (Democrats and Veterans Party)
George Coxshall (Conservative Party)
Michael Wager (Thurrock Independents)
Sadly Tim proved to the electorate he is only in this for his own benefit when he failed to resign when all the others did.
We need a New World Order in politics as ours is so stagnant and incompetent.
Thurrock Independents Party, the Great Pretenders!
The candidates are up and running in the Local Government Elections with hurdles to jump before they reach the winning post on the 3rd May 2018. Win or lose I wish most of them a safe journey and the satisfaction of a race well run. However, there are some candidates from the Thurrock Independents Party for whom I would shed no tears if they fell at the first fence.
The current Thurrock Independent Councillors were originally elected as UKIP Councillors and became the main opposition, relegating the Labour Group to third place. At the beginning of this year they decided to call themselves the Thurrock Independents Party without immediately resigning as UKIP Councillors and subjecting themselves to validation by means of bye-elections, i.e. they were desperate to cling onto power and they were scared stiff as to the outcome. As a result, the main opposition has been in the hands of imposters for the past 3 months or so.
I hope the voters, especially UKIP members who may feel betrayed by the Thurrock Independents Party, will take note of this blatant act of political chicanery by the Thurrock Independents Party candidates and show their disapproval by denying them their support.
I do not understand why UKIP, both locally and nationally, have failed to take action against Mr. Tim Aker and the other Thurrock Independents Party Councillors. Why have they not expelled Mr Aker thus making it clear to everyone that he can no longer claim to be a member of UKIP either as an MEP or a candidate in the Local Government elections?
In the 1950s there was a singing group called the “Platters” and one of their hits was a song titled “The Great Pretender”. With a little tweaking the words could aptly be used to describe the Thurrock Independents Party.
Oh yes we’re the great pretenders
Pretending that we’re doing well
Our needs are such we have to pretend so much
We pretend to be what we’re not (you see)
That’s why we’re the great pretenders.