WE usually don’t spend too much energy on this ward. A safe Tory seat. However, this year, it might be different.
The Labour candidate is giving it everything. Vikki Hartsean’s presence both on the doorstep and on social media has been noted.
The incumbent happens to be the Tory leader of Thurrock Council, Mark Coxshall.
Councillor Coxshall’s policy since becoming leader in the middle of the financial crisis is to give it Uriah Heap levels of humility mixed with “shocked I tell you what was going on” which has led to critics asking if the phrase “officers advise, members decide” an iron law with a little Asterix denoting “apart from Thurrock Tories”.
Whether voters buy it or not is another matter. Their council tax has gone up by over 10% and their council is in tatters. People may not know who Sean Clark or Lyn Carpenter is but they know what their council tax bill looks like or a bin that hasn’t been emptied.
In previous years, the Conservatives have won by over 500 votes. We think they will hold on.
Cons Hold
