A FORMER Brentwood Tory councillor turned Talk TV host has returned to politics as the first Reform UK member on the borough council reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
The Hutton South ward by-election was won by Councillor Russell Quirk last night (Thursday, October 2) following the sad death of previous incumbent Councillor Mark Reed, who died in July this year and had held the seat since 2009.
Councillor Quirk’s 805 votes – totalling 46 per cent of the vote – overturned the 51 per cent that Councillor Reed won for the Tories in 2024.
The council remains without an overall majority for any party and stays under the control of the Liberal Democrats and Labour coalition.
Previously a Conservative councillor, Mr Quirk left the Tories to join the Brentwood First party and, in 2014, helped oust his former party’s administration from control of the council.
The 57-year-old, who was last in Brentwood Borough Council in 2015, still cites his successful attempt to prevent the administration at the time from selling its town hall headquarters for redevelopment as one of his major accomplishments while a councillor.
He said: “We have just overturned a massive Conservative majority. We have decimated the Conservative vote in Hutton South; this isn’t just Reform winning its first seat in Brentwood.
“This is indicative of the map of Essex. If the Conservatives can’t hold one of their safest seats in Essex, then this should send a message to the Conservative hierarchy that they are finished. We have just parked Reform tanks on Kemi Badenoch’s front lawn.”
He added he hoped to make a difference in the council chamber.
He added: “I will be proposing proper intelligent alternatives that are better for the people at Brentwood. The interesting thing will be how many people support me I know my onions, and I’m going to make sure decisions are properly scrutinised and are made for the right reasons.”
Full Results:
Thomas Bridge (Conservatives) 544
David Hale (Green Party) 66
Brenner Munden (Lib Dems) 109
Russell Quirk (Reform UK) 805
Jonathan Saunders (Labour Party) 234
