A candidate for the Kursaal ward seat turned down the chance to run as the Conservative contender because he found his ‘lower class background’ to be incompatible with the party’s ideology. In October 2010, local conservatives ran a vote within the Kursaal ward, which they branded an ‘X Factor style’ competition. Local residents were...
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By Rachel Charman After a successful local election, the Conservatives have increased their majority by two seats. There are now 27 Conservatives, 12 Liberal Democrats, seven Independents, four Labour councillors, and one non-aligned Independent councillor. Labour lost two seats; one in the Kursaal ward, and one in St Lukes. Both seats were lost to the Conservatives. The Liberal...
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By Rachel Charman 13.50pm: Conservative Sally Carr takes St Luke’s from Labour with 1197. In second place was Paul Van Looy, independent, with 1164, and in third, Labour’s Mike Royston, with 1051. Lib Dem Brian Ayling took 601; the BNP’s Fenton Bowley took 300; Len Lierens of UKIP took 229; and The Green party’s...
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Take a peek at one of the closest election nights in years, here in Southend.
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By Rachel Charman Conservative candidates David Amess (Southend West) and James Duddridge (Rochford and Southend East) have both held on to their seats with clear majorities. James Duddridge took 19,509 votes, out of a total of 41,631. Labour’s Kevin Bonavia came in second with 8,459, with Liberal Democrat Graham Longley in third place with...
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By Rachel Charman 4.01am: A somewhat poetic comment from Matthew Zarb-Cousin, Labour candidate for Thorpe ward, regarding Conservative council leader Nigel Holdcroft during the verification of the local ballots: “Holdcroft arched over the table like a man playing roullette with his life savings. Could be our local Portillo moment.” 3.56am: David Amess has just...
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By Rachel Charman 6.30pm: Got a phone call from a Conservative volunteer who is working with Maria Caunce, Milton candidate, telling me that Caunce and her team were moved on from Westcliff Station by C2C staff. “I think he was having a bad day,” the volunteer says. Their team is heading to HQ to...
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