Reform UK wins three out of four seats in Maldon District, as Tories lose control of Essex County Council
- Ben Shahrabi
- May 8
- 3 min read
ESSEX County Council elections have seen three out of four seats won by Reform UK in the Maldon district.
A total of 28 candidates competed to represent one of Maldon's four divisions on the county council in yesterday's elections.
However, results announced today saw losses for both the Conservatives and Labour across Essex, with gains for Reform UK.
With a majority of 14 seats on Essex County Council, Reform UK took power from the Conservatives, who have been in control for 25 years.
Stuart Clarke (Ref) won Maldon Rural North with 41.6 percent of votes, while Justin Jay (Ref) won Maldon Rural South with 42.64 percent.
Samuel Cousins (Ref) was elected to represent Maldon Town and Heybridge, with 33.02 percent of votes.
However, Wendy Stamp, independent Essex councillor for Burnham and Southminster, retained her position with 41.19 percent of the vote. She was the only candidate to be re-elected.
"Sense of community"
Mrs Stamp told Caroline Coastal she was “thrilled” to have been re-elected by residents.
She said: “I do not take it for granted. They know I work hard and will continue to do so, for my residents,” she added.
“They turned out in huge numbers to send a message of how important local democracy is for Burnham on Crouch and Southminster. A sense of community is clearly demonstrated by the support I received rather than for a national party.”
Although Mrs Stamp says she is proud to stand as an independent candidate, she promises to work closely with the newly-elected Reform UK councillors.
She said: “I have worked with all political parties and individual elected members for the benefit of our community and our residents, no matter what the challenges we are faced with.
“I pride myself on working so closely with others and wait to see how Reform will deliver for their residents as stated in their leaflets.”
Across the country, Reform UK gained more than 890 local authority seats, while the Green Party gained 179 seats.
Labour and the Conservatives suffered significant losses, losing 680 and 425 seats respectively.
"A truly historic shift"
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who is MP for Clacton, described it as “a truly historic shift in British politics”.
"This is a big big day. Not just for our party but for a complete reshaping of British politics in every way," he said in Havering this morning.
View the full results for the Maldon District below:
Maldon Rural North
ELECTED - Stuart Clarke (Reform UK: 2613 votes / 41.60%)
Mark Frederick Lewis Durham (Conservative Party: 1890 votes / 30.09%)
Isobel Doubleday (Green Party: 799 votes / 12.72%)
Nick Spenceley (Liberal Democrats: 677 votes / 10.78%)
Helen Wightwick (Labour Party: 303 votes / 4.82%)
Turnout: 47.33%
Maldon Rural South
ELECTED - Justin Jay (Reform UK: 2699 votes / 42.64%)
Jane Lisa Fleming (Conservative Party 1761 votes / 27.82%)
Linda Joan Haywood (Independent: 855 votes / 13.51%)
Richard Jonathan George (Green Party 352 votes / 5.56%)
James Eley (Liberal Democrats: (302 votes / 4.77%)
Mark Geoffrey Bassenger (Independent 200 votes / 3.16%)
Felix Preston (Labour Party: 161 votes / 2.54%)
Turnout: 47.89%
Maldon Town and Heybridge
ELECTED - Samuel Cousins (Reform UK: 2083 votes / 33.02%)
James Burrell-Cook (Conservative Party: 1644 votes / 26.06%)
John Driver (Liberal Democrats: 1513 votes / 23.98%)
James Reece-Ford (Green Party: 479 votes / 7.59%)
Kevin Lagan (Independent: 411 votes / 6.51%)
Stephen Capper (Labour Party 179 votes / 2.84%)
Turnout: 44.95%
Burnham and Southminster
ELECTED - Wendy Stamp (Independent 2354 votes / 41.19%)
Nigel Betts (Reform UK 2255 votes / 39.46%)
Gary Alan Duce (Conservative Party 566 votes / 9.90%)
Simon Robert Mills (Green Party (259 votes / 4.53%)
Jackie Brown (Labour Party 142 votes / 2.48%)
Robert Jones (Liberal Democrats 139 votes / 2.43%)
Turnout: 44.24%
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