Basildon Borough Council's Conservative Group have held their Annual General Meeting
Councillors welcomed two new members into the Group and elected Group Officers
The Conservative Group of Basildon Borough Council held its Annual General Meeting on Monday night at the Basildon Centre and celebrated retaining control of Basildon Council at the recent local elections. Councillors also took the opportunity to welcome two new members into the Group; Cllrs Dr Sam Gascoyne (Pitsea North-West) and Alex Myers (Wickford Castledon).
The purpose of the Group AGM is to elect Group Officers and Cllrs Andrew Baggott (Burstead) and Kevin Blake (Burstead) were elected Leader and Deputy Leader respectively. Councillor Baggott has led the Conservative Group since 2018 and served as Leader of Basildon Council from 2018 to 2019 and again since 2021.
Councillor Blake was previously Deputy Group Leader from 2014 to 2020. The outgoing deputy, Cllr Anthony Hedley, received the thanks of the Group for his service over the past two years.
Cllrs Baggott and Blake
A ballot was also held to select the Conservative Group nominees for the mayoralty and Cllr Luke Mackenzie (Pitsea South-East) has been selected as the Group nominee for Mayor, with Cllr Yetunde Adeshile (Vange) selected as the Group nominee for Deputy Mayor.
Councillors Mackenzie and Adeshile will be formally nominated for the positions at the Annual Meeting of Basildon Council scheduled for May 26th for election by the Full Council. Councillor Mackenzie has represented Pitsea South-East since 2018 and served as Deputy Mayor under the outgoing Mayor, Cllr David Dadds, since 2021. Councillor Adeshile has represented Vange since 2021 and served in the last municipal year as Vice-Chairman of the Communities and Well-Being Committee and of the Enforcement and Public Order Committee.
Mayor Dadds also received the thanks of the Group for his exemplary service as Mayor of Basildon, particularly his charitable fundraising.
Cllrs Mackenzie and Adeshile
Cllr Stuart Allen (Crouch) was also reconfirmed as the long-serving Group Secretary.
Councillor Baggott will be presenting an Order Paper at the Annual Meeting on May 26th, formally re-establishing the Cabinet System of governance and will outline the Conservative programme and policy priorities for the 2022-3 municipal year and appoint his Cabinet.