Local Elections are here - Vote Conservative on May 6th to help Basildon Build Back Better!

This Thursday, Basildon residents will elect their representatives to Essex County Council, a third of Basildon Borough Council, and elect their Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

On Thursday, Basildon Borough will go to the polls for the first time in over a year, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. You are being asked to elect our nine local councillors to Essex County Council, as well as our Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Essex. You are also electing fifteen councillors to Basildon Borough Council and the outcome of that vote will decide who governs Basildon Council.

For the Essex PFCC election, you are allowed to express a first and second preference and we ask that you use your first preference vote to re-elect Roger Hirst, who is investing in more police, targeting crime hotspots, increasing patrols, supporting special constables, and cracking down on violent offenders and drug gangs.

We ask that you support your local Conservative county candidates, listed below, to ensure we are sending a strong Conservative team to represent our Borough at County Hall, keeping taxes low and securing more investment in our schools, GP surgeries, roads and pavements and adult social care.   

Closer to home, Basildon Conservatives are hoping to regain control of Basildon Council, which has been governed by an alliance of Labour and their so-called 'Independent' allies since 2019. Their Administration has been shameless in using the cover of the pandemic to push through disastrous plans across the Borough, including monster tower blocks for Basildon Town Centre, closing Laindon Community Centre, stalling on projects in Pitsea like the new swimming pool at Eversley, whilst cancelling entirely the Innovation Warehouse that had been earmarked for Wat Tyler Park, withdrawing funding from Billericay, and breaking promises in Wickford, such as building on Wick Green, all the while dodging scrutiny by both councillors and the voting public.

In February, Basildon Conservatives moved a fully-costed Alternative Budget. Although this was voted down by Labour and their Independent backers, our Alternative Budget was a statement of intent and outlines the key policy aims of an incoming Conservative Administration and can be summarised thus:

• Keep the tax burden on Basildon residents as low as possible (we proposed a 2% cut in Council Tax, which was signed off by the Council's independent chief financial officer as deliverable and sustainable).
• Scrap the Alliance's disastrous plans for Basildon Town Centre and immediately re-consult residents on a sustainable regeneration plan, with adequate Infrastructure First.
• Maintain weekly bin collections - Conservatives blocked Labour attempts to introduce fortnightly collections. [Absurdly, they are claiming we would move to monthly collections - this is just a lie]
• Drop the financially risky £8m 'Youth Zone' for Basildon Town Centre in favour of direct investment in youth services across the whole borough, including dedicated youth outreach workers.
• Stop Labour plans to merge Basildon with Thurrock. We will not support any naval-gazing changes to local government unless and until the people of Basildon are properly consulted.
• Continue our policy of direct investment in additional policing for Basildon and zero tolerance on fly-tipping and enforcement.
• Freeze fees and charges on halls, parks and cemeteries/crematoriums (rejecting Labour's pandemic 'death tax').
• Deliver a borough-wide car parking feasibility study to identify opportunities to increase parking provision across the borough.
• Invest in estates regeneration, including zero carbon and fuel poverty measures and improvements to halls and community centres and re-open Laindon Community Centre.
• Keep social rent rises in line with inflation and reject Labour's inflation-busting rent hikes on social tenants, providing additional support for those who are struggling.                

You can read full details of the rejected Conservative Alternative Budget here.

Additionally, Basildon Conservatives will:

• Vigorously oppose the proposed Pitsea Incinerator (which, contrary to Labour and Independent lies, is being put forward by a private company and not by Essex County Council) and will fight it at every stage - Please sign our petition here.
• Following our successful campaign to keep Fryerns and Vange libraries open, continue to improve libraries services and invest in new stock.
• Safeguard green space - claims by our opponents that we want to build on parks are entirely untrue. We would make additional investment in our parks and open spaces, all over the Borough, and fight Labour plans to decommission over 50 local play areas.
• Cut outrageous waste at the Basildon Centre, such as the grotesque £150K in taxpayers' money spent by the Labour leader on a plush new office for himself and more than £2,000 on a portrait.

For more ward-specific local policies, please contact your local candidate(s) directly or feel free to email info@basildonconservatives.com. We would love to heard from you and hear your priorities for our borough.

Support your local Basildon borough candidates

Billericay East - Stuart Sullivan | Billericay West - Phil Turner | Burstead - Richard Moore

Crouch - Stuart Allen | Wickford North - Carole Morris

Laindon Park - Kevin Wingfield | Lee Chapel North - Deepak Shukla | Fryerns - Sandeep Sandhu

St Martin's - Davida Ademuyiwa | Vange - Yetunde Adeshile | Pitsea North-West - Stuart Terson | Pitsea South-East - Gary Canham 

Langdon Hills - Chris Allen & Charlie Sansom | Nethermayne - Mark Cottrell

Support your local Basildon county candidates

Billericay & Burstead - Anthony Hedley & Richard Moore

Wickford Crouch - Tony Ball & Malcolm Buckley

Laindon Park & Fryerns - Jeff Henry & Andrew Schrader

Pitsea - Luke Mackenzie & Craig Rimmer

Westley Heights - Charlie Sansom