OCKENDON councillor Russell Cherry has taken on a new portfolio in Thurrock Council's cabinetwhere he has taken on the portfolio for 'Veterans, Enforcement and Environment'.

Cllr Cherry, a former long-serving Metropolitan Police officer who was injured in the line of duty, is already a member of the Essex Police Fire and Crime Panel and serves on the Thurrock Community Safety Partnership.

He is the current chair of the Planning Committee.

Cllr Cherry is something of a political veteran in Thurrock, having been a leading light in UKIP's successes in the brough in the middle of the last decade.

Cllr Cherry, a former branch secretary for UKIP, is the most experienced local councillor within the Reform ranks, having previously served in Chadwell St Mary for UKIP after his election in 2015.

He was among a number of disaffected UKIP members who formed the Independent Group but did not defend the Chadwell seat in 2019. He returned to the hustings in May 2023 when he was a losing candidate for the Independents in the Little Thurrock Rectory ward, beaten by the Conservatives' Tom Kelly. Ironically, he now sits alongside Cllr Kelly, a defector from the Tories, as a cabinet colleague.

He returned to the council in a by-election in Ockendon in May 2025 when he and fellow Reform member Alan Benson became the first members of the party to be elected in the borough and both held the seat in 'all out' elections in May this year.

Reform's council leader Cllr Richard Bingley said: "This new role will help to provide a greater focus on some key areas of work that we know are important to residents.

Download our Nub News App!

- It’s FREE and available now
- Breaking news notifications
- Your Town in Your Pocket

"Cllr Cherry has the right experience and expertise to lead in these areas and help push forward on our agenda of restoring pride in the borough."

Cllr Cherry is no stranger to rolling up his sleeves and helping in a clean-up!

Cllr Cherry, who has a record for pursuing environmental matters and has worked alongside litter-picking groups to clear up rubbish-strewn areas, said: "I look forward to taking on this important Cabinet role.

"Making sure that our public places are something that we can all be proud of and making sure that the selfish few whose actions and behaviour impact on those places and the people who live there are stopped and brought to justice is something that matters as much to me as it does to all residents.

"It is also important that we continue to recognise the debt we owe to those who have protected our freedoms by serving in the armed forces. This role will allow me to ensure that debt is honoured and our gratitude expressed."