A THURROCK councillor who was among the first of the current group of elected members to change from the party they were elected to represent has announced she will be seeking re-election under her new party's banner.

East Tilbury councillor Sue Sammons blazed a trail for Independent Group members joining the Conservatives in 2018. The Conservatives came third in the election, almost 500 votes behind her.

Her switch was her second in a year, having been elected in 2016 under the UKIP flag. Like all the UKIP members in the council in 2018 she became a founder member of the Independent Group.

Then came a defection to the Tories when she said: "I need to do the best for the people of East Tilbury, and that means sitting within the Conservative Group.

"The Conservative Council are investing heavily in East Tilbury education, saved our medical centre from closure, and have been working hard to put more police on the streets.

"Now that I sit within the party running the council, I am in a much better position to be a strong voice for the community in which I live and serve on the council.

"We have serious local issues and we need better infrastructure, and that's what I've been working on and now will be in a better position to do so."

At the time of her defection the Independent Group said: "Last week Cllr Sue Sammons came to us tell us that she had been approached by Cllr Halden and asked to join the Conservative Party.

"However, she reassured us that she would never join them because she did not agree with Conservative values.

"It was therefore somewhat of a shock to receive a call from Cllr Sammons today informing us that she was joining them."