THERE has been mixed reaction to the planned changes to local government announced by Communities Secretary Steve Reed yesterday (Wednesday, 25 March).

Thurrock and Basildon councils are to be merged into a new South West Essex Council – even though the financial benefits from the two debt-ridden councils and the combined population figures fail to meet previous government expectations.

The idea of local government reorganisation was to create more financially robust councils with a minimum population of half a million people.

The combined population of Thurrock (175,900) and Basildon (187,700) is 363,600, massively short of what the government previously decreed was an essential figure – and the combined current debt of both councils is around £2 billion – a figure expected to rise over the next three years.

While Basildon championed the merger with Thurrock, its southern neighbour was against it – preferring an amalgamation with Brentwood, Epping and Harlow. Despite a huge amount of work put in by Thurrock Council to promote that idea (though no other council supported it), its preferred option fell on deaf ears.

The government has confirmed Essex will move to five new unitary authorities. From April 2028, subject to parliamentary approval, the new councils will be:

• West Essex Council – Uttlesford, Harlow and Epping Forest   
• North East Essex Council – Braintree, Colchester and Tendring  
• Mid Essex Council – Brentwood, Chelmsford and Maldon  
• South West Essex Council – Thurrock and Basildon  
• South East Essex Council – Castlepoint, Rochford and Southend on Sea  

However, things could still change. Essex County Council is reportedly very unhappy with the dispersal of responsibility as it is abolished and has said it may call for a judicial review.

Despite the glaring anomaly between previous statements about how the county should be divided up, Mr Reed said the proposed five unitary proposal "best met the criteria overall," highlighting strong local support from ten of the 15 affected councils and saying the structure reflects "sensible geographies" rooted in key urban centres.

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He added the changes would help councils meet local housing needs, deliver services more effectively and provide a stronger foundation for future devolution, which will include elections for a new county-wide Mayor in 2028.

Essex is clearly one of the 15 that does not show 'strong local support' and others may be considering challenges. Its Tory leader Kevin Bentley, who spearheaded the proposal for three authorities, said his teams would consider a legal challenge against the government's decision.

He added: "We will look at all the legal options to see what is possible. I think this decision is about party politics over people."

How the county is to be split up with five new councils and an over-arching mayor.

Among those who have condemned the government's selection is Thurrock Conservatives' leader Cllr George Coxshall, who said: "I am hugely disappointed with the government's decision. This is not the right decision for Essex, and this is not the right decision for Thurrock.

"Thurrock and Basildon have some of the highest debts in Essex. The government announced £200m of debt relief yesterday, but this does not allow the new authority to start on a good financial footing. 

"The new authority will be too small and financially trapped on Day 1 - unable to deliver for the people of Thurrock or Basildon.

"This is a missed opportunity. We could have had a South Essex council along the Thames, from Thurrock to Southend, which would provide the strategic vision we need to unlock the unique potential we have with the Thames. However, yet again under Labour this decision shows the lack of  strategic vision they have for Essex."

Cllr Lynn Worrall, Labour leader of Thurrock Council, acknowledged the council had favoured a four unitary model but said it would work constructively to deliver the Government's preferred structure.

"The support offered by the Government to significantly reduce Thurrock's debts will help," she said, adding that all five new authorities would need to work hard to ensure long term financial sustainability."

The spokesperson for Thurrock Council's five strong non political independent group, Cllr Neil Speight, said: "This is a real pig in a poke. Labour came up with a scheme based on numbers and an even distribution of responsibility but then backs council unions that don't meet that criteria.

"Yet another U-turn from a Labour leadership that has lost its focus and in Thurrock the Labour upper echelons favoured a madcap scheme that nobody else wanted, instead of concentrating on a strong and viable union with our Thames neighbours along the estuary.

"Now we have two cash-strapped councils sellotaped together in an unhappy union that makes little sense and offers no cogent financial plan. The lunatics really are running the asylum!"

However, Basildon Council, which favoured the five unitary proposal, welcomed the decision, though with a guarded response about debt.

Its Labour leader Gavin Callaghan said the model preserved community identity while strengthening local leadership.

But, despite his own council's predicted debt set to rise to around £800 million, he stressed Basildon taxpayers would not shoulder the cost of Thurrock's financial failure, noting the Government's commitment to debt relief.

Shadow elections for the new unitary councils are expected in May 2027, with the authorities becoming fully operational in April 2028. Until then, existing councils will continue to deliver services as normal.

Elections are due for both Thurrock and Basildon councils – and across wider Essex - and the local political picture could change radically with Reform UK tipped to do well. That adds another dimension to the future as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said he prefers the current network of councils.

"We should fight against this. I think that to maintain overall the presence of an identifiable county council is the right way to go."

Last week, while campaigning in Corringham ahead of the local elections Mr Farage said: "The idea that you take the county of Essex, you carve it up into a series of unitaries, you then impose a mayor upon it – nobody here has asked for massive local government change.

Nigel Farage in Corringham last week.

"I think the danger is that you get rid of the county council... and you begin to lose a sense of what Essex as a county is."

He said Reform UK would try to put a stop to local government reform.