IN what is likely to be perceived by critics as a pre-local election 'bribe', the borough's Labour leadership has announced a £200 million government grant to cut debt at Thurrock Council, but a release disclosing the news appears factually flawed and makes claims that can easily be repudiated.

The overnight announcement from local Labour members, including MP Jen Craft and Thurrock Council leader Cllr Lynn Worrall, comes ahead of an expected announcement in Westminster today (Wednesday, 25 March) detailing how the money will be delivered.

It is not yet clear if it's a one-off payment or part of a further tranche.

In recent days senior members of the council's ruling group, Cllr Worrall and portfolio holder for 'good growth' Cllr Lee Watson took to social media to deny the local authority's debt is climbing.

Senior Cllrs Lee Watson (left) and Lyn Worrall have taken to fighting their corner on social media, including Thurrock Nub News. But they don't always get the facts right

They have stated that the current debt is around £650 million, but in February the cabinet were briefed that the debt is much higher and will top £1 billion again soon and will rise to £1,139,000,000 by March 2029.

The most recent financial report to cabinet last month said:

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News of the grant will cut into that, but with annual borrowing of around £60 million just to cover the existing debt it seems Thurrock will continue to carry a gargantuan debt burden as its future is plotted within the ongoing local government reorganisation (LGR) when it is set to be united with other as yet unnamed councils.

Labour's latest release is here in full:

The Government is announcing a record-breaking £200 million of debt relief for Thurrock Council to put an end to their historic debt

It means that Thurrock residents will no longer be paying the price for Conservative incompetence and dodgy deals

The announcement comes after the last Conservative administration ran up over £1.3billion of debt and bankrupted the council

The Government has confirmed that it will provide £200 million of debt relief support for Thurrock Council.

The support is part of a wider announcement on how Labour is taking direct action to clamp down on poor investments by councils and how Labour is protecting taxpayers from paying the price.

The £200 million is an unprecedented level of support and is in response to the £1.3bn of debt wracked up by the last Conservative administration between 2016 and 2023.

Under the Conservatives the council adopted a Commercial Investment Strategy which exposed Thurrock to increased risk; particularly through their investments with now disgraced businessman Liam Kavanagh. The Conservatives' lack of transparency and oversight means that they failed to acknowledge or take action on the council's growing debt and forced the council to declare bankruptcy in 2022.

Labour has, since taking control of the council in 2024, worked with the UK Government to build a long term strategy to bring down the debt and the council has now recovered over £660million of funding. Labour has also scrapped the Conservatives' disastrous borrow to invest plan and reduced future risk to taxpayers' money.

Labour has also backed an ongoing investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and has delivered increased financial transparency with strengthened scrutiny and oversight so that the council is always accountable for its actions.

Thurrock Labour and local MP, Jen Craft, have welcomed the announcement after campaigning for support for Thurrock since 2023. And they are continuing to call for a full review into what went wrong under the Conservatives and who, if anyone, benefitted from taxpayers' money as well as ensuring that those responsible are held to account.

Lynn Worrall, Labour Leader of Thurrock Council, said: "I am delighted that our Labour Government has listened to our calls to help protect Thurrock residents from the financial problems created by the Conservatives as we move into a new council. It shows that Labour has got Thurrock's back. We all know Thurrock Labour did not create this mess, and we have worked tirelessly over the last two years to get our council back on track.

"I am incredibly proud that since becoming Leader I have helped the council deliver £17.8m of savings in 25/26 with a further £13.9m identified for the coming year, all whilst protecting the services local people want and need, and keeping council tax the lowest in Essex. Our children's and adults services are the envy of many councils and we have kept those standards high despite the failings of the previous Conservative council.

"I'm grateful to the Government for listening to us, and helping us be as strong as we can as we move into a new council. I know there's still a lot to do and today's announcement means we can continue to build on the progress already made under my leadership without the constant shadow of so much debt hanging over us."

Jen Craft, Labour MP for Thurrock, said: "This debt relief is a turning point for Thurrock. Since the Tories recklessly bankrupted our council, local families like mine have seen dramatic increases in council tax and vital services slashed.

"I've been calling for Thurrock's debt to be written off, to put an end to our community paying the price for the failures of the past. 

"Labour has listened and delivered. This financial support means we can finally build the strong council our area needs, so families receive the high-quality services they deserve."

However, the release hides several facts - not least the real state of Thurrock's debt.

It also described the government announcement as 'unprecedented' and 'record-breaking', yet last year the government awarded £500 million to Woking - far less than Thurrock is getting. And the government money in Woking has hardly been the panacea it was claimed, Woking's debt has now risen from £2.16 billion at the time of the grant to a current day £2.6 billion.

Woking is continuing the sell-off of its assets, something that is also happening in Thurrock - and will continue to happen as more assets for future generations are sold off - somewhat undermining Cllr Worrall's claim that Labour has 'got Thurrock's back'.

That's a view shared by Thurrock Conservative leader Cllr George Coxshall who said: "It wouldn't be fair to any new local authority to inherit Thurrock's levels of debt.

"Nonetheless, Thurrock still has a significant way to go to be on stable financial footing.

"Next door, Basildon's Labour Council have run up huge debts, and will only compound the financial pressure should the Government decide to merge the two councils.

"However, this announcement serves as a reminder that the Government can only spend what it collects from taxpayers. When the Labour Government commits to spend taxpayers money, we all will have to pay one way or another."

And while Thurrock's Labour leaders are in almost triumphant mode today, they appear to have forgotten that as recently as last December they were calling on the government to step in with £400 million as a minimum.

And in trumpeting the high standards of adults social care and children's care, Cllr Worrall does not reference recent critical reports of both services - including a damning report on its housing and homeless teams - nor does she mention the planned cuts in both services.

The authority has a savings plan totalling £13.9m, with measures including £2.7m to be cut from adult social care and £1.5m is going from children's social care.