THE borough will take to the polls tomorrow (Thursday, 5 May) when 16 seats on Thurrock Council are up for grabs.

Only two of the 16 contested seats will have more than two candidates, meaning the election is largely a local shoot-out between the ruling Conservative Group and Labour.

There are two independent candidates. Non-aligned John Allen is hoping to win a seat back on the authority where he was a former UKIP and Indepednent Grouop councillor before losing his seat last year. .He goes up against incumbent Labour councillor Bukky Okunade and the Conservatives' Jordan Ali.

In Stanford and Corringham Conservative Alex Anderson will be attempting to hold his seat against the challenge of Thurrock Independents' Ross Byrne and Labour's John Cecil.

The full list of candidiates is:

Aveley & Uplands

David Day* (Conservative)

Srikanth Panjala (Labour)

Belhus

George Curtis Coxshall (Conservative)

Mark Hurrell (Labour)

Chadwell St Mary

Gavin Holland (Conservative)

Sara Muldowney* (Labour)

Grays Riverside

Martin Christopher Kerin* (Labour)

Obi Obi-Njoku (Conservative)

Grays Thurrock

Joanne Swash (Conservative)

Lynn Worrall* (Labour)

Little Thurrock Blackshots

Clifford John Holloway (Labour)

Ben Maney* (Conservative)

Little Thurrock Rectory

Robert Gledhill* (Conservative)

Aaron James Green (Labour)

Ockendon Paul Arnold (Conservative)

Ruth Clapham (Labour) OrsettBarry Johnson* (Conservative)

Gary Watson (Labour) South ChaffordAbbie Akinbohun* (Conservative - previously elected as Labour)

Sue Shinnick (Labour) Stanford East & Corringham Town Alex Anderson * (Conservative)

Ross James Byrne (Thurrock Independents)

John Cecil (Labour)

Stifford Clays

Mark Hooper (Labour)

Elizabeth Rigby* (Conservative)

Homesteads

Jacqueline Dobson (Labour)

James Halden* (Conservative)

Tilbury Riverside & Thurrock Park

Jordan Ali (Conservative)

John Arthur Allen (Independent)

Bukky Okunade* (Labour) Tilbury St ChadsSteve Liddiard* (Labour)

David Morgan (Conservative)

West Thurrock @ South Stifford

Qaisar Abbas* (Conservative - elected as Labour)

Dave Harris (Labour)

Whatever the outcome of the voting, unless Labour could spring a major surprise and win several seats regarded as Tory strongholds as well as hold all their own and win back two seats where candidates defected, it is likely the ruling Conservative administration will retain control of the council. Going into the elections the Conservatives hold 30 seats and have a majority of 11. There are three Thurrock Independent Group councillors and one independent.

You can find out more about the election and where polling stations are via this link to the council's website.

Nub News will be attending the count, which is likely to run into the early hours of Friday morning and we will post results, as they happen, on the website.