Occasional Nub News columnist and well-known political commentator in the borough, PETER PERRIN, was at the count for Thurrock Council's election on Thursday night/Friday morning and here he delivers his verdict on the outcome.

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I attended the counting of votes and the declaration of the results on Thursday/Friday 5/6 May 2022.

I was immediately struck by the contrasting mood of the Conservative Party and the Labour Party.

It was a night that, in my opinion, clearly demonstrated the resolve of the Conservatives and the despondency of Labour.

The Prime Minister concedes it was a bad night for Conservative councillors, with the loss of 340 seats nationally.

This trend was not reflected in Thurrock, on the contrary Labour ended up with one less seat than they started.

It pains me to say this, if Thurrock Labour cannot make gains in accord with the national trend, albeit the main beneficiary of the gains in England being the Lib/Dems, then they need to take a critical look at themselves and ask why.

Thurrock Labour's problem is not due to bad leadership, John Kent has provided years of strong leadership many of them as leader of the council. I believe the problem is one of poor management from the chairman down. It is time for Colin Ricks and his ilk to depart and be replaced with a more dynamic, enthusiastic and determined management.

In contrast the Conservatives ran a high profile campaign both on the doorstep and leafletting.

At the count they made their presence felt. They were loud, in your face, supportive of each other, especially their candidates. They were superbly organised by Ben Gadsby who has been in the role for many years and doesn't seem to age a bit. Some councillors who lost their seats will be sorely missed and should be commended for their service such as Bukky Okunade and David Day. I congratulate the winners and wish them well:- Srikanth Panjala (Lab), George Coxshall (Con), Sarah Muldowney (Lab), Martin Kerin (Lab), Lynn Worrall (Lab), Robert Gledhill (Con), Benjamin Maney (Con), Paul Arnold (Con), Barry Johnson (Con), John Allen (Ind), Susan Shinnick (Lab), Stephen Liddiard (Lab), Alex Anderson (Con), Elizabeth Rigby (Con) and James Halden (Con).

I cannot congratulate Qaisar Abbas who defected from the Labour Party to the Conservative Party simply out of pique at being deselected as a Labour candidate. His treachery, dishonesty, lack of integrity, opportunism and deception is unforgivable. I make special mention of Clifford Holloway who many times has been the bridesmaid rather than the bride but has done so with good humour and always put up a good fight, this time against Ben Maney a well established Conservative councillor.

A special thank you to Cllr Lynn Worrall for being the one Labour brave smiling face. Lynn you made my despondency on the night a little easier to bear.