Conservatives Win Two Essex Council Seats in By-Elections, Defeating Reform UK

The Conservative Party claimed two council seats in Essex by-elections held on Thursday. Danielle Belton secured over half of the votes for the Sweyne Park and Grange seat on Rochford District Council, marking her return to the council chamber.

Her husband, Stuart Belton, simultaneously won the Rayleigh West seat on Essex County Council. In this contest, Reform UK was relegated to third place, trailing the Liberal Democrats.

Danielle Belton, who previously served as council leader before losing her seat in May, secured 56% of the vote with a turnout of 37%, a notably high figure for a by-election. She commented that the result demonstrated the area's unwillingness to be 'used as a stepping stone for opportunist Reform members'.

These losses will not alter the power dynamics within either authority. Reform UK maintains a majority on Essex County Council with 52 members and is expected to continue as a minority administration on Rochford District Council, holding 12 of 39 seats.

The by-elections were necessitated by the expulsion of Stuart Prior from Reform UK, days after he won his seat in the local elections. Campaign group Hope Not Hate accused Prior of making racist and Islamophobic social media posts, which he denied to the Daily Mirror. Peter Harris, the Reform leader at Essex County Council, acknowledged that Prior's selection 'looks like' a mistake.

Separately, the Liberal Democrats retained the Springfield seat on Essex County Council, with Richard Lee succeeding the late councillor Mike Mackrory.