Conservatives romp home in Tendring as Ukip vote collapses at county council election

All eight divisions in Tendring were held by the incumbent parties, resulting in six seats for the Conservatives.

Labour’s Ivan Henderson held on to the Harwich seat and Independent Colin Sargeant also retained his Clacton East seat.

Ukip won two seats in the 2013 election, although lost one in a subsequent by-election to the Tories and the other when Tendring Rural East councillor Andy Erskine defected.

Tory candidate Mr Erskine retained his seat with 2,388 votes compared to Ukip candidate Jeff Bray’s 1,035 votes.

Mr Bray said it was a disappointing night for the party but denied the result signalled the end of Ukip as a political force in the area.

Ukip's vote across all eight divisions in Tendring collapsed from 9,774 votes in 2013 to just 5,361. The Conservatives increased their share from 10,308 votes in 2013 to 16,888.

“It was a very good night for the Conservatives,” said Mr Bray.

“But there was a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding out there – so many people asked me if they should be voting for Theresa May.

“To have a General Election called in the middle of a county council election campaign has caused confusion.

“It was a disappointing night for Ukip – we were coming from a long way back and weren’t expecting to win a seat.

“This is not it for Ukip – we still have a lot more to do. We need to stop the Government backsliding over Brexit and we have been an effective opposition at Tendring Council.

“We could have been an effective opposition at County Hall, but now the Conservatives will have carte blanche to do what they like.”

Conservative councillor Carlo Guglielmi held his Tendring Rural West seat with an increased majority.

He said: “I’m over the moon – it has been an amazing night and I would like to thank everyone who has put their trust in us.

“The Conservative Party is united at the moment and people like the message from Prime Minister Theresa May.

“I think people trust us to provide the stability to deal with today’s problems, including at a local level. I’m humbled to be a part of that success story.

“I think this is the end for Ukip – the bubble has burst for them.”

Labour group leader Ivan Henderson retained his Harwich seat with 2,427 votes, compared to Conservative Ricky Callender’s 1,374 votes.

Mr Henderson said: “It has been a disappointing night for me having seen some councillors that I have worked alongside lose their seats in Harlow.

“The positive side was that I retained my seat – we have a great team in Harwich and have worked very hard.

“I think this election was quite unique. In all my 30 years in politics, I have never seen a situation where you are fighting a local election alongside a General Election and I think that was quite confusing and distorted the vote here.

“But we have seen the collapse of Ukip – it will be interesting to see how that plays out at General Election.”

Colin Sargeant held on to his Clacton East seat and remains Tendring's only independent county councillor.

He said: "I think people value actions rather than words and we concentrated on the things we have done rather than on what we are going to do.

"I will work with any group if it's good for Clacton East.

"It's all about potholes, street lighting and dogs' mess.

"It might sound boring, but all the surveys show that those are the things people are concerned about with local government - and all we are is local." 

The Liberal Democrats and the Greens failed to win any seats in the Tendring area.

Overall, the Tories now hold 56 of the 75 seats available in County Hall after making significant gains in the polls and building on the 44 seats they had previously held.

Results:

Brightlingsea: Alan Goggin (Con) 2,490*, Gary Scott (Lib Dem) 1,318, Frank Belgrove (Lab) 628, Ben Smith (Ukip) 602, Bev Maltby (Green) 205.

Clacton East: Colin Sargeant (Ind) 1,906*, Chris Amos (Con) 1,458, Mark Stephenson (Ukip) 705, Robert Porter (Lab) 440, Kane Silver (Lib Dem) 82, Sally McAteer (Green) 74.

Clacton North: Andy Wood (Con) 1639*, Samantha Atkinson (Lab) 725, Andrew Pemberton (Ukip) 724, Barrie Coker (Lib Dem) 125, David Davis (Green) 73.

Clacton West: Paul Honeywood (Con) 1,805*, Dan Casey (Lab) 874, Roy Raby (Ukip) 619, Sean Duffy (Lib Dem) 157, Steven Kelly (Green) 88.

Frinton and Walton: Mark Platt (Con) 3,066*, Terry Allen (Tendring First) 1,332, Andy White (Lab) 616, Richard Everett (Ukip) 563, Susan Clutterbuck (Green) 192, Simon Banks (Lib Dem) 131.

Harwich: Ivan Henderson (Lab) 2,427*, Ricky Callender (Con) 1,374, Aaron Hammond (Ukip) 725, Owen Bartholomew (Lib Dem) 106, Paul Clutterbuck (Green) 88.

Tendring Rural East: Andy Erskine (Con) 2,388*, Jeff Bray (Ukip) 1,035, Maria Fowler (Lab) 762, Matthew Bensilum (Lib Dem) 279, Chris Southall (Green) 212.

Tendring Rural West: Carlo Guglielmi (Con) 2,668*, Maison Urwin (Lab) 552, Rain Welham-Cobb (Lib Dem) 536, Mary Newton (Ukip) 388, Duncan Gordon (Green) 340.

* = Denotes elected councillor