THE Tories increased their grip on Southend Council with the shock defeat of veteran councillor Reg Copley in St Luke's ward.
The blue tide came close to also gaining the scalp of Denis Garne in Kursaal ward, who only held on to the town centre seat by the slimmest margin of four votes.
The intervention of Green and English Democrat Party candidates could well have distorted the result.
Adrian Key, the English Democrat spokesman in Southend, forced the Liberal Democrats into fourth place.
In addition, there were six spoilt ballot papers in the ward, which could possibly have swung the election.
Overall, it was a night of celebration for the Conservatives in Southend once again.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article