Residents in Grays will vote in two by-elections on Thursday, 23 July after Thurrock council reform UK resignations from the Grays Riverside and Grays Town wards. The contests fill two council seats after Reform councillors stepped down just days after May's 'all out' elections.
The ballot brings immediate pressure on two separate wards. Pauline Weir is standing for the Green Party in Grays Riverside, while Amin Hoque is Labour’s candidate in Grays Town and has said he has lived there for 16 years.
Grays Riverside and Grays Town
Weir said she wants to hold the council to account and focus on the council’s debt. She said: “If I am elected I shall insist that this mandate from the Riverside electorate means I replace one of the Reform UK councillors on the Corporate Oversight and Scrutiny.”
She also said: “When Reform UK took control of the council in May, they took the chair and control of all of Thurrock's Oversight and Scrutiny committees. Given the history of Thurrock it is wrong. This committee has nine Reform UK councillors, and the only two Conservatives on the council. How is this scrutiny?”
That setup leaves the Riverside contest linked to committee control as well as the seat itself. If Weir wins, her stated aim is to take one of those scrutiny places, not just one of the ward’s council seats.
Labour in Grays Town
Hoque said: “I've lived in Grays Town for 16 years! Humbled by the opportunity to serve my neighbours on the council.” He also said he is focused on safer streets, protecting green spaces, improving local services and supporting families through the cost-of-living crisis.
Jo Potter is also contesting a Grays seat for Labour. She said: “I'm working hard to win this seat back for Labour and send a loud message that voters are backing our message of hope and rejecting Reform's divisive rhetoric.”
For Labour, the Grays votes offer a chance to recover ground after the May contests. For residents, the immediate choice is narrower: two wards, two seats and one polling day.
Conservatives and Reform
Srikanth Panjala is the Conservative candidate. He joined the Conservatives after losing his Labour seat in Aveley in May and said: “I am committed to being visible, accessible, and accountable throughout my time serving residents.”
Reform is fielding Jason Mitchell in one of the Grays contests. The party also has a recent benchmark in the area: John Pearson finished third behind two Conservative candidates in West Thurrock and South Stifford in May.
Chloe Anderson, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on becoming the borough’s first Green councillor in May by 17 votes. That margin leaves Grays Riverside as a tighter race than a routine by-election, and it is one reason the ward is drawing attention now.
The result will decide who represents Grays Riverside and Grays Town after the resignations, and whether the balance of those seats shifts away from the party that took control of the council in May.
