Essex
English county; LGR priority area, Reform UK county council target, mayoral election postponed to 2028.
Last refreshed: 10 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Will Reform UK take Essex County Council on 7 May 2026?
Latest on Essex
- Will Reform UK win Essex County Council in 2026?
- Elections Etc projections place Essex as one of three eastern county councils likely to flip to Reform UK control on 7 May 2026.Source: Elections Etc
- How many unitary authorities will Essex have after local government reorganisation?
- MHCLG decided on 25 March 2026 that Essex, Southend and Thurrock will become 5 new unitary authorities.Source: MHCLG
Background
Essex is a ceremonial county in the East of England comprising Essex County Council and twelve district and borough councils, plus the unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock. On 25 March 2026, MHCLG announced that Essex, Southend and Thurrock will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities under the 2024-2026 Local Government Reorganisation programme.
The combined Greater Essex combined-authority mayoral election, originally scheduled for 7 May 2026, was postponed to May 2028 by MHCLG on 16 February 2026 — one of four DPP mayoral elections pushed to 2028. Essex County Council is one of three eastern county councils (with Norfolk and Suffolk) projected to flip to Reform UK control on 7 May 2026 per Elections Etc modelling. Thurrock remains under government commissioners following its £1.5bn Section 114 failure.
Essex is the highest-profile Reform UK target outside the north of England: a county council gain here on election night would hand the party its largest authority by population and a flagship for their governing competence claim. Councillors elected on 7 May serve a term that LGR will cut short; the five new unitaries will absorb their work before 2028, making this a transitional administration by design.