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Reform UK has secured a majority by 14 seats. 

Reform UK has gained political control of Essex County Council with a total of 53 seats after residents across the county voted on 7 May 2026. 

Now all the votes have been counted, the political makeup of the council is as follows: 

• Reform UK – 53
• Conservative Party – 13
• Liberal Democrats – 5
• Independent – 2
• Green Party – 1
• Labour Party – 1
• Residents for Uttlesford – 1
• The People’s Independent Party – 1

Voter turnout across the county was 43.6%, the highest it has been for decades. 

Visit the Essex County Council website to see the full results for all divisions. 

A record 428 candidates ran for election to Essex County Council in 2026. It marks an almost 25% increase from the 350 who stood in the previous elections in 2021. 

The next annual meeting of the council will be held on 28 May 2026 where a Leader of the Council will be elected in accordance with the council’s constitution.

Cllr Peter Schwier AIEMA

Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction & Recycling

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Essex passengers continue to show confidence in local buses with more people using Essex County Council backed services in the last two years.

A number of the bus services funded by Essex County Council are set to continue following a recent public consultation.

The 41 services under review are some of those Essex County Council currently funds and which together make up around 15% of the bus services delivered in Essex.

These services are provided by the council where there is no commercial service but there is a need to help residents stay connected. Currently around £11 million of taxpayers’ money is spent on council-backed bus services.

Council-funded bus services are kept under regular review to ensure value for money, which is measured at £5 cost to the taxpayer for each journey made by a passenger.

The consultation looked specifically at:

• Continuing services as they are now
• Redesigning services to better reflect how they are used (for example the days of operation, routes, number of journeys and/or the timetable)
• Returning some services to commercial operation.

Following the consultation, 32 of these services will continue and an operator will be found to run them. Many of these services were found to have grown significantly in terms of passenger numbers and usage or are expected to grow further over the next two years.

Of the services consulted on, two services were found not to be financially sustainable as they are underused by their communities. Even with significant taxpayer funding it was deemed unlikely they would become financially viable in the future.

Seven further services were above the levels at which taxpayer support is provided and the commercial operator declined to take them on. There will be another consultation on these nine services proposing their withdrawal.

Essex County Councillor Mark Platt, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport, said:

“Bus services can be a lifeline for many, connecting residents to their local and neighbouring communities, to work and to families and friends. It’s right that we do what we can to ensure these connections remain in place but also balance that against ensuring we are getting value for the taxpayer pounds that support them.

“I’m pleased many of the services we reviewed will be able to continue and provide residents in these communities with a choice around how they travel. For those services we are withdrawing, it is not an easy decision, and passengers will be able to engage with us on this through local consultations.”

Essex County Councillor Laureen Shaw, Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport, said:

“Ensuring residents can rely on safe, accessible and well‑used bus services remains a priority for us.

“The feedback we received through the consultation has been vital in shaping which routes continue, and it’s encouraging to see strong passenger growth on so many services.

“It is difficult to take the decision to withdraw some services, and we know the small number of residents who use them will be disappointed. Our focus now is on supporting routes where demand is increasing and where buses can continue to play an essential role in helping people stay connected to work, education and vital services.

Cllr Peter Schwier  ISEP

Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction & Recycling

Chair, East of England Regional Climate Change Forum

Hedingham Division, Essex County Council

Renewal, Equality & Ambition

Safer, Greener, Healthier

98.16% of primary school age children starting reception in September 2026 offered one of their preferences.

Almost 16,000 parents and carers across the county will find out the outcome of their primary school applications today (Thursday 16 April).

This year, Essex County Council received a total of 15,738 primary school applications.

Of these, 14,218 pupils have been offered their parent or carer’s first preference of primary school. This is 90.34% of the total cohort.

Another 5.58% have been offered second preference of school. This means 95.92% were offered their first or second preference.

In total, 98.16% have been offered one of their named preferences of primary school.

A spokesperson for Essex County Council said: “Starting school for the first time is an important milestone in any child’s life. We wish all children in Essex starting their academic journeys in September every success.

“We continue to invest in creating more primary school places so that as many parents and carers as possible receive their preference of school for their child.”

Those who applied online will receive confirmation by email or by visiting the Essex County Council website.

Cllr Peter Schwier AIEMA, Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction & Recycling

Hedingham Division, Essex County Council, Renewal, Equality & Ambition, Safer, Greener, Healthier

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A new government‑funded Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) has launched today (7 April) in Essex.

The new fund provides support for families and individuals in financial hardship. It also aims to help communities build long‑term financial resilience.

The fund is designed to support residents with urgent needs.

It will cover the below key areas.

• Crisis Payments for low-income households facing urgent financial difficulty.
• Specific funding as needed. Including those facing immediate financial hardship due to increases in heating oil prices and are at risk of losing immediate access to heating or hot water.
• Expanded Resilience Services, including financial guidance and support.

Residents who believe they are eligible for any of this support can apply online or via the dedicated phone line (0300 790 0124) that is run by Southend City Council. Please note this is for anyone in the Essex County Council area.

Apply online or find out more here- If you live in the Essex County Council area – Crisis and Resilience Fund – Southend-on-Sea City Council

The CRF will also provide targeted housing support for those with a temporary shortfall in housing

costs. For this support, residents should contact their local district, borough or city council to find out more.

Cllr Peter Schwier AIEMA

Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction & Recycling

Hedingham Division, Essex County Council, Renewal, Equality & Ambition, Safer, Greener, Healthier

View information about Braintree District Council’s Age Well Fair.

Essex County Council is investing an extra £2.6 million over the next two years. The money will accelerate recent improvements to the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNAs) process.

This is a statutory process conducted by a local authority. It determines if a child or young person up to the age of 25 requires an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.

The new funding will pay for 1,200 extra Education Psychologist (EP) assessments. These will be carried out by a well-established external agency.

It will also increase capacity in the council’s SEND operations and social care teams to co-ordinate the assessment process.

This will help maintain the accelerated pace of assessments. It will also help to clear the historic backlog and prepare the local system ahead of the Government’s SEND reforms.

The backlog has been largely due to a shortage of EP capacity to deliver the EP assessment part of the assessment.

Requests for EHCNAs continue to rise both locally and nationally. In Essex, they have increased year on year. 4,011 requests were received in 2022/23 and 4,572 in 2024/25. Almost 1,900 were submitted between September 2025 and January 2026 alone.

Nationally, the number of Education, Health and Care Plans has also risen by 166% since 2015. This has placed pressure on specialist services across the country.

Over the past year, Essex has significantly strengthened its EP workforce. This includes through recruitment of associate roles, agency support, as well as new ways of working.

Progress has been positive. The current agency contract is delivering all assessments three months earlier than planned. This includes both historic cases and new requests.

This has created an opportunity to clear the backlog sooner than planned. It will also enable the system to move back to ‘BAU’ in a sustainable way.

The council has made several multi-million pound investments to address the timeliness of assessments and increase EP capacity. This has helped to:

• reduce the backlog by more than 40% between July 2025 and February 2026 – Essex now completes more assessments each month than the number of new requests received
• double the number of Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans issued between September and January year on year – from 595 in 2024/25 to 1,201 in 2025/26
• maintain quality through strengthened professional oversight and quality assurance
• expand the EP workforce to include assistant EPs, trainees and associates

Councillor Tony Ball, Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability, said: “This investment is an important step in maintaining the progress we have seen to date. The increased capacity has already made a real difference for families and we want to ensure that continues.

“By acting now, we can keep up the pace, clear the backlog sooner and put the system in a strong position for the national SEND reforms when they come.

“I want to thank all of our colleagues, partners, schools and settings for their continued hard work and commitment to supporting families. Your dedication makes a real difference and doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Cllr Peter Schwier AIEMA

Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction & Recycling

Hedingham Division, Essex County Council, Renewal, Equality & Ambition, Safer, Greener, Healthier

We are pleased to have launched a public consultation on the new draft Essex Safer Speeds Strategy. The consultation starts today (Monday 16 March 2026) and will run for six weeks, closing on Sunday 26 April 2026.

There is more information about the strategy and consultation below.

Essex Safer Speeds Strategy  

Speed is the biggest factor in serious road traffic collisions in Essex. In 2025, 60 people lost their lives on the county’s roads, while many more suffered life-changing injuries. Nearly half of the deaths were related to excess speed. Residents also often tell us they feel unsafe walking, cycling or moving around their neighbourhoods because of vehicle speeds.

To achieve our shared Vision Zero aspiration that no one should be killed or seriously injured on Essex roads by 2040, we need to take steps to manage speeds, improve road design and support safer travel choices.

The new draft Essex Safer Speeds Strategy, which we have developed in partnership with the Safer Essex Roads Partnership, sets out a flexible and evidence-based approach. It will help us introduce safer speeds across Essex, with recommended speed limits decided based on how different streets are used. There will not be a blanket approach. Speed limits will instead be decided on a case-by-case basis, where there is demand for change by local communities.  

Public consultation 

We want to hear the thoughts of people who live, visit or work in Essex on the draft Essex Safer Speeds Strategy. The feedback we receive through the public consultation will help us refine and improve the strategy before it is finalised and adopted later this year.

The six-week consultation is open until Sunday, 26 April 2026. For more information about the strategy and to take part in the consultation, please visit: https://consultations.essex.gov.uk/essex-highways/essex-safer-speeds-strategy

Printed copies of the survey, consultation summary document and full draft strategy will soon be available in main libraries. They can also be requested by emailing saferspeeds@essexhighways.org

We will be joining the Safer Essex Roads Partnership at four of its upcoming Vision Zero community roadshow events, offering an opportunity for people to find out more about the draft strategy and ask any questions. Details are available on the consultation page.

If you have any questions about the strategy or consultation, please email us at saferspeeds@essexhighways.org

Cllr Peter Schwier AIEMA

Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction & Recycling

Hedingham Division, Essex County Council, Renewal, Equality & Ambition, Safer, Greener, Healthier

Additional investment, dedicated crews, and creative innovation saw highways maintenance thrive during 2025/26

Additional investment in highway improvements has resulted in even more repairs being carried out in the last year. 

In 2025/26 Essex County Council committed to carrying out even more repairs and maintenance to keep highways, footways and structures safe.

The works delivered since April 2025, have included:

• 325 resurfacing schemes
• cleansing almost 153,000 gullies
• gritting more than 120,000 miles of road
• repairing more than 12,000 carriageway defects
• 9,300 repairs carried out through the Members Highways Initiative
• 48 schemes delivered via Local Highways Panels.

Innovation has also been at the heart of the road repairs and maintenance delivered in the last year. Many road defects have been repaired by the Roadmender system, which is an alternative method for repairing defects and uses recycled materials.

The graphene trial, where the incredibly strong substance is being trialled in Essex in surfacing materials, is also showing very positive results so far and we believe could help reduce the risk of potholes forming in the future.

As a result of the proactive and innovative approach to highways maintenance, the council was also awarded a ‘green’ rating by the Department for Transport (DfT) for its preventative approach to maintaining roads.

The DfT confirmed this year that funds for road repairs would be boosted, and the Council would receive £168 million for road repairs until 2029/30.

The council is continuing to invest extra funds in its highways repair and maintenance programme in in 2026/27, with an additional £6 million announced to help support the post-winter repair efforts.

Councillor Mark Platt, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport at Essex County Council, said:

“Thanks to the scale of additional investment invested in our roads, and hard work of our crews, this has been one of Essex County Council’s strongest years for road maintenance and innovation.

“From delivering hundreds of resurfacing schemes to pioneering new materials like graphene, we have focused on keeping our roads safe, resilient, and ready for the future.

“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, and we will continue to build on this momentum. Earlier this month we announced an extra £6 million funding for highways repairs and improvements, meaning more money than ever is being spent to maintain our roads.

“This investment will help us build on improvements already made, and help us to continue creating a safer, greener, and healthier Essex.”

Cllr Peter Schwier AIEMA

Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction & Recycling

Hedingham Division, Essex County Council, Renewal, Equality & Ambition, Safer, Greener, Healthier