Gavin Callaghan

REGENERATION OR NOTHING x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Worth remembering that today, Sunderland could have finished 7th, or 12th. In premier league money that’s worth £17.5m. Or two Nordi Mukieles if you will. #SAFC

Sunderland voted Reform. Then went back into Europe. What a time to be alive. #SAFC

What a season it’s been. Let’s give it one last push, together. ’TIL THE END ✊❤️

Oh Carlos Edwards. You are the love of my life… Great to meet the man behind the best goal I’ve ever seen scored at the Stadium of Light. European football without touching distance! Ha’way the Lads. ❤️🤍❤️🤍

My message to Reform Councillors in Basildon… It’s not too late to stop the steal. No one voted for the Billericay Tories to lead the council. They voted for Reform to lead it. And they should.

No idea, but my personal view 10 years on is that Brexit has not made this country any richer, safer or nicer to live in. In fact it’s don the exact opposite on every count, which it was always going to. If anyone is still trying to convince others this was a good idea they need to have a wander around places like Makerfield.

@CllrCallaghan @AndyBurnhamGM May I ask, in your opinion, does Mr Burnham want to rejoin the EU? He has said he wants to see Britain in the EU. The working people of Makerfield do not want that issue re opened.

15 years ago I was fortunate enough to work for Steve Rotheram. In that time we spent much of it working on the disclosure of the Hillsborough documents and through it I saw @AndyBurnhamGM up close, working for the families. I saw him behind closed doors, away from the cameras. He was every bit as angry, determined and passionate to reveal the dark underbelly of the state and fight for justice when he was sat in his office at 10pm at night writing a speech, as he was sat in a Sky News studio with the nation watching his every word. When it comes to standing up for the working class, he’s the real deal and the strongest political communicator I’ve seen. I’m looking forward to hitting the doors for him in this hugely consequential by-election. #BackBurnham #VoteLabour

Having promised her residents she’d never elect the Billericay Tories @EileenBrown2007 is about to do the dirty on them. This treachery won’t be forgotten.

I thought @BenObeseJecty was right to call Reform UK’s Sam Journet out for his appalling comments attacking a fallen British soldier last summer. It’s why I’m disgusted that his colleagues in the Billericay Conservative Party are elevating him to be Mayor of our Borough on Thursday. I’ve written to Ben today to make him aware of what his colleagues are doing. Politics aside surely we can all agree that what these Tory councillors are doing is so wrong?

This is not a drill. Reform really have lost the plot before they’ve even started.

@chopperchapman2 They don’t. We both have 12.

@CllrCallaghan Gavin, I do not support Tories (they have been incompetent leaders of Basildon Council previously), however their leadership is just mathematics as have more seats than Labour. Also to make the council work they had to work with Reform. They can and should be held to account.

Billericay Tory Andy Barnes is set to become the illegitimate Leader of Basildon Council on Thursday night, thanks to Reform UK’s surrender deal. He says he wants to end the division and be a Leader for the whole borough. I don’t believe him. Here’s why… #Conservetive #Reform #Labour #Basildon #politics

The Billericay Tories are about to vote for a Reform UK councillor and someone who openly mocked the death of a British soldier to be the Mayor of Basildon. This man would preside over Armed Forces Day and Remembrance Sunday, taking the salute from our veterans and forces community. This morning I’ve written to the Shadow Defence Secretary @jcartlidgemp, @KemiBadenoch and @JamesCleverly to make them aware of what Cllr Andy Barnes is up to in Basildon. Whatever our political differences, surely we can agree that this is totally wrong @Conservatives?

So Reform UK refuse to have an investigation into Russian interference in their party, and the first thing they do running @Essex_CC is to remove the Ukrainian flag… Go figure…

Hung councils + inexperience = paralysis. Whatever shape or form Basildon Council takes next Friday morning after the AGM, I sincerely hope that the progress that we made in cleaning up the borough, regenerating the town centres, building new council homes, creating the SEND forum and supporting local businesses, continues. Without clear and accountable political leadership, the councillors will get played. Trust me.

A) we have a massive housing crisis where my generation can’t get homes because supply has been pitiful, so I’ll always back housebuilding. B) SW Essex council will be one of the economic powerhouses of the country. The government has already wiped £200m of the legacy Thurrock debt and has said it will wipe more if necessary so the idea Thurrock is in loads of debt is factually wrong.

On planning Applications you were as bad as the Tories, beholden to the developers and happy to agree green belt sites first! Also why did you support merger with Thurrock given their massive debts which Government will not meet in full?

We governed by all by ensuring every bin on every street in every town was collected every week. We also governed by all by ensuring every streetlight in every street in every town was on all night. We also passed new planning applications for all 5 towns. And yes, the South got more TLC on regen because it’s been neglected for 30 years.

@CllrCallaghan So would it be fair to say though that your division of Borough between north & south of A127 explains how you governed Council. Namely favour South and disadvantage north of A127. Yet you were meant to govern for all. Hopefully your view of council reorganisation will fail too!

A week on from the local elections where Labour and the Tories had a devastating night in Basildon and Britain, and only one party seems to have realised. Across the Basildon borough, no party lost more votes last week than the Tories. Two years in from their worst set of elections results in 25 years in 2024 and they lost a further 13% of their vote. Meanwhile Labour’s vote actually grew in Lee Chapel North, Fryerns, St Martin’s, Nethermayne and Langdon Hills as a result of the public backing the regeneration programme. In Laindon and the Pitsea seats, Labour’s vote remained roughly similar to where it was in recent years despite this being a difficult night nationally for Labour. The Billericay Tories are sleepwalking into oblivion and they don’t seem to realise. With 9 in 10 votes cast for anyone but the Tories in seats south of the A127 many people are asking how on earth Reform UK are planning to gift them the council with their surrender deal. This is going to go horribly, horribly wrong very, very quickly. #Basildon #Labour #Conservative #Reform #election

Under Labour, NHS waiting lists are falling, ambulances are arriving faster, there are more GPs, and higher patient satisfaction. Lots done, lots to do. The Health Bill will boost the impact of our investment and modernisation: cutting bureaucracy to invest in patient care.