Simon Dedman

Nigel Farage says Reform “will fight” a radical reshape of local government planned for Essex bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

Labour have voted in favour of Harlow Council’s Conservative administration’s budget bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

Epping Forest Council is seeking to appeal a High Court decision not grant an injunction on the Bell Hotel housing asylum seekers. + it wants to appeal paying £95,000 towards hotel owner Somani's legal fees + £66k paying the Home Secretary's legal bill bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

Opposition frontbench full of Essex Conservatives at #PMQs Kemi Badenoch has Mark Francois and Alex Burghart by her side. Priti Patel and Rebecca Harris also front row.

Forced choice head to head on preferred prime minister. 🌹Starmer v.narrowly edges Farage and Polanski but loses to Davey and Badenoch 🌳Badenoch wins all four head to heads 🔶Davey beats Starmer & v.narrowly Farage, but loses to Badenoch ➡️ Farage narrowly beats Polanski and loses to Badenoch & v.narrowly Starmer and Davey 💚Polanski loses to Badenoch & more narrowly Farage & v narrowly Starmer

What is happening with Uber in Southend? The Council has said the driver hailing app is "not banned" from the seaside city. Uber handed it back its license and analysing its own consultation on operating in Southend. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

BREAKING: Essex County Council elections will be going ahead on 7 May. The Communities Secretary Steve Reed wrote to ECC today saying: "on balance, I consider it appropriate that the elections to Essex County Council take place in May 2026”.

Will Elections in Essex get cancelled this year? Three councils: Harlow, Basildon and Thurrock have requested they get 'postponed' to focus on a big shake of local government: 15 councils becoming 3-5. The final decision is the government's... bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

What's coming up politically in Essex in 2026... bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

Thurrock Council says the government will not wipe off all its debt and some of it will transfer to whichever new unitary authority the council is part of after Local Government Reorganisation bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

BREAKING: two senior council sources tell me the mayoral elections in Essex and three other regions are being cancelled next year until 2028. Government will announce tomorrow I’m told

The government has committed £891m for the Lower Thames Crossing. The #Budget says "It's final tranche of government support to enable the private sector to take forward construction and long-term operation" and that it is "the largest roadbuilding project for a generation"

'Don't drag our bar out of business' - show-bar and LGBTQ+ community space in Colchester concerned about its future ahead of next week's #Budget bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

BREAKING: The High Court has rejected the latest legal action brought by Epping Forest District Council to end the use of the Bell Hotel to house asylum seekers. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

🎆 Remember, Remember the 5th of November, well it may have taken some 420 years but Guy Fawkes now has a higher net-positivity score from Brits than any of the party leaders we tested, though a surprising number are 'neutral' on the man who tried to blow up the House of Lords

County council warns of £243m SEND spending gap by 2028 without new policy plan. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

BREAKING: Man jailed for 5 years for threatening to kill Nigel Farage MP on tiktok. Fayaz Khan, 26, made a gun gesture with his hand, pointed to an AK-47 tattoo on his face. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

6 out of 10 young people feel that democracy either 'ignores' them or is 'completely broken'. 7 out of 10 get news from TikTok. This is the official No10 TikTok account. Boris Johnson is still PM & the last video is Larry the cat predicting an England win in the 2021 Euros.

Kemi Badenoch announces "the next Conservative government will abolish stamp duty". This was a pledge last year from her then Essex leadership rival James Cleverly who is now Shadow Housing Secretary.

Parliamentary standards commissioner has quashed a complaint about Nigel Farage's fishing boat: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…