So, we find ourselves looking at a new political landscape after a General Election that was, for any Conservative, and by any measure, painful.
It would have been naïve of any Conservative to have expected anything but a defeat; but the extent of Thursday’s losses were perhaps more punishing than any of us had feared.
The extent of those losses were, I suspect, fuelled in part by protest votes garnered by Reform candidates. The Reform candidate for our constituency hailed from Frinton and admitted at our local hustings that she had never visited our town before the election was called.
Nor had ‘our’ Labour candidate for that matter.
It was, however, reassuring to see Sir John Whittingdale returned to parliament, albeit with a much reduced majority. He’s served our constituency – and the nation in his various Cabinet roles – well for many years. I frequently support his local constituents’ surgeries at Club Woodham and many residents speak highly of the support he’s provided them.
Elsewhere, I was saddened to see Vicky Ford lose her Chelmsford seat. Vicky has worked tirelessly for Chelmsford, securing funding for the Army & Navy replacement and the new railway station at Beaulieu.
I wish Marie Goldman well in her new role. Vicky Ford will be a tough act to follow; and it’s fair to say that meetings of Chelmsford City Council and Essex County Council won’t be the same without her.
It’s now back to ‘business as usual’. I will be attending a meeting of Essex County Council on Tuesday, followed by a Town Council committee meeting that evening.
Local councillors at at all levels, are focussed on the needs of their communities and while, at District and County Council levels, we align ourselves in political groups, we didn’t party during lockdown, we simply got on with the business of running our County.
Now, as anyone who knows me will know, I’ve been a petrolhead since my early teens, and it’s time for the British Grand Prix.
Cllr. Bob Massey