Tories lose control of council after three quit

Rochford District Council is now in no overall control after three Conservative councillors quit the party

The Conservatives have lost control of a council in Essex after three councillors quit the party.

Rochford District Council has now moved into no overall control with the Tories in charge, but as a minority administration.

Two of the party's councillors are sitting as independents, while a third also left in recent weeks.

Council leader Simon Wootton admits the defections were because of “dissatisfaction” with his leadership.

The Conservative group now has 19 councillors out of 39 on the authority.

On Facebook, one of the councillors who left the Conservatives, James Gooding, said: "I felt that I could no longer agree on the direction this group was taking and no longer support decisions being made."

His wife and fellow councillor Julie Gooding, who also quit the Conservative group, said she "concluded my own values do not align with the party".

Councillor Jo McPherson says she will sit as a non-aligned Conservative on the council and will vote in the best interest of her residents.

Rochford will be "on a knife edge" in May’s local elections, according to one Essex Conservative.

The authority has had a majority Conservative administration for 20 years.

Tuesday night’s budget brought by the Conservatives only passed after Liberal Democrat councillor Jim Cripps voted in favour.

But his party colleague James Newport said the Liberal Democrats have serious concerns over the budget, including an £4.2m asset delivery programme to redevelop council property to be sold off which he says has no business plan.