TWO councillors have been elected to Essex County Council for the Rayleigh West and Chelmsford Springfield divisions.

The Rayleigh West by-election was called following the resignation of Reform UK’s Stuart Prior. The Chelmsford Springfield election was postponed from 7 May 2026 following the death of Liberal Democrats candidate Mike Mackrory.

The results for Rayleigh West were as follows with a turnout of 31.9%:

Stuart Belton, Conservative Party: 1,515 votes
James Newport, Liberal Democrats: 1,262 votes
Denise Martin, Reform UK: 1,046 votes
Liam Edward Lonergan, Green Party: 225 votes
Jamie Clive Burton, Independent: 117 votes
Stephen James Cooper, Labour Party: 85 votes
Mike Webb, Independent: 35 votes
The results for Chelmsford Springfield were as follows with a turnout of 39.3%

Richard John Lee, Liberal Democrats: 3,203 votes
Tomy Sebastian, Reform UK: 1,616 votes
David John Wilkinson, Conservative Party: 723 votes
Christopher Mark Rees, Green Party: 216 votes
Adam Kenningham-Brown, Labour Party: 110 votes

The political make-up of Essex County Council is as follows:

Reform UK – 52
Conservative Party – 14
Liberal Democrats – 6
Independent – 2
Green Party – 1
Labour Party – 1
Residents for Uttlesford – 1
The People’s Independent Party – 1