THERE has been yet another shift in the political balance of power at Maldon District Council today (Thursday, 22 October) after the two non-aligned Independent councillors joined forces with the Independent group.

Councillors Kevin Lagan and Chrisy Morris sat outside the main Independent group at the authority until now - and their move means that the group now numbers 15 as opposed to the nine members still aligned to the council's Conservative group.

Just yesterday, Councillor Karl Jarvis left the Conservative group to join the ranks of the non-aligned Tories.

The figures at MDC now stand at:

Conservative group: 9 members

Independent group: 15 members

Non-aligned Conservatives: 6

Vacancy :1

This comes as a potentially crushing blow to the Conservative group, whose leader, Councillor Elaine Bamford, is currently serving as council leader. The authority's Statutory Annual Meeting, now just two weeks away on Thursday, November 5, will elect who council leader will be going forward, as well as deciding on the membership of committees.

Councillor Wendy Stamp was elected as leader of the Independent group last Thursday and it now appears likely that she could be a strong contender for the council leadership role.

The political make-up of council committees is also a crucial issue, as all key decisions are made through the members sitting on these.