WITH the resignation of yet another Maldon District councillor from the authority's Conservative group yesterday (Tuesday, October 6), Maldon Nub News takes a closer look at the political make-up now – and how it was when voters last had their say.

After the local elections of May 2019, there were 17 Conservative Party councillors and 14 Independent councillors.

Since that time, there have been numerous resignations of individual Tory councillors from the Conservative Party group at Maldon District Council (MDC).

The situation as of yesterday - and following the resignation from the Tory group of Councillor Richard Siddall - is that there are just 10 members of the Conservative group at MDC, 14 Independents who have formed a group, two non-aligned Independent councillors and six non-aligned Conservatives, plus one vacancy where a Conservative councillor resigned and left his role entirely.

The 'non-aligned' Conservative label does not mean that those councillors are no longer Conservatives – they remain Conservative Party councillors.

However, they are now not included in the Conservative group at MDC, potentially affecting policy, voting and representation in different council roles.

When MDC holds its Statutory Annual Council Meeting on November 5, key decisions about council leadership and the chairmanship of committees, etc., will be made. This could affect whether or not, for example, the current council leader, Conservative Councillor Elaine Bamford, is ratified in her position until the local elections in May, 2021.

With this shift in the political balance of power at the council – considerably different to how it was when the last local elections took place – it is worth noting that under the Coronavirus Act, no by-elections can be held before May 2021 – at the earliest.