Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0South Basildon and East Thurrock was decided by 98 votes in 2024
Grays is run by Thurrock Council. Reform UK has a majority on Thurrock Council. Most of Grays is in Thurrock (MP Jen Craft, Labour); 1% of residents are in South Basildon and East Thurrock (MP James McMurdock, Independent).
£2,255
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Grays’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Thurrock Council
Reform UK holds a majority on Thurrock Council: 43 of its 49 seats as elected. Labour holds 4, the Conservatives 2. Who’s in charge ↓
A close seat
James McMurdock (Independent) won South Basildon and East Thurrock by 98 votes in July 2024, 0.25% of votes cast: the 8th-narrowest result of 543 in England. Parliament ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Grays is £2,255 for 2026–27; Thurrock Council keeps 84% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 62% in ten years, against England’s 56%. Council money ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and MHCLG council tax.
Who holds the seats
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 25 of Thurrock’s 49 seats to run the council alone.
- Reform UK43
- Labour4
- Conservative2
Latest election: May 2026.
Seats are counted from election results: each ward’s most recent winners until its seats are filled. Councillors who have since changed party or resigned aren’t reflected, and which parties lead the council, and who is leader, comes from the council itself.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), elections since May 2021; seats per ward from its EveryElection.
The councils that run Grays
One council runs every main service here.
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
All of Grays is unparished: there is no parish or town council, so the council runs local matters itself and no parish precept is added to the bill.
Councils from ONS lookups (wards and councils May 2026, parishes 2025), names and websites from GOV.UK’s local council finder; parish councils from MHCLG’s 2026–27 list of precepting parishes.
From the council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Grays, from the most recent elections.
- 1Thurrock Council6 wards · 14 councillorsReform UK 14 · Labour 2 · all 16
- 2Police and crime commissionerEssex Police · elected May 2024Roger Charles Hirst
- 3House of CommonsSplit between 2 constituencies
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. Tap an MP’s name for their contact page on parliament.uk.
14 councillors for 6 wards
Wards with at least 2% of the town’s residents, or half their own inside it. Each shows who won its most recent elections, newest first, until its seats are filled.
- Amin HoqueLabour · July 2026 · by-election
- Milena BingleyReform UK · May 2026
- Michael Kevin ShakespeareReform UK · May 2026
- Marc StanleyReform UK · May 2026
- Jo PotterLabour · July 2026 · by-election
- Darren DennisReform UK · May 2026
- Joe SoperReform UK · May 2026
- Catalin-Daniel FarcasReform UK · May 2026
- Steven PesterReform UK · May 2026
- Robert Percy WilloughbyReform UK · May 2026
- Marion CherryReform UK · May 2026
- Eddie StringerReform UK · May 2026
- Richard BingleyReform UK · May 2026
- Bill MumfordReform UK · May 2026
- Peggy DaviesReform UK · May 2026
- Stephen DaviesReform UK · May 2026
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grays Townall in Grays · 11,375 residents3 seats · July 2026, May 2026 | 3 | Amin Hoqueby-electionMilena BingleyMichael Kevin ShakespeareMarc Stanley | July 2026, May 2026 |
| Grays Riversidemostly in Grays · 10,652 residents3 seats · July 2026, May 2026 | 3 | Jo Potterby-electionDarren DennisJoe SoperCatalin-Daniel Farcas | July 2026, May 2026 |
| Little Thurrock Blackshotsall in Grays · 7,420 residents2 seats · May 2026 | 2 | Steven PesterRobert Percy Willoughby | May 2026 |
| Little Thurrock Rectoryall in Grays · 6,899 residents2 seats · May 2026 | 2 | Marion CherryEddie Stringer | May 2026 |
| Stiffordmostly in Grays · 6,414 residents2 seats · May 2026 | 2 | Richard BingleyBill Mumford | May 2026 |
| Chafford Hundred East16% in Grays · 1,254 residents2 seats · May 2026 | 2 | Peggy DaviesStephen Davies | May 2026 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Thurrock Council’s website lists who sits now.
Results from Democracy Club’s candidates database (CC BY 4.0; elections since May 2021) and ward seats from its EveryElection, matched to ONS wards (May 2026) and county divisions (May 2025).
Thurrock council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Grays, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
6 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Grays’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗7,425 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
5,903 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
4,742 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Every ward’s result (3 more)
3,826 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
3,954 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
3,721 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Grays is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
99% of Grays’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 51% (England 60%).
Majority 6,474 of 37,558 votes (17.2%): wider than in 60% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Independent, MP since 4 July 2024
1% of Grays’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 54% (England 60%).
Majority 98 of 39,549 votes (0.25%): the 8th-narrowest of 543 in England.
37,558 votes for candidates · majority 6,474
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 37,558 votes from 73,392 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 6,474 of 37,558 votes (17.2%): wider than in 60% of England’s 543 constituencies.
South Basildon and East Thurrock
39,549 votes for candidates · majority 98
Independent, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 39,549 votes from 72,673 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 98 of 39,549 votes (0.25%): the 8th-narrowest of 543 in England.
MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate.
Grays’s Band D council tax is £2,255 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Thurrock Council keeps £1,886.85 of a Band D bill (84%); the rest goes to the Essex Police and the Essex PCC-Fire.
Band D since 1993
Thurrock’s Band D bill has risen 62% in ten years, from £1,389.24 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £549.00 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Thurrock, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Essex’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included; the 11 nearest of 14. Bars start at £2,100.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Essex
| Thurrock | Grays’s councils | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £405 | £473 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £349 | £217 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £51 | £51 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £90 | £45 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £120 | £127 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £35 | £47 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £-4 | £19 | £26 |
| Public health | £101 | £67 | £78 |
| Running the council | £69 | £69 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £4 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,216 | £1,118 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Essex and England: all their councils together. Police, fire and transport authorities aren’t included.
Band D: MHCLG Band D council tax 2026–27 (each authority’s own figure, excluding parish precepts) and Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils 2026–27; since 1993–94, MHCLG’s area averages including parishes.
Having a say in how Grays is run
It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.
gov.uk ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
thurrock.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
thurrock.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Grays is run
Does Grays have a town council?
No. Grays is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Grays?
Grays is split between 2 constituencies: Thurrock (Jen Craft, Labour) and South Basildon and East Thurrock (James McMurdock, Independent). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Grays have?
14 ward councillors represent Grays’s 6 wards.
When are the next elections in Grays?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Grays’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Grays?
Band D council tax in Grays is £2,255 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Thurrock Council?
Reform UK has a majority: 43 of 49 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Grays?
In Grays’s wards on 7 May 2026, Reform UK 14 of the 14 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 44.4%.
Is South Basildon and East Thurrock a marginal seat?
James McMurdock (Independent) won it by 98 votes in July 2024, 0.25% of votes cast: the 8th-narrowest result of 543 in England.
Sources: ONS ward, county division, parish, constituency lookups (Census 2021 output areas; Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates (CC BY 4.0) and EveryElection · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · MHCLG Band D council tax, parish precepts and Revenue Account budgets 2026–27 (OGL v3.0) · ONS mid-2025 population estimates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.