The Thurrock Independents Party has given their support to Labour after the party called for an extraordinary meeting to discuss the closure Orsett Hospital.

Both parties have fiercely objected the NHS’ decision to close the hospital but have been struggling to put their political differences aside.

In a sign that they may have found some common ground, councillor Luke Spillman, leader of the Independents, said his party “backs” Labour’s call for a special meeting using a little-known provision in the council constitution.

The meeting, known as a Themed Meeting, would focus entirely on the hospital’s closure and be the first time such a meeting has been called by the council.

Mr Spillman said: “It’s quite clear that the consultation was far from satisfactory. There are now serious question marks surrounding previous promises to retain all of the services.

“I met with the Thurrock Labour leader, Councillor Gerrish, on July 13 to discuss how our two parties can cooperate to fight the closure.

“It has become clear to me that there is no plan, at present, in place to save the hospital.”

Mr Gerrish opposes the closure because he says it is unclear how and where services will be delivered. He hopes that a meeting will give more clarity to this issue and will allow councillors and the public to “debate, discuss and ask questions”.

He said: “I have been very clear - I believe the fight to keep Orsett Hospital open should go on. The decision in early July makes it much more difficult to win, but we cannot just give up. In addition to fighting to keep Orsett Hospital open, we must ensure that all promises made through the process are kept - for example that Orsett Hospital would not be closed on the quick while we are still waiting for the hubs to become fully operational.”

The closure of Orsett Hospital is supported by the Conservative administration, who believe that it will be beneficial for the borough.

Under the NHS proposals, four new medical facilities will be built across Thurrock, Brentwood and Basildon and all services provided by Orsett will be transferred to these centres before the hospital closes.

Tom Abell, chief transformation officer for the mid and south Essex sustainability and transformation partnership (STP), has also promised that all services used by Thurrock residents will remain in Thurrock.

Those guarantees have done little to reassure residents and an online petition calling for it to remain open has gained almost 2,000 signatures. A protest group on Facebook named Orsett Hospital Closure has also gained more than 1,300 followers.

Members of the public will have an opportunity to give further feedback on the decision when the CCG joint committee forms the People’s Panel - a public engagement group that will ask residents to provide feedback on where medical facilities are located.

If the council agrees to the Themed Meeting, Labour expect it to take place sometime between August and September.