The local elections are three weeks away and candidates are preparing to battle it out for seats across 16 of the borough’s 20 wards.

Ahead of the elections each party has outlined what they are promising to do for you if you give them your vote at the ballot box.

Conservatives

In the past three years Thurrock Conservatives have turned the council’s budget around from a £30m deficit into a balanced budget, with surpluses for the next 3 years. We cannot forget that for six years Labour ran the borough down, blaming the government. But with the same money, no extra cuts and a Council Tax freeze this year we have started to turn the borough around.

Voting for local Conservative councillors will give us the opportunity to carry on with our clean it, cut it, fill it campaign, deliver the 4 new integrated medical centres, an improved Grays hospital, build hundreds of new Council homes and put more police on our streets, as well as deliver our £1m Kerb It plan.

We have a proven history of bringing more jobs, infrastructure and school places to Thurrock. We will continue to oppose the location of the proposed Lower Thames Crossing and insist that before developers build more housing they put the infrastructure in first.

Thurrock Independents

The Thurrock Independents are fielding a record number of candidates. We offer Thurrock a profound change from self-interested national political parties who treat running Thurrock Council like some sort of game. We offer independent candidates who have only one concern, the wards they represent and the people who live there.

Conservatives have been a disaster in government. Conservatives running Thurrock Council are addicted to raising taxes and spending your money poorly. However, when you need the help from the Council are often met with cold indifference.

We offer real change. A Council in control of its finances but offering a more human customer experience. We will stop the Tory plans to concrete over Thurrock, protect the environment and take action to deal with the law and order crisis.

If you want real change, then vote for it. Vote Thurrock Independents on May 2 for a brighter future for Thurrock.

Liberal Democrats

In Thurrock, May’s Tories and Corbyn’s Labour have badly let people down. They are working together and stitching up budgets that do not deliver for our communities and they are not listening to people – on anti-social behaviour, on town redevelopment or on the state of our streets.

Many people tell us that someone has never knocked on their door before to find out what they think about the future of our towns. That is not good enough.

The Liberal Democrats demand better. Thurrock Liberal Democrats want more engagement with local people all year around, we want stronger local services and better schools, and we want sustainable housing development that works for everybody in Thurrock.

Anything else is less than people in our borough deserve.

British Union & Sovereignty

For many years now Britain has been shutting down under the Labour and Conservative parties, and nowhere is that more evident than in local government. Nowadays council tax only ever goes up but local services continue to face cuts and closure. David Bradshaw, our candidate for Belhus Ward, will be campaigning to retain services at Orsett Hospital which has already been hit with partial closure.

It’s not fair to expect people to travel to Basildon or Broomfield hospitals; it can take several bus journeys which can be very difficult for the elderly and infirm.

While this goes on at the local level we are paying billions every year to Brussels, and now May wants to make us a colony of the EU. We support getting out the EU and rebuilding our country: Sovereign, Industrial, United, Democratic and Functional; like the Britain that we used to know.

Labour Thurrock

Labour councillors are committed to our local communities; we listen to our residents and work hard to give them a voice.

We believe in communities. We believe we achieve more when we stand together, and we work for the benefit of the many, not the privileged few.

We will not spend £10 million pounds of your money on swanky new offices for councillors. Instead we will use this money to fund the things our community really needs.

Including a focus on making our streets safe and tackling anti-social behaviour, continue to fight the closure of Orsett Hospital, new housing that meets the needs of our people, rejuvenating our high streets and enough school places for all our children.

The Green Party

The Green Party says that a vote for them will put decisions “firmly in the hands of democratically elected councillors, and the communities they represent”.

Their pledges for local government include more devolution of powers to parish and town councillors, as well as residents.

The group also pledges to create a committee system for governance, which the party considers to be “more democratic” than a cabinet system.

The party also puts a focus on preserving open spaces and ensuring that planning policy protects the environment.

Road safety is also a priority.

The party’s election statement sets out a vision for a “more equal, compassionate area that protects the vulnerable, provides decent homes, education, and health services for all”.

There is also a pledge to “recognise the right of future generations to be protected from the ravages of climate change and environmental degradation”

Nationally, the Green Party supports scrapping education watchdog Ofsted.

UK Independence Party

Two candidates will be standing for the party that has become known for its strong stance on Brexit and they are continuing their campaign.

The party states that “local elections are about local issues but many local issues are governed by national policies” and that is why their top priority is the full withdrawal from the EU.

They believe that if voters elect as many UKIP councillors as possible in May it will “send an earthquake to the establishment”.

Changes to the council would include the introduction of referendums for major decisions that affect the community, more investment in the police to tackle gang related crimes and a promise to keep council tax as low as possible.

Incentives would also be introduced to ensure that empty homes are re-used.

Council salaries will also be reassessed to ensure that council bosses do not receive salaries above £100,000.