The resignation of councillors Maria Markham and her son Shane Yerrell has left the Conservatives with 26 seats, falling short of a majority, as there are 28 other councillors in the 54-seat council.
This news was first reported on the blog Everything Epping Forest and was confirmed to the Epping Forest Guardian by a spokesperson from the council, even though their website still lists both as Conservative members.
The spokesperson noted that Cllrs Markham and Yerrell will continue to serve under the Conservative banner for a while longer.
Cllr Markham represents Waltham Abbey South and Rural ward. She is currently serving as Waltham Abbey Town Mayor and is also part of Waltham Abbey Town Council. Cllr Yerrell, representing Waltham Abbey West, was Town Mayor for two previous years and serves as a town councillor in Waltham Abbey.
Epping Forest District Council oversees housing, planning permissions, benefits, licensing, waste collection, and tax collection.
Their exit from the Conservative group means that decisions made by the council may now need agreements between different parties, potentially leading to a coalition-style setup. Plans previously championed by Conservatives might face delays.
Cllr Yerrell’s seat will be up for re-election next May. He mentioned he won’t run for re-election but has ruled out resigning to trigger a by-election.
He told Everything Epping Forest: “I was elected to serve the people of Waltham Abbey, and that duty does not change because of my political affiliation.
“My commitment is to residents first and foremost. Calling a by-election would cost taxpayers money unnecessarily, and I believe my time is better spent working hard for the community.”
Lately, Epping has been in national headlines due to anti-immigration riots at The Bell Hotel. The council recently lost an appeal after having secured a temporary injunction aimed at preventing the hotel from housing migrants.
Cllr Yerrell knows the family of a girl who was sexually assaulted by someone residing at the hotel; he started a Just Giving campaign in July to raise funds for her.
In a Facebook post, he expressed that “the situation over the last couple of months has caused a lot of divide. Both locally and nationally,” but “after much consideration” he is going to “step away from party politics.”
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