A FULL recount will soon be starting for the tightly-contested South Basildon and East Thurrock seat.

Candidates were sent home and Thurrock Civic Centre was closed at 6am this morning as it was confirmed a full recount would take place at 2pm this afternoon.

It is understood the seat was tightly-contested between Reform candidate James Murdock and Labour's Jack Ferguson. 

What were the South Basildon and East Thurrock results in 2019?

In the 2019 General Election, Stephen Metcalfe held his seat with a 19,922 majority, winning 29,973 votes. This was his largest ever majority, after winning with 26,811 votes in 2017, 19,788 in 2015 and 19,624 in 2010 when the seat was created.

The full results in the 2019 election were:

  • Stephen Metcalfe (Con) HOLD - 29,973
  • Jack Ferguson (Lab) - 10,051
  • Kerry Smith (Ind) - 3,316
  • Michael Bukola (Lib Dems) - 1,957

Why is a recount taking place?

After the initial count had finished at around 4am, Labour called for a bundle recount and Labour claimed "several mistakes" had been identified.

Adele Brown, Labour councillor and Deputy Leader of Basildon Council, said: "It's very obvious that numerous mistakes have been made.

"From a ballot paper for the Thurrock election being found to numerous bundles having the wrong party within them that affected not just Labour, but other parties.

"It showed that enough mistakes had been made that we could not trust the integrity of the count. The attorney has made the correct decision and one we have been pushing for."