| Election Name: | 2024 Southend-on-Sea City Council election |
| Country: | Essex |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 2023 Southend-on-Sea City Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2023 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Southend-on-Sea City Council election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Seats For Election: | 17 out of 51 seats to Southend-on-Sea City Council |
| Majority Seats: | 26 |
| Image1: | Cllr Daniel Cowan (52096031860) (cropped).jpg |
| Leader1: | Daniel Cowan |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Leader Since1: | 9 May 2023 |
| Leaders Seat1: | St. Laurence |
| Last Election1: | 17 seats, 28.7% |
| Seats Before1: | 16 |
| Seats1: | 7 |
| Seats After1: | 20 |
| Seat Change1: | 4 |
| Popular Vote1: | 12,702 |
| Percentage1: | 31.6% |
| Swing1: | 2.9% |
| Leader2: | Tony Cox |
| Party2: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Leader Since2: | 9 May 2019 |
| Last Election2: | 22 seats, 33.2% |
| Leaders Seat2: | West Shoebury |
| Seats Before2: | 22 |
| Seats2: | 7 |
| Seats After2: | 18 |
| Seat Change2: | 4 |
| Popular Vote2: | 12,406 |
| Percentage2: | 30.9% |
| Swing2: | 2.3% |
| Party3: | Independent politician |
| Last Election3: | 7 seats, 12.3% |
| Seats Before3: | 8 |
| Seats3: | 1 |
| Seats After3: | 7 |
| Seat Change3: | 1 |
| Popular Vote3: | 3,572 |
| Percentage3: | 8.9% |
| Swing3: | 3.4% |
| Image4: | Cllr_Paul_Collins_(51194218875) (cropped).jpg |
| Leader4: | Paul Collins |
| Party4: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Leader Since4: | 13 May 2023 |
| Leaders Seat4: | Eastwood Park |
| Last Election4: | 4 seats, 13.2% |
| Seats Before4: | 4 |
| Seats4: | 1 |
| Seats After4: | 4 |
| Popular Vote4: | 4,351 |
| Percentage4: | 10.8% |
| Swing4: | 2.4% |
| Image5: | Cllr Richard Longstaff (52890594287) (cropped).jpg |
| Leader5: | Richard Longstaff |
| Party5: | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Leader Since5: | 4 May 2023 |
| Leaders Seat5: | Leigh |
| Last Election5: | 1 seat, 9.1% |
| Seats Before5: | 1 |
| Seats5: | 1 |
| Seats After5: | 2 |
| Seat Change5: | 1 |
| Popular Vote5: | 5,434 |
| Percentage5: | 13.5% |
| Swing5: | 4.4% |
| Leader | |
| Posttitle: | Leader after election |
| Before Election: | Tony Cox Conservative |
| Before Party: | No overall control |
| After Election: | Daniel Cowan Labour |
| After Party: | No overall control |
The 2024 Southend-on-Sea City Council election was held on Thursday 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections in the United Kingdom being held on the same day. There were 17 of the 51 members of Southend-on-Sea City Council in Essex up for election, being the usual third of the council.
The council remained under no overall control, but Labour overtook the Conservatives to become the largest party.
Prior to the election, the council was under no overall control, being run by a Conservative minority administration with informal support from some of the independent councillors.[1]
The seats up for election in 2024 were last contested in 2021; because of the delay of all local elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seats are up for election after 3 years rather than the usual 4. In that election, the Conservatives won 11 seats with 40.5%, Labour won 6 with 26.1%, independents won 1 with 13.0% and the Liberal Democrats won 1 with 11.4%.
The council remained under no overall control after the election, but Labour gained four seats to become the largest party on the council.[2] A coalition comprising Labour, the Liberal Democrats and four of the independent councillors subsequently formed to run the council, led by the Labour group leader Daniel Cowan.[3] He was formally appointed as leader of the council at a meeting on 20 May 2024.[4]
| After 2023 election | Before 2024 election[5] | After 2024 election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | Party | Seats | |||
| 22 | 22 | 18 | ||||||
| 17 | 16 | 20 | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | 4 | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| 7 | 8 | 7 | ||||||
| Councillor | Ward | First elected | Party | Date announced | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derek Jarvis | West Shoebury Ward | Conservative | 25 March 2024[7] | ||
| Chris Walker | Eastwood Park | 1997 | Conservative | 21 October 2021 | |
| Steve Buckley | St Laurence | 2015 | Conservative | ||
| John Lamb | West Leigh | Conservative | |||
| Stephen George | Milton | 1999 | Labour | ||
| Mike Stafford | Thorpe | Independent |
Results of the City Council election were released by Southend-on-Sea City Council on 3 May 2024.[8]
Seat changes are compared to the 2023 election and do not take into account interim changes due to by-elections or defections.