FOLLOWING a swing back to Labour in Thurrock after two by-election victories, it seems the Tories face a real battle to hold on to power in next May's elections.
Sixteen seats will be up for grabs, split evenly between Labour and Conservatives, but the Labour group will now be confident of holding all its existing seats and sense a victory in at least four of the Tory seats they need to win to claim back power.
Currently, the Tories hold 27 seats to Labour's 20 - the other two are held by independent councillors in East Tilbury.
Published Tuesday, December 6, 2005
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