The resignation of councillors Maria Markham and her son Shane Yerrell mean the Conservatives now have 26 seats – not enough for a majority – with 28 other councillors making up the 54-seat council.
The news was broken on the blog Everything Epping Forest, and was today confirmed to the Epping Forest Guardian by a council spokesperson, despite the authority’s website still listing them as Conservative.
The spokesperson said Cllrs Markham and Yerrell will still proceed under a Conservative body for a period of time.
Cllr Markham, who represents Waltham Abbey South and Rural ward, is the current Waltham Abbey Town Mayor and a member of Waltham Abbey Town Council. Cllr Yerrell, who represents Waltham Abbey West, was the Town Mayor for the two previous years and is also a Waltham Abbey town councillor.
Epping Forest District Council is responsible for housing, planning permission, benefits, licensing, refuse collection and collecting taxes.
Their departure from the Conservative group means that council decisions may now require cross-party agreements, and the council could see a coalition-style arrangement. Plans and initiatives previously pushed by the Conservatives may be delayed.
Cllr Yerrell, whose seat will be up for re-election next May, said he will not be seeking re-election but ruled out standing down and triggering 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.”
Epping has been the focus of national stories recently due to the anti-immigration riots around The Bell Hotel. The council recently lost an appeal after securing a temporary injunction to stop the hotel housing migrants.
Cllr Yerrell, who knows the family of the 14-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by a resident of the hotel, set up a JustGiving in July to raise money for the girl.
In a Facebook post, he said “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”.
