By Lewis Berrill @LewisBerrill Chief reporter - east London and west Essex
(From to left to right) LRA councillors Chris Pond, Rose Brookes, Judy Jennings, David Wixley, Caroline Pond and Michael Owen. Photos: Epping Forest District Council Essex County Council has a new official opposition group – and it is led by Cllr Chris Pond of the Loughton Residents Association (LRA). Cllr Pond was the only non-Tory to win a county council seat on May 6, picking up 66 per cent of the vote in Loughton Broadway. On the district level, his group excelled as the LRA marked 40 years of existence by dominating the vote in all seven of the town’s wards.