After all six of his candidates were re-elected to Havering Council yesterday, Cllr Jeffrey Tucker, leader of the Independent Resident’s Group, has thanked Havering’s voters for their continued support.

Cllr Tucker was re-elected in Rainham and Wennington with 1,387 votes, more than 350 more votes than the second-placed councillor, who was another of his group’s candidates.

Speaking to the Recorder, Cllr Tucker admitted the result had made him particularly emotional.

He said: “At the end of this term I will have been a councillor for 20 years, undefeated, and that means a lot to me.

“To get all six of my candidates in is absolutely fantastic, but I have to give credit to all the independents who stood against us, particularly Sue Ospreay, and the Labour Party, who fought a really good campaign.

“Most importantly I want to thank the members of the public who came out and supported me.

“It really means a lot and now I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in to the next four years representing them.”

The veteran councillor also came out on top in a Recorder poll conducted on the back of this paper’s Facebook Live hustings, which was attended by representatives from all parties bar the Conservatives.

He gained 41pc of the vote with his nearest challenger, Lorraine Moss of the Harold Hill Independent Party, earning 16pc.

Cllr Tucker added: “Going online the next day and seeing such positive comments from the hustings and seeing I was first in that poll really made a difference.

“I was beginning to get a bit worn down by politics but that gave me a boost at a really crucial point.”