Gavin Callaghan, the former leader of the Labour group and of Basildon Council has stepped down as the ward councillor for Pitsea North West with immediate effect: Gavin Callaghan steps down from Basildon Council – Echo – 11.06.21. Callaghan released a statement about his sudden resignation on social media (well, what a f**king surprise!) citing his reasons as: “spending more time with family and pursuing other interests both at home and abroad.” Here’s a little reminder about some of his ‘other interests’: What a tangled web they weave – September 1, 2018.

The comments in the Echo piece are interesting, particularly this one:

GoingNowhereFast 11th June 6:26 pm

“A decent journalist would now be doing some serious digging to see what can be uncovered. I somehow don’t expect a report in the Echo.”

Based on how Callaghan conducted himself during his period as a councillor and as leader of the council, we think that the people of Basildon will be able to draw their own conclusions about his sudden departure. A departure that will probably not come as a surprise to a lot of people. It certainly didn’t come as a surprise to us!

We’d love to be able to say good f**king riddance to this chancer and hope that this would be the last time we were ever obliged to write about him. However, we’ve got a gut feeling that he’ll need an eye kept on him given some of his ‘other interests’.

Anyway, there’s going to be a by-election in Pitsea North West. Once the details emerge of the runners and riders, we’ll be commenting on the proceedings…