Thurrock residents could soon be hit with an 8% increase in council tax as the local authority attempts to close its budget gap.
The Government has granted the cash-strapped council permission to increase council tax by 10%.
This week, after announcing the proposed 8% rise, Cllr Jefferies said he had ‘resisted pressure’ to go to 10%, prompting the Labour group leader John Kent to tell the BBC that the leader ‘appears to be selling this as good news’.