Essex County Council’s Tory leader Kevin Bentley, who spearheaded the proposal for three authorities, said his teams would consider a legal challenge against the government’s decision.
“We will look at all the legal options to see what is possible. I think this [decision] is about party politics over people.”
There are opponents of reorganisation. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said “we should fight” it, and prefers the current network of councils.
Essex will receive £4.5m in transition funding from the government to help form the new councils.
Parliament will have to pass legislation in the autumn to abolish the current councils and establish the new ones.
Elections to the new authorities would then take place in May 2027 and they will replace the current councils in April 2028.