2022 Colchester Borough Council election

2022 Colchester Borough Council election
18 out of 51 seats to Colchester Borough Council; 26 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	32.1% (1.8%)
	Results map of the Borough Council election
Leader of the Council before election; Paul Dundas; Conservative	Leader of the Council after election ; David King; Liberal Democrats

Elections to Colchester Borough Council took place on 5 May 2022.^[1]^[2] Eighteen members of the council (one-third of the whole) were elected: one from 16 of the 17 wards, and two councillors from New Town & Christ Church ward, following the death of incumbent councillor Nick Cope (Liberal Democrat),^[3] elected in 2019 and due to serve until 2023.

At the election, the Conservative–Independent coalition lost control of the council, with the Conservatives losing seats to the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party. Paul Dundas, the leader of the council, lost his seat in Stanway to challenger Tracey Arnold.

Labour gained one seat from the Liberal Democrats and won the vacated Independent seat in Highwoods, giving them their largest share of representation on the council since the 1990s.

Background

Following the results of the previous election, the ruling "Progressive Alliance" coalition (comprising the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Independents) lost control of the council after the Independents decided to form an administration with the Conservatives, giving them a majority of one seat over the opposition parties.

Summary

Candidates by party

Conservative Party (18/18)

Liberal Democrats (18/18)

Labour Party (18/18)

Green Party (12/18)

Election results

2022 Colchester Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	6	4	33.3	13	19	37.3	16,308	34.5	-10.3
	Liberal Democrats	5	2	27.8	9	14	27.5	13,731	29.1	+9.4
	Labour	6	2	33.3	7	13	25.5	13,311	28.2	+5.7
	Green	1	1	5.6	2	3	5.9	3,909	8.3	-2.4
	Independent	0	1	0.0	2	2	3.9	N/A	N/A	-1.7

Incumbents

Ward	Incumbent councillor		Re-standing
Berechurch	Martyn Warnes	Labour Co-op	Yes
Castle	Simon Crow	Conservative	Yes
Greenstead	Tina Bourne	Labour	No
Highwoods	Phil Oxford	Independent	No
Lexden & Braiswick	Martin Leatherdale	Conservative	Yes
Marks Tey & Layer	Jackie Maclean	Conservative	Yes
Mersea & Pyefleet	Robert Davidson	Conservative	Yes
Mile End	David King	Liberal Democrats	Yes
New Town & Christ Church	Lorcan Whitehead	Labour	No
Old Heath & The Hythe	Lee Scordis	Labour Co-op	Yes
Prettygate	Roger Buston	Conservative	Yes
Rural North	Peter Chillingworth	Conservative	No
Shrub End	Pauline Hazell	Conservative	No
St. Anne's & St. John's	Chris Hayter	Conservative	No
Stanway	Paul Dundas	Conservative	Yes
Tiptree	Derek Loveland	Conservative	No
Wivenhoe	Andrea Luxford-Vaughn	Liberal Democrats	Yes

Aftermath

On 17 May 2022, it was announced that a three-party administration between the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Green Party would be formed to run the council throughout the 2022-2023 term. This gave the new administration a majority of 12 seats over the now-opposition Conservatives.^[4]

David King (Liberal Democrats, Mile End) was elected Leader of the Council, with Adam Fox (Labour Co-op, Old Heath & The Hythe) elected as the Deputy Leader.

Cabinet composition

Following coalition negotiations, a cabinet was formed that consisted of four Liberal Democrats, three Labour, and one Green Party member.^[5]

Portfolio	Councillor
Strategy	David King	Liberal Democrats
Local Economy & Transformation	Adam Fox	Labour Co-op
Culture & Heritage	Pam Cox	Labour
Neighbourhood Services & Waste	Martin Goss	Liberal Democrats
Environment & Sustainability	Steph Nissen	Green
Resources	Mark Cory	Liberal Democrats
Planning & Infrastructure	Andrea Luxford-Vaughn	Liberal Democrats
Housing & Communities	Julie Young	Labour Co-op

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated was released on 5 April 2022, detailing the candidates who will be standing in each of the wards.^[6] The results of the borough council election were announced on 6 May 2022.^[7]

Incumbents are listed with an asterisk *

Berechurch

Berechurch ward

Berechurch
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Martyn Warnes*	1,418	69.3	+0.9
	Conservative	Chris Piggott	402	19.7	−0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Michaela Grossmann-Hislop	127	6.2	−2.0
	Green	John Clifton	98	4.8	+1.5
Majority			1,016	49.6	+1.2
Turnout			2,045	27.8	−3.7
Registered electors			7,364
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	0.6

Castle

Castle ward

Castle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Richard Kirkby-Taylor	1,420	50.2	+12.4
	Conservative	Simon Crow*	794	28.1	−4.4
	Labour	Alan Short	360	12.7	−6.4
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Gillingham	254	9.0	−1.6
Majority			626	22.1	+16.8
Turnout			2,828	35.5	−1.6
Registered electors			7,977
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing	8.4

Greenstead

Greenstead ward

Greenstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Molly Bloomfield	1,194	59.1	+7.1
	Conservative	Petra Crees	512	25.3	−3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Shaun Boughton	184	9.1	−1.4
	Green	Lisa Cross	132	6.5	+0.1
Majority			682	33.8	+10.2
Turnout			2,022	18.2	−1.1
Registered electors			11,134
	Labour hold		Swing	5.1

No Reform UK (2.7%) candidate as previous.

Highwoods

Highwoods ward

Highwoods
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Jocelyn Law	833	40.8	+22.8
	Conservative	Stephen Rowe	773	37.9	+8.1
	Liberal Democrats	Laura Cassidy	435	21.3	+12.9
Majority			60	2.9	N/A
Turnout			2,041	28.5	−1.8
Registered electors			7,171
	Labour Co-op gain from Independent		Swing	7.4

No Independent (35.0%), Green (6.4%) or Reform UK (2.9%) candidates as previous.

Lexden & Braiswick

Lexden & Braiswick ward

Lexden & Braiswick
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Leatherdale*	1,416	51.8	−4.4
	Liberal Democrats	Sandra Culham	607	22.2	+5.1
	Labour	Stephen Novy	406	14.9	+3.5
	Green	Roger Bamforth	302	11.1	−4.2
Majority			809	29.6	N/A
Turnout			2,731	37.3	−6.0
Registered electors			7,321
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.8

Marks Tey & Layer

Marks Tey & Layer ward

Marks Tey & Layer
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jackie Maclean*	1,393	56.6	−10.8
	Labour	Barry Gilheany	456	18.5	+6.9
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Hull	381	15.5	+7.5
	Green	Amy Sheridan	229	9.3	+1.0
Majority			937	38.1	−17.7
Turnout			2,459	30.4	−3.6
Registered electors			8,089
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.9

No Independent (4.7%) candidate as previous.

Mersea & Pyefleet

Mersea & Pyefleet ward

Mersea & Pyefleet
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Davidson*	1,742	65.0	−4.8
	Labour	Natalie Eldred	521	19.5	+10.6
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Stevens	415	15.5	+10.4
Majority			1,221	45.5	−8.2
Turnout			2,678	34.0	−3.7
Registered electors			7,888
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.7

No Green (16.1%) candidate as previous.

Mile End

Mile End ward

Mile End
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David King*	1,885	66.3	+1.0
	Conservative	David Linghorn-Baker	447	15.7	−3.6
	Labour Co-op	Pauline Bacon	350	12.3	+1.5
	Green	Amanda Kirke	163	5.7	+1.1
Majority			1,438	50.6	+4.6
Turnout			2,845	30.4	−2.1
Registered electors			9,352
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.3

New Town & Christ Church

New Town & Christ Church ward

New Town & Christ Church (2 seats due to by-election)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kayleigh Rippingale	1,451	43.7	+0.3
	Labour Co-op	Sam McLean	1,292	38.9	–4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Catherine Spindler	1,089	32.8	+10.1
	Liberal Democrats	Robin James	920	27.7	+5.0
	Conservative	Annesley Hardy	580	17.4	–7.9
	Conservative	Carla Hales	524	15.8	–9.5
	Green	Clare Burgess	473	14.2	+5.6
Turnout			3,324	34.4	–1.1
Registered electors			9,668
	Labour hold
	Labour Co-op gain from Liberal Democrats

Old Heath & The Hythe

Old Heath & The Hythe ward

Old Heath & The Hythe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Lee Scordis*	1,585	64.2	+10.9
	Conservative	Richard Martin	502	20.3	−6.3
	Green	Andrew Canessa	204	8.3	−2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Schraml	176	7.1	−2.0
Majority			1,083	43.9	+17.2
Turnout			2,467	28.8	−1.0
Registered electors			8,566
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	8.6

Prettygate

Prettygate ward

Prettygate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roger Buston*	1,406	46.4	−13.9
	Liberal Democrats	John Loxley	1,050	34.6	+19.2
	Labour	Simon Collis	406	13.4	−1.1
	Green	Natalie Edgoose	171	5.6	−4.2
Majority			356	11.8	N/A
Turnout			3,033	39.0	−1.7
Registered electors			7,773
	Conservative hold		Swing	16.7

Rural North

Rural North ward

Rural North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Sunnucks	1,731	57.5	−7.0
	Liberal Democrats	William Brown	504	16.7	+6.2
	Green	Sue Bailey	391	13.0	+1.1
	Labour	Neil Jones	386	12.8	+2.1
Majority			1,227	40.8	−11.8
Turnout			3,012	35.9	−4.3
Registered electors			8,383
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.6

No Reform UK (2.5%) candidate as previous.

Shrub End

Shrub End ward

Shrub End
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mick Spindler	826	39.2	+2.2
	Conservative	Angela Linghorn-Baker	660	31.3	−4.0
	Labour	Luke Hayes	623	29.5	+10.7
Majority			166	7.9	+6.2
Turnout			2,109	26.6	−0.5
Registered electors			7,579
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	3.1

No Green (6.1%) or Reform UK (2.8%) candidates as previous.

St. Anne's & St. John's

St. Anne's & St. John's ward

St. Anne's & St. John's
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Smith	1,478	51.8	+9.8
	Conservative	Thomas Rowe	986	34.5	−6.6
	Labour	Abigail Chambers	390	13.7	+3.5
Majority			492	17.3	+16.4
Turnout			2,854	35.0	−0.8
Registered electors			8,157
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	8.2

No Green (6.8%) candidate as previous.

Stanway

Stanway ward

Stanway
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Tracy Arnold	1,302	53.8	+14.3
	Conservative	Paul Dundas*	907	37.5	−8.9
	Labour	Jim Pey	211	8.7	−1.1
Majority			395	16.3	N/A
Turnout			2,420	35.0	−0.9
Registered electors			6,922
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	11.6

No Green (4.4%) candidate as previous.

Tiptree

Tiptree ward

Tiptree
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rhys Smithson	1,351	61.6	−10.4
	Labour	Ian Yates	395	18.0	+5.9
	Liberal Democrats	Kieron Franks	284	13.0	+5.8
	Green	John McArthur	163	7.4	−1.3
Majority			956	43.6	−16.3
Turnout			2,193	30.1	−2.4
Registered electors			7,288
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.2

Wivenhoe

Wivenhoe ward

Wivenhoe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Andrea Luxford-Vaughan*	1,814	56.8	+18.4
	Labour Co-op	Cyril Liddy	1,034	32.4	+0.9
	Conservative	Mollie Ireland	182	5.7	−9.6
	Green	Christopher Blomeley	163	5.1	−9.2
Majority			780	24.4	+17.5
Turnout			3,193	43.7	+1.8
Registered electors			7,307
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	8.8

By-elections

Lexden & Braiswick

Lexden & Braiswick: 28 July 2022^[8]
Resignation of Martin Leatherdale
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sara Naylor	1,372	63.7	+11.8
	Liberal Democrats	Kieron Franks	621	28.8	+6.6
	Labour	Catherine Bickersteth	161	7.5	−7.4
Majority			751	34.9	+5.3
Turnout			2,158	29.3	−8.0
Registered electors			7,368
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.6

No Green candidate (11.1%) as previous.

Highwoods

On 20 October 2022, it was announced that Cllr Gerard Oxford and Cllr Beverley Oxford, the two remaining Independent councillors for Highwoods ward, would be resigning from their roles with immediate effect.^[9] A by-election was held on 8 December 2022 to fill their vacant seats and was won by one Labour and one Liberal Democrat candidate respectively.^[10]^[11]

Highwoods: 8 December 2022^[12]
Resignations of Beverley Oxford and Gerard Oxford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Catherine Bickersteth	653	42.3	+1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Alison Jay	618	41.4	+18.8
	Labour Co-op	Pauline Bacon	501	32.5	−8.1
	Conservative	Richard Martin	430	28.9	−10.0
	Conservative	David Linghorn-Baker	413	27.7	−11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Chantelle Whyborn	366	23.7	+1.5
Turnout			1,543	21.4	−7.1
Registered electors			7,196
	Labour gain from Independent
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent

References

^ "Colchester Borough Council Elections Thursday 5 May 2022". Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
^ "Colchester council elections 2022: Full list of candidates". Daniel Rees. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ "Cllr Nick Cope: A joint statement by the Mayor of Colchester and the Leader of Colchester Borough Council". Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ "Colchester Council to be run by three party coalition". Daniel Rees. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
^ "THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL AND THE CABINET". Colchester City Council. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
^ "2022 Colchester Borough Council election results". Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
^ "2022 - Lexden and Braiswick Ward election - 28 July". Colchester City Council. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
^ "Gerard and Beverley Oxford resign from Colchester Council". Lewis Adams. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
^ "Councillor vacancy for Highwoods ward". Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
^ "Notice of Election Highwoods". Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
^ "Declaration of Result of Poll". Colchester City Council. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.

[1] "Colchester Borough Council Elections Thursday 5 May 2022". Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 5 April 2022.

[2] "Colchester council elections 2022: Full list of candidates". Daniel Rees. Retrieved 8 April 2022.

[3] "Cllr Nick Cope: A joint statement by the Mayor of Colchester and the Leader of Colchester Borough Council". Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 8 April 2022.

[4] "Colchester Council to be run by three party coalition". Daniel Rees. Retrieved 1 October 2022.

[5] "THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL AND THE CABINET". Colchester City Council. Retrieved 13 March 2023.

[6] "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 5 April 2022.

[7] "2022 Colchester Borough Council election results". Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 6 May 2022.

[8] "2022 - Lexden and Braiswick Ward election - 28 July". Colchester City Council. Retrieved 13 March 2023.

[9] "Gerard and Beverley Oxford resign from Colchester Council". Lewis Adams. Retrieved 20 October 2022.

[10] "Councillor vacancy for Highwoods ward". Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 26 October 2022.

[11] "Notice of Election Highwoods". Colchester Borough Council. Retrieved 5 November 2022.

[12] "Declaration of Result of Poll". Colchester City Council. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.

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