2023 Colchester City Council election

← 2022 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2024 →
17 out of 51 seats to Colchester City Council 26 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	31.0% (1.1%)
First party Second party   Leader Darius Laws Martin Goss Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Last election 19 seats, 34.5% 13 seats, 28.2% Seats before 19 15 Seats won 6 6 Seats after 19 15 Seat change Popular vote 13,216 13,116 Percentage 30.5% 30.3% Swing 4.0% 1.2%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Chris Pearson Mark Goacher Party Labour Green Last election 14 seats, 29.1% 3 seats, 8.3% Seats before 15 2 Seats won 4 1 Seats after 15 2 Seat change Popular vote 10,610 4,412 Percentage 24.5% 10.2% Swing 3.7% 1.9%
Results map of the 2023 Colchester City Council election
Leader before election David King Liberal Democrats No overall control Leader after election David King Liberal Democrats No overall control

The 2023 Colchester City Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Colchester City Council in Essex, England.^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections across England. There were 17 of the 51 seats on the council up for election, being the usual third of the council, with one seat available for each ward. This set of seats were last contested at the 2019 election.

Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being run by a Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green coalition. No seats changed party at the election, but after the election the coalition broke down and a minority Liberal Democrat administration formed instead.

Following the last election in 2022 a Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green coalition had formed to replace the previous Conservative and independent coalition.^[2] David King (Mile End), a Liberal Democrat, was subsequently elected leader of the council, replacing Paul Dundas (Stanway) of the Conservatives, who had lost his seat. A new Cabinet was formed consisting of four Liberal Democrats, three Labour, and one Green Party member.

No seats changed party at the 2023 election and so the council remained under no overall control. However, immediately after the election the coalition broke up when the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party directed that the Labour group could only stay in the coalition if a Labour leader of the council was appointed, which the other parties did not agree to. At the subsequent annual council meeting on 24 May 2023 a Liberal Democrat minority administration formed instead, still led by David King. The Labour and Green groups voted in support of the minority administration forming.^[3]

Although there were no changes in seats, the Conservatives and Labour both lost vote share compared to 2022, with the Liberal Democrats - who came only 100 votes behind the Conservatives in the overall popular vote - and Green Party both making modest advances.

In the marginal wards of Shrub End and Highwoods, the Liberal Democrats held off strong challenges from Labour, whilst the Conservatives held the formerly safe seat of Prettygate over the Liberal Democrat challenger by less than 1%.

Former Conservative leader Paul Dundas, who had lost his seat in 2022, was re-elected to the council and was reappointed as Conservative group leader in place of Darius Laws.^[4] The Labour group also changed its leader after the election, with Julie Young replacing Chris Pearson.^[5]

• May 30: Martin Leatherdale (Lexden & Braiswick) leaves the Conservative group to sit as an Independent before resigning several days later, triggering a by-election.^[6][7]
• July 28: A by-election is held in Lexden & Braiswick. Sara Naylor is elected for the Conservatives.^[8]
• September 28: Mark Goacher (Castle) leaves the Green group to sit as an Independent.^[9][10]
• October 20: Independent councillors Gerard Oxford (Highwoods) and Beverly Oxford (Highwoods) resign, triggering a double by-election.^[11][12][13]
• November 24: Colchester is granted City status, with Colchester Borough Council changing its name to Colchester City Council.^[14]
• December 8: A double by-election is held in Highwoods. Catherine Bickersteth (Labour) and Alison Jay (Liberal Democrats) are elected.
• December 15: Steph Nissen (Castle), the leader of the Green group on the council, leaves the Green Party and defects to Labour. The same day, former Green and sitting Independent, Mark Goacher (Castle), announced he would rejoin the Green group that he had left several months previously.^[15] He subsequently becomes leader of the Green group.

• March 2: Deputy Leader of the Council and Labour group leader, Adam Fox (Old Heath & The Hythe), announces his intention to resign as Labour group leader and stand down as a councillor when his term expires in May 2023.^[16]
• March 8: Chris Pearson (Berechurch) is elected as Labour group leader.^[17]
• March 27: Notice of election published.
• April 4: Candidate nominations close at 4pm.
• April 5: Statement of Persons Nominated released.
• April 17: Deadline to register to vote.
• April 18: Deadline to register for a postal vote.
• April 24: Deadline to register for a proxy vote.
• May 4: Date of election. Polling stations open between 7am and 10pm.

2023 Colchester City Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	6		35.3	13	19	37.3	13,216	30.5	–4.0
	Liberal Democrats	6		35.3	9	15	29.4	13,116	30.3	+1.2
	Labour	4		23.5	11	15	29.4	10,610	24.5	–3.7
	Green	1		5.9	2	2	3.9	4,412	10.2	+1.9
	Independent	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	1,368	3.2	N/A
	Reform UK	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	568	1.3	N/A

Ward	Incumbent councillor	Party		Re-standing
Berechurch	Chris Pearson		Labour	Yes
Castle	Mark Goacher		Green	Yes
Greenstead	Tim Young		Labour	Yes
Highwoods	Alison Jay[a]		Liberal Democrats	Yes
Lexden & Braiswick	Lewis Barber		Conservative	Yes
Marks Tey & Layer	Andrew Ellis		Conservative	Yes
Mersea & Pyefleet	Patricia Moore		Conservative	No
Mile End	Phil Coleman		Liberal Democrats	No
New Town & Christ Church	Sam McLean[b]		Labour Co-op	Yes
Old Heath & The Hythe	Adam Fox		Labour Co-op	No
Prettygate	Leigh Tate[c]		Conservative	Yes
Rural North	Nigel Chapman		Conservative	No
Shrub End	Sam McCarthy		Liberal Democrats	Yes
St. Anne's & St. John's	Helen Chuah		Liberal Democrats	No
Stanway	Lesley Scott-Boutell		Liberal Democrats	Yes
Tiptree	Barbara Wood		Conservative	No
Wivenhoe	Mark Cory		Liberal Democrats	Yes

The Statement of Persons Nominated details the candidates standing in each ward. It was released on 5 April 2023.^[18]

Incumbent councillors are marked with an asterisk *

Berechurch

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris Pearson*	1,234	66.1	–3.2
	Conservative	Amir Anbouche	292	15.6	–4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Collis	171	9.2	+3.0
	Green	John Clifton	99	5.3	+0.5
	Reform UK	Diane Baker	71	3.8	N/A
Majority			942	50.5	+0.9
Turnout			1,867	25.4	–2.4
Registered electors			7,347
	Labour hold		Swing	0.5

Castle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Mark Goacher*	1,374	50.4	+0.2
	Conservative	Simon Crow	655	24.0	–4.1
	Labour	Charlie Jasper	492	18.0	+5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Gillingham	206	7.6	–1.4
Majority			719	26.4	+4.3
Turnout			2,727	33.4	–2.1
Registered electors			8,163
	Green hold		Swing	2.2

Greenstead

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tim Young*	1,128	59.3	+0.2
	Conservative	David Crees	356	18.7	–6.6
	Liberal Democrats	Chantelle-Louise Whyborn	199	10.5	+1.4
	Green	Lisa Cross	124	6.5	±0.0
	Reform UK	Kevin Blair	94	4.9	N/A
Majority			772	40.6	+8.6
Turnout			1,901	17.0	–1.2
Registered electors			11,195
	Labour hold		Swing	3.4

Highwoods

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alison Jay*	1,029	46.5	+25.2
	Labour	Pauline Bacon	722	32.7	–8.1
	Conservative	David Linghorn-Baker	375	17.0	–20.9
	Green	Ryan Meadows	85	3.8	N/A
Majority			307	13.8	N/A
Turnout			2,211	30.2	+1.7
Registered electors			7,327
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	16.7

Lexden & Braiswick

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lewis Barber*	1,569	58.1	+6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Thomas Stevenson	492	18.2	–4.0
	Labour	Sarah Bruce	380	14.1	–0.8
	Green	Roger Bamforth	258	9.6	–1.5
Majority			1,077	39.9	+2.6
Turnout			2,699	36.8	–0.5
Registered electors			7,328
	Conservative hold		Swing

Marks Tey & Layer

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Ellis*	1,314	54.8	–1.8
	Labour	John Spademan	517	21.6	+3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Lydia De-Col	285	11.9	–3.6
	Green	Amy Sheridan	283	11.8	+2.5
Majority			797	33.2	–4.9
Turnout			2,399	29.3	–1.1
Registered electors			8,195
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.5

Mersea & Pyefleet

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carl Powling	1,244	40.1	–24.9
	Independent	John Akker	994	32.0	N/A
	Labour	William Hayton	306	9.9	–9.6
	Liberal Democrats	John Knight	202	6.5	–9.0
	Reform UK	Sophie Preston-Hall	193	6.2	N/A
	Green	Libby Kirkby-Taylor	163	5.3	N/A
Majority			250	8.1	–25.9
Turnout			3,102	38.9	+4.9
Registered electors			7,980
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Mile End

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Venessa Moffat	1,624	61.2	–5.1
	Conservative	Phoebe Butcher	435	16.4	+0.7
	Labour	James Pey	352	13.3	+1.0
	Green	Amanda Kirke	244	9.2	+3.5
Majority			1,189	44.8	–5.8
Turnout			2,655	27.6	–2.8
Registered electors			9,613
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.9

New Town & Christ Church

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Sam McLean*	1,301	41.9	+1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Catherine Spindler	990	31.9	+1.6
	Conservative	Chris Piggott	399	12.9	–3.2
	Independent	Ian Partridge	208	6.7	N/A
	Green	Bob Brannan	207	6.7	–6.5
Majority			311	10.0	N/A
Turnout			3,105	32.2	–2.2
Registered electors			9,641
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	0.0

Old Heath & The Hythe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Fay Smalls	1,383	59.3	–4.9
	Conservative	Richard Martin	366	15.7	–4.6
	Liberal Democrats	Shaun Boughton	235	10.1	+3.0
	Green	Andrew Canessa	181	7.8	–0.5
	Independent	Jeffrey Drew	166	7.1	N/A
Majority			1,017	43.6	–0.3
Turnout			2,331	26.8	–2.0
Registered electors			8,697
	Labour hold		Swing	0.2

Prettygate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Leigh Tate*	1,301	42.0	–4.4
	Liberal Democrats	John Loxley	1,279	41.3	+6.7
	Labour	Richard Bourne	366	11.8	–1.6
	Green	Natalie Edgoose	152	4.9	–0.7
Majority			22	0.7	–11.1
Turnout			3,098	39.9	+0.9
Registered electors			7,768
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.6

Rural North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Rowe	1,625	55.9	–1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Karen Maxwell	481	16.5	–0.2
	Labour	Barbara Nichols	405	13.9	+1.1
	Green	John Burgess	398	13.7	+0.7
Majority			1,144	39.4	–1.4
Turnout			2,909	34.4	–1.5
Registered electors			8,462
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.7

Shrub End

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sam McCarthy*	835	39.3	+0.1
	Labour	Luke Hayes	720	33.9	+4.4
	Conservative	Angela Linghorn-Baker	455	21.4	–9.9
	Green	Sara Ruth	117	5.5	N/A
Majority			115	5.4	–2.5
Turnout			2,127	26.0	–0.6
Registered electors			8,182
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.2

St. Anne's & St. John's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Natalie Sommers	1,370	53.6	+1.8
	Conservative	Rowan Knight	681	26.6	–7.9
	Labour	Abigail Chambers	346	13.5	–0.2
	Green	Sebastian Dwyer	161	6.3	N/A
Majority			689	27.0	+9.7
Turnout			2,558	31.6	–3.4
Registered electors			8,098
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	5.4

Stanway

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Lesley Scott-Boutell*	1,375	59.0	+5.2
	Conservative	Janice Seabrook	698	30.0	–7.5
	Labour	Ian Yates	180	7.7	–1.0
	Green	Pam Nelson	77	3.3	N/A
Majority			677	29.0	+12.7
Turnout			2,330	33.4	–1.6
Registered electors			6,984
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	6.4

Tiptree

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Dundas	1,329	54.5	–7.1
	Labour	Elizabeth Holford	419	17.2	–0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Stevens	260	10.7	–2.3
	Green	Clare Burgess	222	9.1	+1.7
	Reform UK	Ashley Girling	210	8.6	N/A
Majority			910	37.3	–6.3
Turnout			2,440	32.8	+2.7
Registered electors			7,440
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.2

Wivenhoe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Cory*	2,083	73.6	+16.8
	Labour	Heather Lowe	359	12.7	–19.7
	Green	Jo Wheatley	267	9.4	+4.3
	Conservative	Andrew Higginson	122	4.3	–1.4
Majority			1,724	60.9	+36.5
Turnout			2,831	38.6	–5.1
Registered electors			7,341
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	18.3

A by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Catherine Bickersteth (Labour).

Highwoods: 21 September 2023

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Appleton	563	39.4	–7.1
	Labour	Gary Braddy	447	31.3	–1.4
	Conservative	Paul Smith	418	29.3	+12.3
Majority			116	8.1	–5.7
Turnout			1,428	19.9	–10.3
Registered electors			7,188
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	4.3