2026 Colchester City Council election
7 May 2026
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17 out of 51 seats to Colchester City Council 26 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Map showing the wards of Colchester. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2026 Colchester City Council election will be held on 7 May 2026 to elect members of Colchester City Council in Essex, England. This will be on the same day as other local elections.[1][2]
Due to ongoing local government reorganisation, this will be the final election to Colchester City Council before it is abolished and replaced by a successor unitary authority. Elections to the successor authority are due to take place in 2027.
Summary
Background
Following the conclusion of the previous election, the council stayed under no overall control, with the Conservatives the largest party, but seven seats short of an overall majority.[3] For the 2024-2025 period, a Liberal Democrat minority ran the council, with informal support from Labour and the Greens. David King (Mile End) continued as council leader.
A few weeks after the previous election, Lesley Scott-Boutell (Stanway) left the Liberal Democrats group to sit as an Independent, becoming the first Independent councillor on the council since 2022.[4] This change put the Liberal Democrats and Labour on the same number of seats (14 each).
On 21 May 2025, a coalition was formed between the Liberal Democrats and Labour groups for the 2025-2026 period, with King being reconfirmed as council leader at the Annual Council Meeting on the same day.[5]
Election result
| 2026 Colchester City Council election | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | This election | Full council | This election | |||||||
| Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− | ||
| Conservative | 13 | |||||||||
| Labour | 9 | |||||||||
| Liberal Democrats | 9 | |||||||||
| Green | 2 | |||||||||
| Independent | 1 | |||||||||
| Reform UK | 0 | |||||||||
| Your Party | 0 | |||||||||
Incumbents
| Ward | Incumbent councillor | Party | Re-standing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berechurch | Martyn Warnes | Labour Co-op | ||
| Castle | Amy Kirkby-Taylor | Green | ||
| Greenstead | Elizabeth Alake-Akinyemi[b] | Labour | ||
| Highwoods | Jocelyn Law | Labour | ||
| Lexden & Braiswick | Sara Naylor[c] | Conservative | ||
| Marks Tey & Layer | Jackie Maclean | Conservative | ||
| Mersea & Pyefleet | Robert Davidson | Conservative | ||
| Mile End | David King | Liberal Democrats | ||
| New Town & Christ Church | Kayleigh Rippingale | Labour | ||
| Old Heath & The Hythe | Lee Scordis | Labour Co-op | Yes[6] | |
| Prettygate | Roger Buston | Conservative | ||
| Rural North | William Sunnucks | Conservative | ||
| Shrub End | Mick Spindler | Liberal Democrats | ||
| St. Anne's & St. John's | Paul Smith | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Stanway | Tracey Arnold | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Tiptree | Rhys Smithson | Conservative | ||
| Wivenhoe | Andrea Luxford-Vaughan | Liberal Democrats | ||
Candidates
The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the official candidates standing in each ward at the election, will be released following the close of nominations at 4:00pm on 10 April 2026.[7]
Berechurch
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Castle
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Greenstead
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Highwoods
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Lexden & Braiswick
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Marks Tey & Layer
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Mersea & Pyefleet
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Mile End
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
New Town & Christ Church
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Old Heath & The Hythe
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour Co-op | Lee Scordis*[6] | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Prettygate
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Rural North
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Shrub End
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
St Anne's & St John's
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Stanway
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Tiptree
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
Wivenhoe
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||
| Green | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| Labour | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||
| Reform UK | |||||
| Your Party | |||||
References
- ^ "Colchester City Council". colchester.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
- ^ "Local elections to proceed in Colchester on 7 May 2026 | Colchester City Council". new.colchester.gov.uk. 22 January 2026. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
- ^ "Colchester election result". bbc.com. BBC News. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ Deady, Elliot (30 May 2024). "Colchester councillor Lesley Scott-Boutell quits Lib Dems". gazette-news.co.uk. Colchester: Daily Gazette. Archived from the original on 2 February 2026. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ "New Coalition Administration at Colchester City Council". new.colchester.gov.uk. Colchester: Colchester City Council. 21 May 2025. Archived from the original on 2 February 2026. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ a b Scordis, Lee (15 January 2026). "Colchester City elections to go ahead in May". facebook.com. Facebook. Archived from the original on 6 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
- ^ "Elections 2026". colchester.gov.uk. Colchester: Colchester City Council. 20 January 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2026.