2015 Colchester Borough Council election
2015 UK local government election
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The 2015 Colchester Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect one third of the members of Colchester Borough Council in England.[1] This was the same day as other local elections and as the General Election. Colchester Borough Council is made up of 60 councillors: 20 councillors were up for election.[2]
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7 May 2015
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20 out of 60 seats to Colchester Borough Council 31 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Prior to the elections, Liberal Democrat councillor for New Town ward, Theresa Higgins, was appointed Mayor of Colchester for a term of one-year.
Composition of council seats before election
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:
| 24 | 9 | 4 | 23 |
| Liberal Democrats | Labour | Ind | Conservative |
After the election, the composition of the council was:
| 20 | 9 | 4 | 27 |
| Liberal Democrats | Labour | Ind | Conservative |
Candidates by party
Liberal Democrats (20/20)
Conservative Party (20/20)
Labour Party (20/20)
Green Party (20/20)
UKIP (15/20)
Independent (3/20)
The Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Labour Party and Green Party all stood a full slate of 20 candidates. UKIP stood 15 candidates and 3 independents (including a candidate with the description 'Patriotic Socialist Party') stood for election.
Results summary
With 30 seats required for a dead-heat majority (of 0), no single grouping of councillors remained in overall control of policy decision-making. Conservatives fell 3 short this time whereas at the last election a five-becoming-six seat deficit existed during the four-year term for the largest grouping which had been the Liberal Democrats.
| 2015 Colchester Borough Council election | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | This election | Full council | This election | ||||||||
| Candidates | Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− | ||
| Conservative | {{{candidates}}} | 13 |  4 |
65.0 | 14 | 27 | 45.0 | 28,023 | 40.1 | +6.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | {{{candidates}}} | 3 |  4 |
15.0 | 17 | 20 | 33.3 | 13,827 | 19.8 | –3.2 | |
| Labour | {{{candidates}}} | 3 |  |
15.0 | 6 | 9 | 15.0 | 12,940 | 18.5 | +2.3 | |
| Independent | {{{candidates}}} | 1 | |
5.0 | 3 | 4 | 6.7 | 1,543 | 2.4 | –0.5 | |
| UKIP | {{{candidates}}} | 0 | |
0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 7,775 | 11.1 | –4.7 | |
| Green | {{{candidates}}} | 0 | |
0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 5,767 | 8.2 | –0.4 | |
Ward results
No turnout figures were provided by the council.
Berechurch
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Dave Harris* | 1,958 | 50.3 | +10.3 | |
| Conservative | Michael Brown | 858 | 22.0 | +8.7 | |
| UKIP | Paul Mulvey | 521 | 13.4 | −9.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Susan Hislop | 406 | 10.4 | −9.2 | |
| Green | Clare Palmer | 152 | 3.9 | +0.3 | |
| Majority | 1,100 | 28.3 | +10.8 | ||
| Turnout | 3,895 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | 0.8 |
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Birch & Winstree
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Ellis* | 1,913 | 59.7 | +5.3 | |
| UKIP | John Pitts | 569 | 17.8 | −10.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Gill Collings | 291 | 9.1 | +4.2 | |
| Labour | John Spademan | 287 | 9.0 | +1.3 | |
| Green | Jan Plummer | 145 | 4.5 | −1.3 | |
| Majority | 1,344 | 41.9 | +14.4 | ||
| Turnout | 3,205 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 8.0 |
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Castle
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Darius Laws | 1,667 | 35.9 | +11.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Owen Howell | 1,172 | 25.2 | −0.5 | |
| Green | Andrew Canessa | 982 | 21.2 | +4.0 | |
| Labour | Andrew Murphy | 821 | 17.7 | −0.1 | |
| Majority | 495 | 10.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 4,642 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | 6.2 |
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No UKIP candidate as previous (-15.0).
Christ Church
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Annesley Hardy | 964 | 38.0 | +9.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Robin James | 670 | 26.4 | −6.1 | |
| Labour | Elisa Vasquez-Walters | 433 | 17.1 | +0.5 | |
| Green | Charles Ham | 319 | 12.6 | −2.2 | |
| UKIP | Ron Levy | 148 | 5.8 | −1.6 | |
| Majority | 294 | 11.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,534 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | 7.7 |
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Copford & West Stanway
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jackie Maclean | 673 | 59.8 | −6.9 | |
| UKIP | Chris Treloar | 177 | 15.7 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Robert James | 115 | 10.2 | −2.7 | |
| Labour | Barbara Nichols | 115 | 10.2 | −3.4 | |
| Green | Emma-Jane Kemp | 46 | 4.1 | −2.6 | |
| Majority | 496 | 44.1 | −9.0 | ||
| Turnout | 1,126 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Fordham & Stour
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Nigel Chapman* | 2,023 | 65.4 | −0.1 | |
| Labour | Kevin Stannard | 396 | 12.8 | +0.2 | |
| Green | Sue Bailey | 337 | 10.9 | −1.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Barry Woodward | 337 | 10.9 | +2.6 | |
| Majority | 1,627 | 52.6 | +0.8 | ||
| Turnout | 3,093 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 0.2 |
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Great Tey
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Peter Chillingworth* | 979 | 58.6 | −2.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Susan Waite | 257 | 15.4 | +6.4 | |
| Labour | Matt Creamer | 170 | 10.2 | +0.4 | |
| UKIP | David Holmes | 162 | 9.7 | −5.1 | |
| Green | Robert Brannan | 104 | 6.2 | +0.4 | |
| Majority | 722 | 43.2 | −2.7 | ||
| Turnout | 1,672 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 4.1 |
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Highwoods
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Phil Oxford* | 1,592 | 36.9 | −15.2 | |
| Conservative | Chris Hayter | 1,192 | 27.7 | +15.3 | |
| Labour | Gary Braddy | 479 | 11.1 | +1.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Baker | 466 | 10.6 | +2.6 | |
| UKIP | Jamie Middleditch | 395 | 9.2 | −4.1 | |
| Green | Robbie Spencer | 187 | 4.3 | +0.1 | |
| Majority | 400 | 9.2 | −29.6 | ||
| Turnout | 4,311 | ||||
| Independent hold | Swing | 15.3 |
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Mile End
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ben Locker | 2,101 | 38.4 | +7.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ciaran Patrick McGonagle | 1,769 | 32.3 | −8.4 | |
| Labour | Martin Camroux | 707 | 12.9 | +5.2 | |
| UKIP | Tony Terry | 533 | 9.7 | −5.1 | |
| Green | Mary Bryan | 368 | 6.7 | +0.9 | |
| Majority | 332 | 6.1 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 5,478 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | 7.9 |
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New Town
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Annie Feltham* | 1,289 | 32.1 | −9.5 | |
| Conservative | Matt Neall | 834 | 20.8 | +8.4 | |
| Labour | Lee Scordis | 772 | 19.2 | +4.4 | |
| Green | Mark Goacher | 631 | 15.7 | +2.3 | |
| UKIP | Alex Knupffer | 493 | 12.3 | −5.8 | |
| Majority | 455 | 11.3 | −12.2 | ||
| Turnout | 3,719 | 56.3 | +27.3 | ||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | 9.0 |
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Prettygate
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Will Quince* | 2,269 | 51.1 | −6.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Loxley | 967 | 21.8 | +0.6 | |
| Labour | Mike Dale | 522 | 11.8 | ±0.0 | |
| UKIP | Steve Galvin | 489 | 11.0 | N/A | |
| Green | Luke O'Loughlin | 196 | 4.4 | −4.7 | |
| Majority | 1,302 | 29.3 | −7.4 | ||
| Turnout | 4,443 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 3.7 |
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Shrub End
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Pauline Hazell* | 1,517 | 35.2 | +14.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sharron Lawrence | 1,157 | 25.9 | −7.9 | |
| UKIP | Simon Collins | 757 | 16.9 | −5.0 | |
| Labour | Gary Griffiths | 736 | 16.5 | −2.2 | |
| Green | Stuart Welham | 251 | 5.6 | +1.6 | |
| Majority | 360 | 9.3 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 4,418 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 11.3 |
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St. Andrew's
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Tim Young | 1,462 | 48.8 | −12.8 | |
| Conservative | Chris Hill | 715 | 23.9 | +8.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Verity Woolley | 447 | 14.9 | +3.0 | |
| Green | Joshua Murray | 370 | 12.4 | +1.7 | |
| Majority | 747 | 24.9 | −20.9 | ||
| Turnout | 2,994 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | 10.5 |
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St. Anne's
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Barrie Cook* | 1,173 | 31.2 | −8.5 | |
| Conservative | Peter Klejna-Wendt | 976 | 26.0 | +10.8 | |
| UKIP | Bill Faram | 770 | 20.5 | −4.9 | |
| Labour | Amanda Stannard | 600 | 16.0 | +2.6 | |
| Green | Stephen Ford | 241 | 6.4 | −0.1 | |
| Majority | 197 | 5.2 | −9.2 | ||
| Turnout | 3,760 | ||||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | 9.7 |
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Stanway
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Fiona Maclean | 1,861 | 42.8 | +12.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Lesley Scott-Boutell | 1,611 | 37.0 | +3.3 | |
| Labour | Carole Spademan | 616 | 14.2 | +4.0 | |
| Green | Tim Glover | 261 | 6.0 | +0.9 | |
| Turnout | |||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
No UKIP candidate as previous (-20.8).
Tiptree
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Margaret Crowe | 1,873 | 42.8 | +1.5 | |
| UKIP | Stuart Gulleford | 1,313 | 32.5 | −5.0 | |
| Labour | Robert Spademan | 535 | 13.2 | +0.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Miah Ahmed | 194 | 4.8 | +1.3 | |
| Green | Katherine Bamforth | 129 | 3.2 | −2.1 | |
| Turnout | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
West Bergholt & Eight Ash Green
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Marcus Harrington | 1,578 | 54.7 | −7.1 | |
| UKIP | Ben Clark | 370 | 12.8 | N/A | |
| Labour | Ian Yates | 306 | 10.6 | −2.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Gemma Graham | 265 | 9.2 | +0.8 | |
| Green | Roger Bamforth | 204 | 7.1 | −10.1 | |
| Independent | Julian McCallum | 151 | 5.2 | N/A | |
| Patriotic Socialist | Dave Osbourne | 12 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Turnout | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
West Mersea
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Patricia Moore | 2,154 | 51.9 | +0.8 | |
| UKIP | David Broise | 988 | 23.8 | −3.8 | |
| Labour | Alison Inman | 402 | 9.7 | +1.0 | |
| Green | Lisa Britton | 330 | 8.0 | +1.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jenny Stevens | 278 | 6.7 | +2.6 | |
| Turnout | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Wivenhoe Cross
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Mark Cory | 668 | 44.9 | −8.1 | |
| Labour | Phil Finn | 328 | 22.1 | +2.7 | |
| Conservative | Natalie Jukes | 271 | 18.2 | −3.1 | |
| Green | Christopher Flossman | 130 | 8.7 | +2.2 | |
| UKIP | Carole Morse | 90 | 6.1 | N/A | |
| Turnout | |||||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
Wivenhoe Quay
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Rosalind Scott | 1,295 | 40.9 | −11.8 | |
| Conservative | Peter Hill | 1,251 | 39.5 | +7.6 | |
| Green | Laura Poutney | 325 | 10.3 | +1.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Shaun Boughton | 295 | 9.3 | +2.3 | |
| Turnout | |||||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
By-elections
Dedham & Langham
In June 2015, in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972, Conservative councillor Mark Cable "ceased to be a member of the council" after failing to attend a council meeting since December 2014 (6 months). A by-election was called and the ward was subsequently held by the Conservatives.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Anne Brown | 545 | 77.9 | +8.6 | |
| UKIP | Bill Faram | 60 | 8.6 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | George Penny | 57 | 8.1 | −1.6 | |
| Labour | John Spademan | 38 | 5.4 | −4.3 | |
| Turnout | 700 | 29.1 | −5.1 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||