Colchester council elections 2022: Full list of candidates

Council elections are set to return on May 5 in Colchester with 18 of the 51 seats being contested.

In total, 62 candidates are vying for election.

Colchester Council elections take place in four year cycles where, for three years in a row, one third of councillors stand for re-election with the fourth being left clear.

With Covid-19 forcing the cancellation of council elections in 2020, the next election-free year will be 2024.

Power could hang in the balance.

Who runs Colchester Council now?

Colchester Council is currently run as a coalition between the Conservatives and the Highwoods group but one of the three Highwoods Independent councillors Philip Oxford is not seeking re-election this year.

The Conservatives currently have the most councillors with 23 while Labour and the Liberal Democrats have 11 councillors each and the Greens with two elected councillors.

One council seat in the New Town and Christ Church ward lies vacant following the death of former Colchester mayor Nick Cope in March.

Read more: Tributes paid to former mayor of Colchester Nick Cope

Tina Bourne, who has been a Labour councillor in Greenstead for 20 years, is not seeking re-election this year instead standing aside for new would-be councillors.

And in the Rural North ward, former mayor Peter Chillingworth will be stepping down as a Conservative councillor after 20 years of service.

Involved in the infamous dead heat in the council election of 1999 – when he lost out on a seat by a single vote – Mr Chillingworth was eventually elected in 2002 and went on to become mayor in 2018-19.

Now 84, Mr Chillingworth said it was time for younger blood to take up the reins.

He said: “I’m 84 and I want to rest – I’ve done it long enough and we want young blood.

“I will miss being a councillor in many ways, but I have other things to do, and if I stood again, I would be a councillor until I’m 88 which is even worse than being a councillor at 84.”

On the prospects of the Conservative party, Mr Chillingworth said he hoped voters would look at how Tory councillors have performed in a local context rather than a national one.

Over and out – Mr Chillingworth was the Mayor of Colchester in 2018-19

“I hope voters will look at our history in Colchester, and how we’ve made a good show of being in control – I hope people look at that rather than any national picture.”

In the Highwoods ward, Philip Oxford – son of long-standing councillors Gerard and Beverley Oxford – will not be standing for the first time in 14 years.

Philip Oxford was unavailable for comment but Gerard said Philip would have been unable to carry out his commitments as a councillor due the long hours he works at an industrial cleaning firm.

He said: “Philip has to do a morning shift, as well as one in the day and the evening – he said he can’t devote the time to do the job right.”

“The big thing is going to be how the historic vote splits.

“My gut reaction is that it would go 30 per cent Tory, 20 per cent Lib Dem and 10 per cent Labour – that’s the split of our historic support.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Paul Smith is standing in the St Anne’s and St John’s ward after he lost his seat in the 2018 election.

As one of the closest contested wards in Colchester, Mr Smith, who is a former council leader, is hoping to sway the seat given the absence of a candidate for the Green party.

Returning – Paul Smith is hoping to regain his seat

He said: “There’s a genuine feeling of dissatisfaction with the Conservative party that was not there four years ago.

"People feel let down, whether it’s the cost of living crisis or the fact that Boris Johnson was partying whilst the rest of us were sticking to the lockdown rules.”

Current council leader Conservative Paul Dundas is fighting for re-election in Stanway and will face a stiff contest in what was a previous Lib Dem stronghold.

In the ward of New Town and Christ Church, there are seven candidates in the running following the death of Nick Cope in March.

Conservative candidate Carla Hales is standing once again even though she assaulted whilst she was on the campaign trail in April 2019.

Colchester mayor Robert Davidson is standing in the Mersea and Pyefleet ward. A list of wards and candidates is listed below.

Berechurch

John Clifton (Green), Michaela Grossmann-Hislop (Lib Dem), Chris Piggott (Con), Martyn Warnes (Lab)

Castle

Simon Crow (Con), Martin Gillingham (Lib Dem), Richard Kirkby-Taylor (Green), Alan Short (Lab)

Greenstead

Molly Bloomfield (Lab), Shaun Boughton (Lib Dem), Petra Crees (Con), Lisa Cross (Green)

Highwoods

Laura Cassidy (Lib Dem), Jocelyn Law (Lab), Stephen Rowe (Con)

Lexden and Braiswick

Roger Bamforth (Green), Sandra Cluham (Lib Dem), Martin Leatherdale (Con), Stephen Novy (Lab)

Marks Tey and Layer

Barry Gilheany (Lab), Mark Hull (Lib Dem), Jacqueline MacLean (Con), Amy Sheridan (Green)

Mersea and Pyefleet

Robert Davidson (Con), Natlie Eldred (Lab), Jennifer Stevens (Lib Dem)

Mile End

Pauline Bacon (Lab), David King (Lib Dem), Amanda Kirke (Green), David Linghorn-Baker (Con)

New Town and Christ Church

Clare Burgess (Green), Carla Hales (Con), Annelsley Hardy (Con), Robin James (Lib Dem), Samuel McLean (Labour), Kayleigh Rippingale (Labour), Catherine Spindler (Lib Dem)

Old Heath and The Hythe

Andrew Canessa (green), Richard Martin (Con), Peter Schraml (Lib Dem), Lee Scordis (Lab)

Prettygate

Roger Buston (Con), Simon Collis (Lab), Natalie Edgoose (Green), John Loxley (Lib Dem)

Rural North

Susan Bailey (Green), William Brown (Lib Dem), Neil Jones (Lab), William Sunnucks (Con)

Shrub End

Luke Hayes (Lab), Angela Linghorn-Baker (Con), Mick Spindler (Lib Dem)

St Anne’s and St John’s

Abigail Chambers (Lab), Thomas Rowe (Con), Paul Smith (Lib Dem)

Stanway: Tracy Arnold (Lib Dem), Paul Dundas (Con), Jim Pey (Lab)

Tiptree: Kieron Franks (Lib Dem), John McArthur (Green), Rhys Smithson (Con), Ian Yates (Lab)

Wivenhoe: Christopher Bromley (Green), Mollie Ireland (Con), Cyril Liddy (Labour) Andrea Luxford-Vaughan (Lib Dem)