AN election leaflet which was “potentially misleading” has been pulled from production… by the same candidate it endorsed.

Labour councillor for Castle ward Steph Nissen halted the distribution of the leaflet, which states ‘Only Steph can beat the Tories in Castle ward’, last week after some residents felt it could be misinterpreted.

A bar chart on the leaflet shows the 1,136 votes won by Miss Nissen when she was elected as Castle ward councillor in 2021, when she represented the Green party.

The same year, Conservative candidate Fabian Green was 360 votes behind Miss Nissen with 976 votes.

Gazette: Graph – some members of Castle ward were unhappy with what has been described as a 'potentially misleading' bar chartGraph – some members of Castle ward were unhappy with what has been described as a 'potentially misleading' bar chart (Image: Social Media)

Labour candidate Richard Hill and Liberal Democrat candidate won a combined total of 893 votes; Mr Hill took third place with 574 votes and Mr Gillingham took fourth place with 319 votes.

That total put the combined Labour and Liberal Democrat vote for Castle ward 243 votes behind Miss Nissen, but the graph suggests a greater disparity than that differential.

The combined vote was also coloured yellow in the graph, which is the colour used by the Liberal Democrats.

Miss Nissen said the leaflet “did not sit right” with her but denied having seen the leaflet before it was produced.

There was also concern the leaflet presented the chances of either a Green or Liberal Democrat victory in the ward being impossible.

She said: “I’m, not a fan of misleading the electorate – people felt really unhappy and I said I’m not happy with it either and I’m not using it anymore.

“I don’t love graphs saying ‘only this person can win here’ – people put out those graphs, but for me, it doesn’t sit right and it never has.”

Gazette: Concerned – Steph Nissen said the leaflet did not sit right with herConcerned – Steph Nissen said the leaflet did not sit right with her (Image: Newsquest)

She continued: “I didn’t see it before it went out – I don’t believe anyone set out to mislead but how it has been received is the key thing.

“I felt it could potentially be misinterpreted; the electoral commission doesn’t say it is an illegal graph, but it doesn’t sit right with me.”

Julie Young, leader of Colchester Labour, added: “I always feel we should be transparent and clear with the electorate and I do think that we need to explain that a bit more fully in our literature.”