OLYMPIAN James Cracknell says he has made the "difficult decision" to leave Colchester three months after his election defeat. 

In July the Conservative candidate won 10,554 votes to finish second behind Labour's Pam Cox, who won the Colchester constituency with 18,804 votes.

Mr Cracknell, 52, had moved to the city to fight for the election and in July told the Gazette he had made no decision on his future in Colchester. 

But he has now confirmed he has returned to London describing it as a difficult choice after he "fell in love with Colchester." 

Campaign - James Cracknell during the 2024 General Election campaign (Image: Colchester Conservatives) Mr Cracknell said he had been prompted to speak out after a series of letters in the Gazette asking what had happened to him. 

He said: “Firstly I must say I'm very grateful. It is humbling when people have led busy lives, facing difficult decisions every day that they give a second thought to a defeated candidate.

“People have said I left Colchester straight after the election, that's not true. As I said at the time I was going to Paris to commentate on the Olympics, something I committed to before I was selected as a parliamentary candidate.

“However, I did move back to London almost three weeks ago. This was a difficult decision. 

"I never claimed to have ties to Colchester.  I saw that as a strength, seeing Colchester with a fresh pair of eyes and no involvement with the issues that frustrated the residents. 

"I gave the campaign everything I had.  I refuse to just blame the anti-Conservative feeling for my defeat and must admit that I wasn’t accepted and didn’t manage to convince enough people that I’d chosen and fought to represent Colchester and wasn’t parachuted in."

Mr Cracknell said he "truly hopes" the outcome of the election will benefit Colchester but said he believed there was some "buyers regret" among voters.  

He said: "I meant it when I said I fell in love with Colchester, the location and the people here and that hasn't changed.

"However, in the cold light of day I can't afford to keep two houses. My children are in London so the only choice at the moment was giving up the rental house.

"I must concentrate on earning money now, I gave up work and lived on savings so I could run a campaign that showed I was worthy of your votes. 

"Unlike some opponents I didn't have other income streams to fall back on - Unions, Councillor allowances etc."

Mr Cracknell said he did not regret his decision to stand in Colchester. 

He added: "For now I must do the responsible thing and prepare for the future. 

"I don’t have regrets in fighting to represent the people of Colchester. 

"I met too many people, made so many friends, worked with people, my fellow Conservatives who wanted nothing other than the best for the city and learned so much. 

"I do though, regret failing to convince more people I could be trusted with their precious vote.  

“Thank you for giving me the chance to try and earn it.”