2007 Colchester Borough Council election

2007 Colchester Borough Council election

←  2006 3 May 2007 (2007-05-03) 2008  →
20 out of 60 seats to Colchester Borough Council 31 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	34.7% (1.7%)
First party Second party   Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Last election 30 seats, 38.9% 21 seats, 34.8% Seats before 30 21 Seats won 9 7 Seats after 30 21 Seat change Popular vote 14,342 10,052 Percentage 41.8% 29.3% Swing 2.9% 4.5%   Third party Fourth party   Party Labour Independent Last election 7 seats, 13.3% 2 seats, 5.5% Seats before 7 2 Seats won 3 1 Seats after 6 3 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 5,581 1,052 Percentage 16.3% 3.1% Swing 3.0% 2.4%
Council control before election No overall control Council control after election No overall control

Map of the results of the 2007 Colchester council election. Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in yellow, Labour in red and independents in light grey. Wards in dark grey were not contested in 2007.

The 2007 Colchester Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Colchester Borough Council in Essex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. ^[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was

• Conservative 30
• Liberal Democrats 21
• Labour 6
• Independent 3 ^[2]

Campaign

Before the election the Conservatives had 30 of the 60 seats on the council, while the Liberal Democrats had 21, Labour had 7 and there were 2 independents. ^[3]

With the Conservative party needing to gain one seat to gain a majority on the council for the first time since 1986, ^[4] Colchester attracted national attention with the Shadow Foreign Secretary, William Hague, coming to the marginal Shrub End ward to campaign for the Conservatives. ^[5] Meanwhile, one of the Green party's Principal Speakers Siân Berry came to Colchester and campaigned on the importance of public transport, with the Greens contesting every seat at the election. ^[5]

Election result

The Conservatives narrowly failed to gain a majority on the council after failing to take Wivenhoe Quay from Labour by two votes after two recounts. ^[4] This meant the Conservatives remained on 30 councillors, while the Liberal Democrats stayed on 21 seats. ^[4] Labour's loss of Shrub End to the Conservatives meant they dropped to 6 councillors, while the Greens failed to win any seats despite getting 32% of the vote in Castle ward. ^{[4] [6]} Overall turnout at the election was 34.7%. ^[7]

2007 Colchester Borough Council election [1] [7]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	9		45.0	21	30	50.0	14,342	41.8	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	7		35.0	14	21	35.0	10,052	29.3	–4.5
	Labour	3	1	15.0	3	6	10.0	5,581	16.3	+3.0
	Independent	1	1	5.0	2	3	5.0	1,052	3.1	–2.4
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	3,267	9.5	+1.0

Ward results

Berechurch

Berechurch ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dave Harris*	931	49.7	+17.4
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Hindle	483	25.8	-16.4
	Conservative	Claire Bright	352	18.8	+0.7
	Green	Philippa Lane	109	5.8	-1.6
Majority			448	23.9	N/A
Turnout			1,875	32.7	-1.3
Registered electors			5,740
	Labour hold		Swing	16.9

Birch & Winstree

Birch & Winstree ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Crowe*	1,164	70.1	+3.5
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Longman	313	18.9	+1.2
	Labour	James Spencer	100	6.0	-1.0
	Green	Tobie Glenny	83	5.0	-0.9
Majority			851	51.3	+2.4
Turnout			1,660	37.5	-4.6
Registered electors			4,438
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.2

Castle

Castle ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Barlow	940	41.0	-7.7
	Green	Peter Lynn	740	32.3	+9.7
	Conservative	Glenn Granger	469	20.5	+2.4
	Labour	Michael Powell	142	6.2	-1.9
Majority			200	8.7	-17.3
Turnout			2,291	37.4	-4.1
Registered electors			6,182
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	8.7

Christ Church

Christ Church ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Hunt*	588	42.4	-1.3
	Conservative	Andrew Bright	474	34.2	+0.9
	Green	Alexander Cave	245	17.7	+0.3
	Labour	David Canning	79	5.7	+0.1
Majority			114	8.2	-2.2
Turnout			1,386	46.0	-2.3
Registered electors			3,018
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	1.1

Copford & West Stanway

Copford & West Stanway ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jackie Maclean	394	69.1	-1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Waite	82	14.4	+7.0
	Labour	Ian Spademan	48	8.4	+0.4
	Green	Sophie Lovejoy	46	8.1	+8.1
Majority			312	54.7	-1.8
Turnout			570	38.4	+4.4
Registered electors			1,494
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.2

Fordham & Stour

Fordham & Stour ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Chapman*	913	67.2	+0.6
	Liberal Democrats	David Shakespeare	180	13.2	+0.8
	Green	Mervyn Carter	146	10.7	+2.6
	Labour	Jo Aldous	120	8.8	+0.4
Majority			733	53.9	-0.3
Turnout			1,359	34.3	-2.4
Registered electors			3,983
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.1

Great Tey

Great Tey ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Chillingworth*	670	71.9	+3.3
	Liberal Democrats	Carolyn Catney	105	11.3	-9.6
	Labour	John Wood	90	9.7	-1.8
	Green	Paul Goldsmith	67	7.2	-7.2
Majority			565	60.6	+12.8
Turnout			932	41.9	-0.8
Registered electors			2,226
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.5

Highwoods

Highwoods ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Philip Oxford	1,052	52.6	-5.6
	Conservative	Simon Lucas	427	21.4	+6.5
	Liberal Democrats	John Baker	306	15.3	+0.1
	Labour	Janet Smith	127	6.4	-1.1
	Green	Gary Kittle	88	4.4	+0.1
Majority			625	31.3	-11.7
Turnout			2,000	30.9	-1.7
Registered electors			6,484
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing	6.1

Mile End

Mile End ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Turrell*	1,081	47.1	+8.2
	Conservative	Marianne Anderson	995	43.4	-2.8
	Labour	Steve Crawshaw	118	5.1	-1.1
	Green	Mary Bryan	99	4.3	-2.1
Majority			86	3.8	N/A
Turnout			2,293	39.5	+1.0
Registered electors			5,812
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	5.5

New Town

New Town ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Fisher*	872	55.6	-9.8
	Conservative	George Askew	271	17.3	N/A
	Green	Linda Wonnacott	252	16.1	-5.4
	Labour	Luke Dopson	173	11.0	-2.1
Majority			601	38.3	-5.5
Turnout			1,568	27.0	-1.8
Registered electors			5,867
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	N/A

Prettygate

Prettygate ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wyn Foster	1,404	54.2	+0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Ost	875	33.8	-0.9
	Labour	Michael Dale	182	7.0	-0.3
	Green	Peter Appleton	129	5.0	+0.5
Majority			529	20.4	+1.5
Turnout			2,590	43.7	+0.0
Registered electors			5,958
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	0.8

St. Andrew's

St. Andrew's ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tim Young*	969	61.6	-8.2
	Liberal Democrats	Rebecca Price	299	19.0	-10.2
	Conservative	Alex Wilson	237	15.1	+2.7
	Green	Andrew Senter	68	4.3	-0.7
Majority			670	42.6	+18.4
Turnout			1,573	24.8	-3.4
Registered electors			6,363
	Labour hold		Swing	1.0

St. Anne's

St. Anne's ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Barrie Cook*	1,000	49.3	-2.5
	Labour	Kim Naish	548	27.0	+0.6
	Conservative	Anne Allan	368	18.2	+4.5
	Green	Annick Collins-Leyssen	111	5.5	-2.5
Majority			452	22.3	-3.1
Turnout			2,027	32.2	-0.5
Registered electors			6,336
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	1.6

Shrub End

Shrub End ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pauline Hazell	718	38.5	+4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Offen	643	34.5	-7.5
	Labour	Richard Bourne*	404	21.7	+2.1
	Green	Walter Schwarz	100	5.4	+0.6
Majority			75	4.0	N/A
Turnout			1,865	31.2	-1.6
Registered electors			6,008
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	6.2

Stanway

Stanway ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Lesley Scott-Boutell*	1,214	52.2	+10.2
	Conservative	Beverly Davies	897	38.6	-5.4
	Labour	John Spademan	141	6.1	-2.4
	Green	Pam Nelson	74	3.2	-2.3
Majority			317	13.6	N/A
Turnout			2,326	37.7	-0.5
Registered electors			6,166
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	7.8

Tiptree

Tiptree ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Margaret Crowe*	1,185	65.4	+11.0
	Labour	Audrey Spencer	330	18.2	+3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Turrell	151	8.3	-1.4
	Green	Katherine Bamforth	146	8.1	+2.0
Majority			855	47.2	+7.9
Turnout			1,812	30.2	-0.2
Registered electors			6,008
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.7

West Bergholt & Eight Ash Green

West Bergholt & Eight Ash Green ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jill Todd*	877	62.9	-0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Barry Woodward	177	12.7	-4.8
	Labour	Abigail Tootal	173	12.4	+4.5
	Green	Roger Bamforth	167	12.0	+1.1
Majority			700	50.2	+4.1
Turnout			1,394	36.4	-1.8
Registered electors			3,849
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.1

West Mersea

West Mersea ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Margaret Kimberley*	1,510	74.1	+3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Butler	201	9.9	+9.9
	Labour	Barbara Nichols	178	8.7	-1.4
	Green	Beverley Maltby	148	7.3	-3.2
Majority			1,309	64.3	+4.2
Turnout			2,037	35.0	+0.2
Registered electors			5,837
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.2

Wivenhoe Cross

Wivenhoe Cross ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Cory	395	42.5	+3.2
	Conservative	David Adams*	371	39.9	-6.5
	Green	Maria Iacovou	83	8.9	+8.9
	Labour	Rossanna Trudgian	80	8.6	-5.7
Majority			24	2.6	-4.5
Turnout			929	27.3	+0.1
Registered electors			3,428
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	5.0

Wivenhoe Quay

Wivenhoe Quay ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Ford*	648	35.9	+17.2
	Conservative	Penny Kraft	646	35.7	-0.9
	Green	Chris Fox	366	20.3	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Sharon Humphrey	147	8.1	-8.9
Majority			2	0.1	N/A
Turnout			1,807	44.4	+0.7
Registered electors			4,125
	Labour hold		Swing	9.1

References

1. "Colchester". BBC News Online. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
2. "Results - Election 2007". The Times . NewsBank. 5 May 2007. p. 83.
3. "Colchester : It's D-day at polls". Essex County Publications. NewsBank. 3 May 2007.
4. "Colchester : Just two votes stop a Tory takeover". Essex County Publications. NewsBank. 4 May 2007.
5. "Colchester : William stops off on whistle-stop tour". Essex County Publications. NewsBank. 20 April 2007.
6. "Is town ripe for the taking by Greens?". Essex County Publications. NewsBank. 21 May 2007.
7. "Election of Borough Councillors for the Wards of Colchester Borough Council: Summary of Results". Colchester Borough Council. Archived from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2014.