Full list of Colchester Council 2024 election candidates

A total of 18 of Colchester Council’s 51 seats are up for grabs when voters have their say on May 2.

The Liberal Democrats, the second-largest party with 16 members, currently control the town hall in a minority administration.

With 19 members, the Conservatives are the biggest party on the council but are not in control of the authority after failing to secure an overall majority at last year’s local elections.

Labour currently has 13 councillors in Colchester and the Green Party has two.

What's changed since last year?

Since voters went to the polls in May last year, there have been some changes to the make-up of the council.

Liberal Democrat Simon Appleton snatched a seat from Labour in a by-election in Highwoods in September after Catherine Bickersteth stepped down because of a move away from the city.

This year, voters in Greenstead will elect two councillors after the resignation of Labour councillor Molly Bloomfield last month.

Elizabeth Alake-Akinyemi is Labour’s candidate for the vacant seat and the party’s group leader, Julie Young, who has been a councillor since 1998, will also be defending her Greenstead seat.

Also defending her seat is Steph Nissen, who was elected as a Green councillor for Castle ward in 2021 before defecting to Labour the following year.

Parliamentary hopefuls Martin Goss (Lib, Mile End) and Pam Cox (Lab, New Town and Christ Church), who are both hoping to win Colchester’s seat in the House of Commons at the next general election, are also hoping to be re-elected.

Sara Ruth, the Green Party's parliamentary candidate for Colchester, is going up against Pam Cox for the New Town and Christ Church seat.

Labour councillor Mike Lilley will become the mayor of Colchester in 2025 if he is re-elected to represent Old Heath and the Hythe.

Colchester Council has released the list of 2024 local election candidates (Image: Gareth James)

Several council stalwarts will be leaving Colchester Council in May including the current Conservative mayor, Mersea and Pyefleet councillor John Jowers.

Colchester’s longest-serving councillor, Lib Dem Mike Hogg (St Anne’s and St John’s), is stepping down from the role after 38 years.

Lib Dem councillors Lyn Barton, who was first elected to represent Shrub End in 2006, and Michelle Burrows (Wivenhoe) are also not standing for re-election.

Who is standing in the 2024 Colchester Council elections?

Here’s a list of every candidate in this year’s Colchester Council elections, with incumbent councillors marked with an asterisk *:

Berechurch

• Karen Chaplin (Lib)
• John Clifton (Grn)
• Dave Harris* (Lab)
• Bevan Waghorn (Con)

Castle

• Kemal Cufoglu (Grn)
• Martin Gillingham (Lib)
• Steph Nissen* (Lab)
• Ryan Smith (Con)

Greenstead

• Ronnie Achillie (Con)
• Elizabeth Alake-Akinyemi (Lab)
• Lisa Cross (Grn)
• Rowan Knight (Con)
• Zac Roulston (Grn)
• Jenny Stevens (Lib)
• Julie Young* (Lab)

Highwoods

• Simon Appleton* (Lib)
• Gary Braddy (Lab)
• Antony Greenwood (Grn)
• Christopher Hayter (Con)

Lexden and Braiswick

• Sandy Armitage (Lab)
• Roger Bamforth (Grn)
• Thomas Stevenson (Lib)
• Dennis Willetts* (Con)

Marks Tey and Layer

• Kevin Bentley* (Con)
• Mark Hull (Lib)
• Amy Sheridan (Grn)
• John Spademan (Lab)

Mersea and Pyefleet

• John Akker (Ind)
• Natalie Eldred (Lab)
• Libby Kirkby-Taylor (Grn)
• John Knight (Lib)
• Martin Parsons (Con)
• Sophie Preston-Hall (Reform)

Mile End

• Pauline Bacon (Lab)
• Phoebe Butcher (Con)
• Martin Goss* (Lib)
• Amanda Kirke (Grn)

New Town and Christ Church

• Pam Cox* (Lab)
• Alan Mathias (Lib)
• Ian Partridge (Ind)
• Christopher Piggott (Con)
• Sara Ruth (Grn)

Old Heath and the Hythe

• Andrew Canessa (Grn)
• Jeffrey Drew (Ind)
• Mike Lilley* (Lab)
• Jakub Makowski (Lib)
• Richard Martin (Con)

Prettygate

• Chris Coates (Lab)
• Natalie Edgoose (Grn)
• Sue Lissimore* (Con)
• John Loxley (Lib)

Rural North

• John Burgess (Grn)
• Darius Laws* (Con)
• Karen Maxwell (Lib)
• Barbara Nichols (Lab)

Shrub End

• Mark Arnold (Lib)
• Bob Brannan (Grn)
• Angela Linghorn-Baker (Con)
• Claire Osborne (Lab)

St Anne's and St John's

• Simon Crow (Con)
• Sebastian Dwyer (Grn)
• Brian Omiyi (Lab)
• Catherine Spindler (Lib)

Stanway

• Jeremy Hagon* (Con)
• William Hayton (Lab)
• Clare Smee (Grn)
• Chantelle-Louise Whyborn (Lib)

Tiptree

• Clare Burgess (Grn)
• Ashley Girling (Reform)
• Luke Hayes (Lab)
• Roger Mannion* (Con)
• Sue Waite (Lib)

Wivenhoe

• Andrew Higginson (Con)
• Sean Kelly (Lib)
• Berthold Lausen (Grn)
• Philip Long (Lab)