Yesterday's front page report of the Essex County Council election results for Colchester was not correct.

Liberal Democrats did not “hold their four seats”.

One of them was a gain – Maypole (Berechurch and Shrub End borough wards) from Labour.

Liberal Democrats held Abbey (Harbour and New Town Wards and most of Castle Ward), Mile End and High Woods, and Parsons Heath and East Gates (St John’s and St Anne’s Wards and the rest of Castle Ward).

And it was almost five wins, because the Lib Dems came within just 19 votes of taking Drury (Lexden, Prettygate and Christ Church) from the Conservatives – four years ago the Tory majority was 1,019.

On a day when, across Britain, the Tories made substantial gains, for the second consecutive year, support for the Conservatives in Colchester continued to fall away.

A summary of the results in the new Colchester Parliamentary constituency (allowing for a split distribution of the votes in the Wivenhoe St Andrew Division) shows that the Liberal Democrats polled 11,303 votes against 7,171 for the Conservatives, giving the Lib-Dems a 4,433 majority.

Labour were well behind in third place on 3,193 votes and the Greens fourth on 2,639. The British National Party got 1,477 votes.

The results showed that of the 13 borough wards which comprise the new Colchester Parliamentary constituency, the Liberal Democrats won ten and came second in the other three.

There is no question that the secondary school reorganisation proposals for Colchester, including the closure of Thomas, Lord Audley and Alderman Blaxill schools, contributed to the Conservatives’ poor showing.

The Gazette Comment made some valuable points about the consequences of the county-wide election results. Hopefully it will have been read by the Tory leadership at County Hall in Chelmsford.

From a position of political strength, they can show they recognise the will of what the people of Colchester have said, and reverse the closure proposals.

Bob Russell
Lib Dem MP for
Colchester
Magdalen Hall
Wimpole Road