1988 Colchester Borough Council election

1988 Colchester Borough Council election
20 out of 60 seats to Colchester Borough Council; 31 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	40.1% (5.6%)
	Winner of each seat at the 1988 Colchester Borough Council election

Elections to Colchester Borough Council were held on 5 May 1988 alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.

This was the first Colchester local election contested by the newly formed Liberal Democrats following the merger of the SDP and Liberal Party.

At the election, the Liberal Democrats emerged as the largest party on the council for the first time since its creation in 1973.

Summary

1988 Colchester Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	7	2	35.0	17	24	40.0	12,424	32.5	–4.3
	Conservative	9	1	45.0	14	23	38.3	15,190	39.7	±0.0
	Labour	3	1	15.0	6	9	15.0	9,590	25.1	+4.7
	Tiptree Residents	1		5.0	2	3	5.0	1,042	2.7	–0.2
	Independent	0		0.0	1	1	1.7	0	0.0	–0.2

Ward results

Berechurch

Berechurch
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John William Stevens*	1,140	41.8	−3.2
	Labour	G. Prior	984	36.0	+2.4
	Conservative	E. Parsons	606	22.2	+0.8
Majority			156	5.8	−5.6
Turnout			2,730	44.8	−4.6
Registered electors			6,090
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.8

Castle

Castle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	R. Cole*	947	38.5	−5.3
	Conservative	E. Humphreys	896	36.4	+1.7
	Labour	H. Winter	617	25.1	+3.6
Majority			51	2.1	−7.0
Turnout			2,460	47.9	−11.4
Registered electors			5,136
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	3.5

Dedham

Dedham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	G. Williams	485	53.9	+17.7
	Conservative	G. Spray	390	43.4	−15.0
	Labour	S. Worgan	24	2.7	−2.7
Majority			95	10.5	N/A
Turnout			899	58.8	+1.8
Registered electors			1,529
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	16.4

East Donyland

East Donyland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Sanderson*	551	56.9	+4.7
	Labour	B. Wilding	302	31.2	+6.7
	Liberal Democrats	Barry Woodward	115	11.9	−11.4
Majority			249	25.7	+3.6
Turnout			968	56.5	−0.5
Registered electors			1,713
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.0

Fordham

Fordham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Cannon*	449	66.1	+1.1
	Labour	A. Sullivan	127	18.7	−1.2
	Liberal Democrats	G. Chase	103	15.2	+0.1
Majority			322	47.4
Turnout			679	48.3
Registered electors			1,405
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.2

Harbour

Harbour
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Bird*	1,135	52.5	+18.1
	Conservative	Mike Coyne	518	24.0	−2.3
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Blandon	461	21.3	−15.1
Majority			617	28.5	N/A
Turnout			2,114	38.3	−10.1
Registered electors			5,652
	Labour hold		Swing	10.2

Lexden

Lexden
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sonia Lewis	1,188	50.2	+7.3
	Liberal Democrats	B. Williamson	1,056	44.6	−7.7
	Labour	J. Crawford	123	5.2	+0.4
Majority			132	5.6	N/A
Turnout			2,367	54.7	−4.2
Registered electors			4,327
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	7.5

Marks Tey

Marks Tey
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Gower	454	49.8	−14.0
	Liberal Democrats	G. Ambridge	268	29.4	N/A
	Labour	Maureen Lee	190	20.8	−15.4
Majority			186	20.4	−7.1
Turnout			912	43.8	+14.3
Registered electors			2,082
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Mile End

Mile End
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Borges*	884	58.4	+6.5
	Liberal Democrats	E. Reid	376	24.9	−9.1
	Labour	A. Hayden-Case	253	16.7	+2.6
Majority			508	33.5	+15.6
Turnout			1,513	37.8	−7.1
Registered electors			4,005
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.8

New Town

New Town
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Bob Russell*	1,373	68.2	+13.0
	Labour	Sandra Benedetti	417	20.7	−6.1
	Conservative	J. Clarke	223	11.1	−6.9
Majority			956	47.5	+19.1
Turnout			2,013	43.8	+3.1
Registered electors			4,595
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	9.6

Prettygate

Prettygate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Hunt*	1,295	50.7	+4.0
	Conservative	R. Stevenson	1,001	39.2	−2.4
	Labour	G. Thompson	256	10.0	−1.6
Majority			294	11.5	+6.4
Turnout			2,512	50.7	−7.3
Registered electors			5,029
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	3.2

Shrub End

Shrub End
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	S. Cawley*	1,047	49.7	−8.6
	Labour	Frank Wilkin	588	27.9	+4.6
	Conservative	E. Winney	470	22.3	+3.9
Majority			459	21.8	−13.2
Turnout			2,105	33.0	−3.4
Registered electors			6,381
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	6.6

St. Andrew's

St. Andrew's
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Truscott	1,294	52.6	+8.1
	Conservative	E. Paice	746	30.3	+2.4
	Liberal Democrats	J. Muffett	421	17.1	−10.6
Majority			548	22.3	+5.7
Turnout			2,461	27.3	−2.6
Registered electors			9,019
	Labour hold		Swing	2.9

St. Anne's

St. Anne's
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mary Frank*	922	41.6	+16.7
	Conservative	G. Gawthrop	702	31.7	−3.2
	Liberal Democrats	M. Sheehan	592	26.7	−13.5
Majority			220	9.9	N/A
Turnout			2,216	45.8	−4.8
Registered electors			4,843
	Labour hold		Swing	10.0

St. John's

St. John's
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Smith*	1,120	51.7	+7.2
	Liberal Democrats	L. Clubb	821	37.9	−9.6
	Labour	K. Hindle	224	10.3	+2.3
Majority			299	13.8	N/A
Turnout			2,165	39.4	−10.4
Registered electors			5,497
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.4

St. Mary's

St. Mary's
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Brooks*	1,209	59.2	+8.0
	Liberal Democrats	R. Watkins	426	20.9	−11.8
	Labour	R. Turp	407	19.9	+3.9
Majority			783	38.3	+19.8
Turnout			2,042	41.0	−8.6
Registered electors			4,986
	Conservative hold		Swing	9.9

Stanway

Stanway
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Sykes	968	44.0	+2.5
	Conservative	B. Chafer*	887	40.3	−6.6
	Labour	Tim Young	346	15.7	+4.1
Majority			81	3.7	N/A
Turnout			2,201	41.3	−2.7
Registered electors			5,333
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	4.6

Tiptree

Tiptree
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tiptree Residents	E. Bird*	1,042	66.3	+0.9
	Conservative	E. Peel	385	24.5	+0.5
	Labour	Lucy Wood	145	9.2	−1.4
Majority			657	41.8	+0.4
Turnout			1,572	25.5	−5.9
Registered electors			6,161
	Tiptree Residents hold		Swing	0.2

West Mersea

West Mersea
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Kimberley	1,337	73.4	+8.8
	Liberal Democrats	A. Stevens	345	18.9	−10.4
	Labour	C. McGowan-Griffin	139	7.6	+1.5
Majority			992	54.5	+19.2
Turnout			1,821	34.1	−10.9
Registered electors			5,341
	Conservative hold		Swing	9.6

Wivenhoe

Wivenhoe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Adams	1,174	47.8	−0.9
	Labour	Robert Newman	1,097	44.7	+3.4
	Liberal Democrats	R. Wilson	185	7.5	−2.5
Majority			77	3.1	−4.3
Turnout			2,456	40.5	−3.1
Registered electors			6,058
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	2.2