Colchester.
Conservative and Unionist Party-controlled district. £23m net revenue. 17 wards across 3 parliamentary constituencies.
31 May 2026
Conservative and Unionist Party chamber, 2-party MP geography.
Colchester is a district controlled by Conservative and Unionist Party (18 of 51 seats). Net revenue is £23m for 2025-26. It covers 17 wards spanning 3 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 2 parties — a heterogeneous setup.
Who sits in the chamber.
Conservative and Unionist Party 35% · last contested 7 May 2026
Councillors — the people.
| Councillor | Ward | Elected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martyn Warnes | Lab | Berechurch | 2026 |
| Dave Harris | Lab | Berechurch | 2024 |
| Chris Pearson | Lab | Berechurch | 2023 |
| Amy Kirkby-Taylor | Grn | Castle | 2026 |
| Kemal Cufoglu | Grn | Castle | 2024 |
| Mark Goacher | Grn | Castle | 2023 |
| Daryl Swain | Ref | Greenstead | 2026 |
| Elizabeth Alake-Akinyemi | Lab | Greenstead | 2024 |
| Julie Ann Young | Lab | Greenstead | 2024 |
| Sue Ettritch | Ref | Highwoods | 2026 |
| Simon Appleton | LD | Highwoods | 2024 |
| Alison Mary Jay | LD | Highwoods | 2023 |
Where revenue comes from.
Revenue mix is close to the councils (district) median: 64% council tax, 25% central grants.
Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)
Band-D bill.
| Council slice | £224 |
| County / upper-tier | £1,580 |
| Police | £260 |
| Fire & rescue | £88 |
| GLA precept | £0 |
| Parish average | £40 |
| Total Band-D | £2,192 |
Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish
Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.
How does Colchester split its revenue across services, compared with peer councils (district)-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.
The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.
Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.
Every invoice over £500, published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Best-effort, not statutory — counts and totals net negatives (refunds/reversals).
Top by total — last 180 days
| Supplier | Paid | Share | Pmts |
|---|---|---|---|
| THOMPSON SMITH & PUXON (TSP LEGAL) | £2.15m | 22.2% | 10 |
| COLCHESTER BOROUGH HOMES LTD | £1.27m | 13.1% | 8 |
| HENDERSON & TAYLOR (PUBLIC WORKS) LIMITED | £0.58m | 6.0% | 6 |
| HOUGHTON & SON LTD | £0.51m | 5.3% | 8 |
| SEAGER HEATING LTD (HOME SOLUTIONS) | £0.26m | 2.6% | 2 |
| ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL | £0.24m | 2.5% | 8 |
| RIVERSIDE TRUCK RENTAL LTD | £0.22m | 2.3% | 16 |
| BLOOM PROCUREMENT SERVICES LTD | £0.20m | 2.1% | 6 |
| KARCHER (UK) LTD | £0.19m | 2.0% | 2 |
| M & J GROUP | £0.18m | 1.9% | 2 |
By service area · top supplier
Service-classified supplier data not yet ingested for this council.
Colchester’s territory crosses 3 Westminster constituencies, with 2 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.
| Constituency | Wards | % of council | Current MP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colchester | 9 | 53% | Pam Cox | Lab |
| Harwich and North Essex | 5 | 29% | Bernard Jenkin | Con |
| Witham | 3 | 18% | Priti Patel | Con |
This council holds 2 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Conservative and Unionist Party-controlled district — most weeks one MP is asking the council for something and another is praising it.
Sources, methods & last update
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
vs 163 other councils (district)
Police, Fire, Parish on top
836 payments · 2 Jan 2026 – 30 Jan 2026
2023 boundaries
Pending ingest at LAD level