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One third ofColchester City Council inEssex,England is elected each year, followed by one year without election. Since the last boundary changes at the2016 election, 51councillors have been elected from 17wards.
The table below illustrates the seats held by each party at the conclusion of each election along with control of the council.[1]
| Year | Liberal Democrats[a] | Conservative | Labour | Green | Others | Council control after election | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local government reorganisation; council established (60 seats) | ||||||||
| 1973 | 1 | 28 | 27 | – | 4 | No overall control | ||
| New ward boundaries | ||||||||
| 1976 | 0 | 39 | 18 | 0 | 3 | Conservative | ||
| 1978 | 0 | 37 | 21 | 0 | 2 | Conservative | ||
| 1979 | 0 | 36 | 21 | 0 | 3 | Conservative | ||
| 1980 | 0 | 35 | 22 | 0 | 3 | Conservative | ||
| 1982 | 5 | 34 | 17 | 0 | 4 | Conservative | ||
| 1983 | 6 | 36 | 14 | 0 | 4 | Conservative | ||
| 1984 | 10 | 35 | 11 | 0 | 4 | Conservative | ||
| 1986 | 17 | 28 | 11 | 0 | 4 | No overall control | ||
| 1987 | 23 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 4 | No overall control | ||
| 1988 | 24 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 4 | No overall control | ||
| New ward boundaries | ||||||||
| 1990 | 28 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 1991 | 28 | 19 | 11 | 0 | 2 | No overall control | ||
| 1992 | 30 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 2 | No overall control | ||
| 1994 | 34 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 1 | Liberal Democrats | ||
| 1995 | 34 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | Liberal Democrats | ||
| 1996 | 33 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 1 | Liberal Democrats | ||
| 1998 | 27 | 15 | 17 | 0 | 1 | No overall control | ||
| 1999 | 26 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 1 | No overall control | ||
| 2000 | 23 | 22 | 14 | 0 | 1 | No overall control | ||
| New ward boundaries | ||||||||
| 2002 | 26 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 4 | No overall control | ||
| 2003 | 25 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 6 | No overall control | ||
| 2004 | 22 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2006 | 21 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 2 | No overall control | ||
| 2007 | 21 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2008 | 23 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2010 | 26 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2011 | 26 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2012 | 27 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2014 | 25 | 23 | 9 | 0 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2015 | 20 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 4 | No overall control | ||
| New ward boundaries; seats decreased from 60 to 51 | ||||||||
| 2016 | 15 | 22 | 11 | 0 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2018 | 12 | 25 | 11 | 0 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2019 | 13 | 23 | 11 | 1 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2021 | 12 | 23 | 11 | 2 | 3 | No overall control | ||
| 2022 | 14 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 2 | No overall control | ||
| 2023 | 15 | 19 | 15 | 2 | 0 | No overall control | ||
| 2024 | 15 | 19 | 14 | 3 | 0 | No overall control | ||
By-elections occur when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of by-elections from 1997 onwards;[2] full by-election results can be found by clicking on the by-election name.
