1978 Colchester Borough Council election

1978 Colchester Borough Council election

← 1976 1979 →
19 out of 60 seats to Colchester Borough Council 31 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	42.7%
First party Second party   Party Conservative Labour Last election 39 seats, 55.9% 18 seats, 31.7% Seats won 10 8 Seats after 37 21 Seat change 2 3 Popular vote 17,478 13,720 Percentage 53.1% 41.7% Swing 2.8% 10.0%   Third party Fourth party   Party Tiptree Residents Independent Last election 2 seats, 3.1% 1 seat, 1.5% Seats won 0 1 Seats after 1 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 740 0 Percentage 2.2% 0.0% Swing 0.9% 1.7%
Winner of each seat at the 1978 Colchester Borough Council election
Council control before election Conservative Council control after election Conservative

Elections to Colchester Borough Council were held in 1978 alongside local elections across the United Kingdom.

1978 Colchester Borough Council election[1]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	10	2	52.6	27	37	61.7	17,478	53.1	−2.8
	Labour	8	3	42.1	13	21	35.0	13,720	41.7	+10.0
	Tiptree Residents	0	1	0.0	1	1	1.7	740	2.2	−0.9
	Independent	1		0.0	0	1	1.7	0	0.0	−1.7
	Liberal	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	974	3.0	−4.9

Berechurch

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. McQuitty	953	40.5	+4.2
	Conservative	L. Long	836	35.5	+0.5
	Liberal	M. Gage	565	24.0	–4.8
Majority			127	5.0	N/A
Turnout			2,354	41.6	+3.5
Registered electors			5,652
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	1.9

No Conservative candidate as previous.

Boxted & Langham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Sexton	589	63.0	–22.2
	Labour	J. Bensusan-Butt	346	37.0	+22.2
Majority			243	26.0	−44.4
Turnout			935	57.0	+5.3
Registered electors			1,640
	Conservative hold		Swing	22.2

Castle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ken Cooke	1,406	56.9	+9.0
	Conservative	G. Jefferies	912	36.9	–6.8
	Liberal	D. Stephenson	154	6.2	–2.2
Majority			494	20.0	N/A
Turnout			2,472	50.4	+1.2
Registered electors			4,902
	Labour hold		Swing	7.9

Harbour

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rod Green	1,347	56.4	+10.8
	Conservative	E. White	1,041	43.5	+1.4
Majority			306	12.9	N/A
Turnout			2,388	48.8	+2.9
Registered electors			4,889
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	4.7

No Liberal candidate as previous (–12.1).

Lexden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Holt	1,614	81.5	+19.7
	Labour	D. Pitchford	367	18.5	+2.6
Majority			1,247	63.0	N/A
Turnout			1,981	48.2	–10.1
Registered electors			3,864
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.6

No Liberal candidate as previous (–22.3).

Mile End

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Fulford	1,092	67.8	–1.8
	Labour	Tim Oxton	518	32.2	+1.8
Majority			574	35.6	N/A
Turnout			1,610	44.9	–2.3
Registered electors			3,582
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.8

New Town

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Orpe	1,169	56.6	+4.2
	Conservative	L. Leader	769	37.2	+11.1
	Liberal	M. Pawsey	127	6.2	–15.2
Majority			400	19.4	N/A
Turnout			2,065	44.7	–4.0
Registered electors			4,620
	Labour hold		Swing	3.5

Prettygate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Purvis	1,523	68.7	+12.6
	Labour	R. Lown	693	31.3	+4.3
Majority			830	37.5	N/A
Turnout			2,216	45.6	–1.4
Registered electors			4,855
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.2

No Liberal candidate as previous (–16.9).

Shrub End

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Plowright	1,044	59.3	–3.9
	Conservative	J. Nicholls	716	32.8	+3.9
Majority			328	18.6	N/A
Turnout			1,760	32.8	–14.5
Registered electors			5,362
	Labour hold		Swing	3.9

St. Andrew's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Graham Bober	1,374	67.0	–5.3
	Conservative	Nigel Chapman	676	33.0	+5.3
Majority			698	34.0	N/A
Turnout			2,050	30.9	–1.0
Registered electors			6,628
	Labour hold		Swing	5.3

St. Anne's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Marchant	1,016	56.9	+2.1
	Conservative	D. Sissons	770	43.1	–2.1
Majority			246	13.8	N/A
Turnout			1,786	42.3	+4.2
Registered electors			4,225
	Labour hold		Swing	2.1

St. John's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Pinnock	1,132	70.7	+2.6
	Labour	P. Treacher	470	29.3	–2.6
Majority			662	41.3	N/A
Turnout			1,602	46.7	–2.4
Registered electors			3,432
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.6

St. Mary's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Hilham	1,431	66.1	+7.1
	Labour	S. McAndrew	453	20.9	–0.1
	Liberal	William Spyvee	282	13.0	–7.0
Majority			978	45.2	N/A
Turnout			2,166	45.4	–5.4
Registered electors			4,776
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.6

Stanway

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Arrondelle	942	54.3	+1.5
	Labour	E. Kirkby	793	45.7	–1.5
Majority			149	8.6	N/A
Turnout			1,735	48.2	–4.0
Registered electors			3,601
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.5

Tiptree

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Martin	950	48.8	+9.8
	Tiptree Residents	J. Webb	740	38.0	–1.0
	Labour	J. Greer	256	13.2	–8.8
Majority			210	10.8	N/A
Turnout			1,946	35.4	–11.5
Registered electors			5,496
	Conservative gain from Tiptree Residents		Swing	5.4

West Bergholt

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Lampon	692	82.1	+0.6
	Labour	Jean Quinn	151	17.9	+7.1
Majority			541	64.2	–6.7
Turnout			843	47.4	±0.0
Registered electors			1,779
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.3

Winstree

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Fairhead	808	79.4	+6.6
	Labour	V. McAndrew	210	20.6	–2.9
Majority			598	58.7	–1.9
Turnout			1,018	54.4	–6.2
Registered electors			1,871
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.8

No Independent candidate as previous (–3.7).

Wivenhoe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Bayles	1,154	54.0	+10.6
	Conservative	K. Brereton	985	46.0	–10.6
Majority			169	8.0	N/A
Turnout			2,139	43.6	+0.7
Registered electors			4,907
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	10.6