AS we approach May s election, control of Colchester Council is teetering on a knife-edge. The town hall is controlled by a coalition of Labour and the Lib Dems, who together hold 24 seats. There are 51 seats in the borough, meaning the coalition is technically a minority administration. The Highwoods Independents were part of what was then called the rainbow alliance , but 18 months ago they packed their bags. Support is now on a vote by vote basis, meaning there are some crunch votes on contentious issues. The Conservative Group are the largest group on the council, holding 21 seats. In May they need to secure an additional five, as well as hold all of their existing ones, to hold an overall majority.
So what are the potential scenarios? Firstly, because of election by thirds, the likelihood of largescale change is small, so the most likely outcome is for small change. However, due to the current political make up, a swing of just five seats could make all the difference. This time not all incumbent councillors are standing with Liberal Democrat Thersea Higgins and Conservatives Christopher Arnold, Fiona Maclean and John Elliot not contesting their seats. Deputy leader Julie Young will be hoping to hold onto her Greenstead seat for Labour while the council’s waste boss and Lib Dem group leader Martin Goss will hope to do the same with his Mile End seat.