Colchester is a constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Pam Cox of the Labour Party.
The seat was previously held by Conservative MP Will Quince, who announced in June 2023 that he would not be standing for re-election.
Constituency profile
The Colchester constituency is located in Essex and contains most of the city of Colchester. The city is historic and was known as Camulodunum in Roman times, during which it served as the capital of Roman Britain and was an important military centre. The city continues to be associated with the military today as the site of Colchester Garrison, home of the Parachute Regiment. Wealth in the city is divided; the eastern suburb of Greenstead has high levels of deprivation whilst northern and western suburbs like Lexden and Myland are affluent.
Compared to the rest of the country, residents of Colchester are generally younger and have average levels of wealth and education. White people make up 84% of the population, similar to the nationwide figure, with Asians being the largest ethnic minority group at 7%. At the local council level, the southern half of the city is represented by Labour Party councillors whilst the northern suburbs elected Liberal Democrats. An estimated 52% of voters in Colchester favoured leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, identical to the nationwide figure. until 1707, then to the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801. In 1885, it was one of 36 English boroughs and three Irish boroughs to have its representation reduced to one under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Under the Representation of the People Act 1918, the Parliamentary Borough was abolished and replaced with a Division of the County of Essex (later a County Constituency).
The area comprising the Rural District of Lexden and Winstree had largely been part of the Harwich Division.
1950–1983
- The Borough of Colchester;
- The Urban District of West Mersea; and
- The Rural District of Lexden and Winstree.
No changes (the Urban District of West Mersea had been formed as a separate local authority in 1926).
For the 1983 general election, the constituency was abolished, with the northern parts (comprising the majority) forming the bulk of the new constituency of North Colchester. Southern areas were included in the new constituency of South Colchester and Maldon.
1997–2010
- The Borough of Colchester wards of Berechurch, Castle, Harbour, Lexden, Mile End, New Town, Prettygate, St Andrew's, St Anne's, St John's, St Mary's, Shrub End, and Stanway.
Re-established as a Borough Constituency from parts of the abolished constituencies of South Colchester and Maldon (Berechurch, Harbour, New Town, Prettygate and Shrub End wards) and North Colchester (remaining wards).
2010–2024
- The Borough of Colchester wards of Berechurch, Castle, Christ Church, Harbour, Highwoods, Lexden, Mile End, New Town, Prettygate, St Andrew's, St Anne's, St John's, and Shrub End.
Local authority wards redistributed. Minor reduction in electorate, with Stanway ward being included in the new constituency of Witham.
Current
Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The City of Colchester wards of: Castle; Greenstead; Highwoods; Lexden & Braiswick (polling districts AQ, AS and AT); Mile End; New Town & Christ Church; Prettygate; St. Anne’s & St. John’s; Shrub End.
The revised contents closely correspond to the previous boundaries, with the exception of the Old Heath and The Hythe areas to the south east of the city centre, which are now included in Harwich and North Essex.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1295–1640
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Parliament!!First member!!Second member
|-
| 1312|| Joseph Elianore
|-
| 1386|| Thomas Francis|| Ralph Algar
|-
| 1388 (February)|| Thomas Francis|| Simon Fordham
|-
| 1427 || Thomas Godstone ||
|-
| 1485 ||Thomas Christmas||John Vertue
|-
| 1510|| co;span = "2"|No names known
|-
| 1512|| ?John Clere|| ?John Makin
|-
| 1562-63|| Sir Francis Jobson|| William Cardinall!!First party!!!!Second member||rowspan="4"| Parliamentarian
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| Sir William Masham, 1st Baronet ||<!-- party -->
|-
|November 1640
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|Sir Thomas Barrington||Parliamentarian
|-
|September 1644
|colspan="3"|Barrington died September 1644 - seat vacant
|-
|1645
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|John Sayer||
|-
|December 1648
|colspan="3"|Grimston excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
|colspan="3"|Sayer not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge
|-
|1653
|colspan="6"|Colchester was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
|-
|1654
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|Colonel John Barkstead||<!-- party -->
|rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|rowspan="2"| John Maidstone||rowspan="2"| <!-- party -->
|-
|1656
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|Henry Lawrence||<!-- party -->
|-
|January 1659
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|Abraham Johnson||<!-- party -->
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|John Shaw||<!-- party -->
|-
|May 1659
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|colspan="6"|Not represented in the restored Rump
|-
|April 1660
|rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="3"| Sir Harbottle Grimston
|rowspan="3"| Whig
| style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| John Shaw
| <!-- party -->
|-
| 1679
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir Walter Clarges, Bt
| Tory
|-
| 1681
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Samuel Reynolds
| Whig
|-
| 1685
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir Walter Clarges
| Tory
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Nathaniel Lawrence
| Whig
|-
| 1689
|rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="3"| Samuel Reynolds
|rowspan="3"| Whig
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir Isaac Rebow
| Whig
|-
| 1690
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Edward Cary
| Tory
|-
| 1692
|rowspan="8" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="8"| Sir Isaac Rebow
|rowspan="8"| Whig
|-
| 1694
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir Thomas Cooke
| Tory
|-
| 1695
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir John Morden, Bt
| Whigs
|-
| 1698
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir Thomas Cooke
| Tory
|-
|May 1705
| style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| Edward Bullock
| <!-- party -->
|-
|December 1705
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir Thomas Webster, Bt
| Whigs
|-
| 1711
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| William Gore
| Tories
|-
| 1713
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir Thomas Webster, Bt
| Whigs
|-
| 1714
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| William Gore
| Tory
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Nicholas Corsellis
| Tory
|-
| 1715
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Richard Du Cane
| Whig
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir Isaac Rebow
| Whig
|-
| 1722
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir Thomas Webster
| Whig
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Matthew Martin
| Whig
|-
| 1727
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Stamp Brooksbank
| Whig
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Samuel Tufnell
| Whig
|-
| 1734
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Isaac Lemyng Rebow
| Whig
|rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="3"| Matthew Martin
|rowspan="3"| Whig
|-
| 1735
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Jacob Houblon
| Tory
|-
| 1741
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| John Olmius
| Whig
|-
| 1742
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Samuel Savill
| Whig
|rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="3"| Charles Gray
|rowspan="3"| Tory
|-
| 1747
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Richard Savage Nassau
| Whig
|-
| 1754
|rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="2"| John Olmius
|rowspan="2"| Whig
|-
| 1755
|rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="3"| Isaac Martin Rebow
|rowspan="3"| Whig
|-
| 1761
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Charles Gray
| Tory
|-
| 1780
|rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="3"| Sir Robert Smyth, Bt
|rowspan="3"| Radical Whig
|-
| 1781
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Christopher Potter
| Tory
|-
| 1782
|rowspan="3"| Tory
|-
|April 1784
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Christopher Potter
| Tory
|-
|July 1784
|rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="2"| Sir Robert Smyth, Bt
|rowspan="2"| Radical
|-
| 1788
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| George Tierney
| Radical
|-
| 1790
|rowspan="6" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="6"| Robert Thornton
|rowspan="6"| Tory
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| George Jackson
| Tory
|-
| 1796
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| The Lord Muncaster
| Tory
|-
| 1802
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| John Denison
| Tory
|-
| 1806
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| William Tufnell
| Whig
|-
| 1807
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Richard Hart Davis
| Tory
| Radical
| Tory
|-
| 1850
|rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="2"| Lord John Manners
|rowspan="2"| Conservative
|-
| 1852
|rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="2"| William Warwick Hawkins
|rowspan="2"| Conservative
|-
|February 1857
|rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="2"| John Gurdon Rebow
|rowspan="2"| Radical
|-
|March 1857
|rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="3"| Taverner John Miller
|rowspan="3"| Conservative
|-
| 1859
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Philip Oxenden Papillon
| Conservative
|-
| 1865
|rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="3"| John Gurdon Rebow
|rowspan="3"| Liberal
|-
| 1867
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Edward Karslake
| Conservative
|-
| 1868
|rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="2"| William Brewer
|rowspan="2"| Liberal
|-
| 1870
|rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="2"| Alexander Learmonth
|rowspan="2"| Conservative
|-
| 1874
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Herbert Mackworth-Praed
| Conservative
|-
| 1880
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Richard Causton
| Liberal
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| William Willis
| Liberal
|-
|1885
|colspan="6"| Representation reduced to one member
|}
Notes
MPs 1885–1983
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member|votes=18,804|percentage=41.9|change=+11.8|
Elections in the 2010s
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 2019 general election notional result
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
|
| Conservative ||align=right| 25,693 ||align=right| 52.3
|-
|
| Labour ||align=right| 14,753 ||align=right| 30.1
|-
|
| Liberal Democrats ||align=right| 7,209 ||align=right| 14.7
|-
|
| Green ||align=right| 1,436 ||align=right| 2.9
|-
|colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"|
|-
|colspan="2"|Turnout
|align=right| 49,091
|align=right| 63.9
|-
|colspan="2"|Electorate
|colspan="2" align="right"| 76,843
|}
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1940s
General Election 1939/40:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
- Conservative: Oswald Lewis
- Labour: Charles Delacourt-Smith