Comments on: Colchester

By: Harry Porter

Harry Porter — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:10:22 +0000

Congratulations to SIR Bob!

By: Andy JS

Andy JS — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:33:27 +0000

Well he is 65 tomorrow.

By: wolf

wolf — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:40:34 +0000

Bob Russell on Anglia News talking about banning elephants in circuses.He looked a bit old and tired.

By: Christian

Christian — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 13:49:29 +0000

Does anyone suspect Russell may cross the floor before before or immediately after the General Election?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1325223/Nick-Clegg-bust-senior-Lib-Dem-MP-left-door-hinges.html

Will Colchester turn a shade of red for the first time?

By: Joe James B

Joe James B — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 01:04:05 +0000

Quite possibly yes,
I can’t quite remember the results but the notional majority was only just above 5,000 in 1992, and I think it was one of the places which swung against the Alliance/LDs in 1987 and 1982 so maybe 1983 would have been just 1,000 or so.

By: Andy JS

Andy JS — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:54:09 +0000

Might the Alliance have come close to winning a whole-town Colchester seat in either 1983 or 1987?

By: Pete Whitehead

Pete Whitehead — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:48:10 +0000

“Very good boundaries for the Conservatives and I guess they would have held both seats fairly comfortably in 97 had they been retained”

It’s amazing really that the Conservatives managed to persuade the boundary commission to adopt these proposals, when urban Colchester (ie the boundaries we have now) would have been the right size for a single constituency. This was mooted at first – Robert Waller says Labour ‘cried foul’ at the division of the town as they would have entertained hopes of winning on these boundaries. Obviously they wouldn;’t have come close in any election before 1997 anyway.

I think on the old boundaries Labour may have come quite close in Colchester North but not close enough to win.

By: Joe James B

Joe James B — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:38:45 +0000

Thanks Pete – that does help explain it,
it looks surprising at first.
clearly been a lot of growth in the area,

By: Pete Whitehead

Pete Whitehead — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:29:12 +0000

In 1992 the electorate of the urban part of Colchester which was in Colchester North was just under 40,000 out of a total electorate then of 86,479 so a bit under half, though on the 1976 figures on which the boundary commission based their boundaries the electorate was only 68,000 so perhaps the Colchester element would have formed a majority at the beginning of the period, with the growth occurring disproportionately outside the town (although that assumption may be incorrect – there will have been a lot in areas like MIle End for example)

The figure fr Colchester South is that c. 28,500 voters were situated in the wards of Colchester town so a little under a third of the 1992 electorate of 86,410 as I suggested

By: Joe James B

Joe James B — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:46:14 +0000

I was surprised that the new Colchester seat, before the 1997 election, had a notional 1992 majority for the Conservatives of only about 5,250.
(In Robert Waller’s Almanac).

The two seats covering Colchester were very Conservative in 1992, and I think there was a swing in both from LD to Con, with Labour moving up in third.

He went on to say that it would only fall, however, if the Conservative Government was very unpopular indeed.

It was.

But like Chelmsford, the LD strength must have been (and be) concentrated very much in the town itself.