Nominations have closed for council elections that are taking place in Ipswich and Colchester on May 3.
A third of Ipswich and Colchester councils are up for election – although there are no widespread polls in other districts across the region this year.
In Ipswich some well-known faces are leaving the council. Former mayors Hamil Clarke and Jeannette Macartney are not seeking re-election in their Sprites and Gipping seats.
Labour’s long-serving Jim Powell is not standing again in Bridge and Tory George Debman is standing down in Holywells ward.
Two other more recent Labour arrivals, Hugh Whittall in Whitton and Andi Hopgood in Gainsborough, are standing down because of family and work pressures.
However the balance of power at the council is unlikely to be upset – at present Labour controls Ipswich council, holding 33 of the 48 seats alongside 13 Tories and two Liberal Democrats.
The key battlegrounds next month are likely to be the Holywells, Rushmere, Sprites, Stoke Park, and Whitton wards which are represented by both Labour and Conservative councillors at the borough.
There is also likely to be a keen struggle at St Margarets which is shared between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats at the borough.
However this time veteran Liberal Democrat Inga Lockington is defending her seat and she has built up a formidable personal vote over nearly two decades in the council chamber.
While Ipswich will remain in Labour control, the picture in Colchester is less clear – and could easily change after May’s election.
The Conservatives are the largest single party on the borough council, but they are in opposition to a coalition of Liberal Democrat, Labour and independent councillors.
But the Tories only need to win three seats to give them a majority on the borough – and all the parties in the town are putting a great deal of effort into campaigning for every vote.
Labour was strengthened by finishing second in last year’s general election in Colchester – but there were no borough elections then and the Liberal Democrats do have a strong campaigning reputation in the town so cannot be written off in May’s poll.
Ipswich Council candidates
Alexandra: *John Cook (Lab), Katherine West (C), Richard Thompson (LD), Tom Wilmot (G).
Bixley: *Eddy Phillips (C), Paul Anderson (Lab), Trevor Powell (LD).
Bridge: Collette Allen (Lab), Murray Brunning (C), Charlotte Armstrong (G), Immo Weichert (LD).
Castle Hill: *Robin Vickery (C), Darren Heaps (Lab), Tim Lockington (LD).
Gainsborough: Sheila Handley (Lab), Samantha Murray (C), Robin Whitmore (LD), Ben Magrath (G), Shayne Pooley (UKIP).
Gipping: Elizabeth Hughes (Lab), Mark Phillips (C), Robert Chambers (LD).
Holywells: Heather Mills (C), Jan Parry (Lab), Paul Daley (LD), Jenny Rivett (G).
Priory Heath: *Daniel Maguire (Lab), Andy Shannon (C), Nicholas Jacob (LD), Andy Patmore (G).
Rushmere: *Sandra Gage (Lab), Paul Cawthorn (C), Julie Fletcher (LD).
Sprites: Helen Armitage (Lab), Mike Scanes (C), Conrad Packwood (LD), Alan Cotterell (UKIP).
St Johns: *Elango Elavalakan (Lab), James Harding (C), Edward Packard (LD), Ned Harrison (G).
St Margarets: *Inga Lockington (LD), Simon Fisher (C), Jeremy Brown (Lab), Kirsty Wilmot (G), David Tabane (Ind).
Stoke Park: *Nadia Cenci (C), Kelvin Cracknell (Lab), Barry Broom (G), Maureen Haaker (LD).
Westgate: *Colin Kreidewolf (Lab), Sam Downer (C), Martin Hore (LD), John Mann (G).
Whitehouse: *Colin Wright (Lab), Stephen Lark (C), Malcolm Mitchell (LD), Tony Gould (UKIP).
Whitton: Christine Shaw (Lab), John Downie (C), Daniel Smith (LD).
Colchester Council candidates
Berechurch: *Martyn Warnes (Lab), Andrew Bright (C), Michael Spindler (LD), Andy Brooke (G).
Castle: Simon Crow (C), Jo Hayes (LD), Norma Dinnie-Weall (Lab), Mark Goacher (G).
Greenstead: *Tina Bourne (Lab), John Baker (LD), Fabian Green (C), John Clifton (G), Christopher Lee (Ind).
Highwoods: *Phil Oxford (Ind), Stephen Rowe (C), Michael Turrell (LD), Gary Braddy(Lab), Robbie Spence (G).
Lexden and Braiswick: *Brian Jarvis (C), Thomas Stevenson (LD), John Challen (Lab), Sue Bailey (G).
Marks Tey and Layer: *Jackie Maclean (C), Mark Hull (LD), John Spademan (Lab), Matt Stemp (G), Neil Gilbranch (Ind).
Mersea and Pyefleet: *Robert Davidson (C), Gemma Graham (LD), Barry Gilheany (Lab), Peter Banks (G), John Akker (Ind).
Mile End: David King (LD), Pauline Bacon (Lab), Thomas Rowe (C), Amanda Kirke (G), Jason Leonard (Ind).
New Town and Christchurch: Catherine Spindler (LD), Lorgan Whitehead (Lab), Annesley Hardy (C), Bob Brannon (G), Edmund Chinnery (Ind).
Old Heath and The Hythe: *Lee Scordis (Lab), Michael McDonnell (C), Matthew Craven (LD), Andrew Canessa (G), Chris Hill (Ind).
Prettygate: *Roger Buston (C), Ed Hill (LD), Mike Dale (Lab), Clare Palmer (G).
Rural North: *Peter Chillingworth (C), William Brown (LD), Judith Short (Lab), Roger Bamforth (G).
Shrub End: *Pauline Hazel (C), Sam McCarthy (LD), Isobel Merry (Lab), Wolfgang Fauser (G), Michael Clark (Ind).
St Anne’s and St John’s: *Paul Smith (LD), Christopher Hayter (C), Gregory Edwards (Lab), Megan Maltby (G), Kirstine Lee (Ind).
Stanway: *Jessica Scott-Boutell (LD), Paul Dundas (C), Carole Spademan (Lab), Katie Francis (G).
Tiptree: *Derek Loveland (C), Daniel Eriksson (LD), Barbara Nichols (Lab), Peter Lynn (G).
Wivenhoe: *Rosalind Scott (Lab), Andrea Luxford Vaughan (LD), Liam Gallagher (C), Claudia Uller (G).
Key: C Conservative, Lab Labour, LD Liberal Democrat, G Green Party, Ind Independent, UKIP United Kingdom Independence Party.
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