Summary

  • Welcome to our live stream page for Your Voice, Your Vote in Colchester - part of our local coverage of the general election

  • The debate took place between 17:30-19:00 BST and was hosted by Sonia Watson from BBC Essex

  1. Watch the Election 2024 Colchester debatepublished at 19:32 British Summer Time 1 July

    Our debate, hosted by BBC Essex, was live streamed from Colchester Castle on Monday. Press play to watch what happened.

    Media caption,

    Candidates in the Colchester constituency discuss the key election topics and answer your questions

    You can find a full list of candidates standing across Essex in our guide.

  2. Meet the five candidates taking part in today's debatepublished at 14:27 British Summer Time 1 July

    James Cracknell

    James Cracknell (Conservative)

    A former double Olympic champion in rowing, he won the Conservative nomination for this seat after incumbent Will Quince decided to step down.

    Terence Longstaff

    Terence Longstaff (Reform UK)

    He served in the armed forces for 25 years following in the footsteps of his father.

    Sara Ruth

    Sara Ruth (Green Party)

    She is currently completing a masters in environment, society and culture at the University of Essex. She is a poet and visual artist.

    Pam Cox for the Labour Party and Martin Goss for the Liberal Democrats are unable to attend the debate and so their parties have sent substitutes.

    Alex Diner

    Alex Diner (Labour Party)

    He is standing for his party in Harwich & North Essex and deputises for Pam Cox in this debate.

    Natalie Sommers

    Natalie Sommers (Liberal Democrats)

    She is standing for her party in Harwich & North Essex and deputises for Martin Goss in this debate.

    Also standing in Colchester is James Rolfe for the Climate Party, but he did not respond to the BBC about taking part.

    A full list of the candidates standing in the Colchester constituency can be found here

  3. What could we expect from the Colchester debate?published at 14:27 British Summer Time 1 July

    It is the old Roman capital of Britain, but Colchester is very much a new city having been granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

    All the main political parties will fancy their chances here as it has the smallest majority of all 18 Essex constituencies at 9,423.

    Will Quince won this seat for the Conservatives in 2015 and has held it since, but he is stepping down, which gives voters the chance to elect a new MP this time around.

    In Colchester, the Liberal Democrats run the city council as a minority administration with the support of Labour and the Greens, and this was a real stronghold for the party, with Sir Bob Russell holding the seat from 1997 to 2015.

    The debate will be hosted by BBC Essex breakfast presenter Sonia Watson inside the Boudicca Gallery at Colchester Castle. The discussion will likely feature questions on the NHS, as the local hospital is under strain, and maybe even Brexit given Colchester is a university city.