The 2026 Colchester City Council election will be held on 7 May 2026 to elect members of Colchester City Council in Essex, England. This will be on the same day as other local elections.
Due to ongoing local government reorganisation, this will be the final election to Colchester City Council before it is abolished and replaced by a successor unitary authority. Elections to the successor authority are due to take place in 2027.
Following the conclusion of the previous election, the council stayed under no overall control, with the Conservatives the largest party, but seven seats short of an overall majority. For the 2024-2025 period, a Liberal Democrat minority ran the council, with informal support from Labour and the Greens. David King (Mile End) continued as council leader.
A few weeks after the previous election, Lesley Scott-Boutell (Stanway) left the Liberal Democrats group to sit as an Independent, becoming the first Independent councillor on the council since 2022. This change put the Liberal Democrats and Labour on the same number of seats (14 each).
On 21 May 2025, a coalition was formed between the Liberal Democrats and Labour groups for the 2025-2026 period, with King being reconfirmed as council leader at the Annual Council Meeting on the same day.
The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the official candidates standing in each ward at the election, will be released following the close of nominations at 4:00pm on 10 April 2026.