Colchester: MP, 2024 result and local figures
Pam Cox (Labour) is the MP for Colchester, elected at the general election of 4 July 2024. On 4 July 2024 Pam Cox (Labour) won 18,804 votes, 41.9% of the valid vote; James Cracknell (Conservative) came second with 10,554. Turnout, counted as valid votes over the electorate, was 57.1% (44,903 of 78,662); the winning margin was 8,250 votes.
Key figures
What the figures show
About 120,000 people live in Colchester: the ONS figure for mid-2024 is 119,956. 16,833 were aged 65 or over and 24,595 were under 16.
72.3% of residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, on the Annual Population Survey estimate (95% confidence interval ±8.1 points). The economically inactive share was 22.6%.
Full-time employees living in Colchester had median pay of £39,434 a year in April 2025; for jobs based in the constituency the median was £39,353. A year before, the residents' median was £39,275. The residents' figure ranks 259th highest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
Half of the homes sold in the year to March 2026 went for more than £296,250 and half for less. That is up 52% on £195,000 ten years before. The highest March-year median in the series was £300,000, in the year to March 2025. It ranks 270th highest of 575 constituencies. The figure rests on 1,330 recorded sales.
In 2024/25, 24.3% of children under 16 in Colchester (5,966) lived in relative low income families once housing costs are taken off, says the DWP; the UK figure is 26.0%. Before housing costs the share was 15.6% in 2024/25, from 14.9% in 2021/22.
In September 2026, 3.7% of 16 to 64 year olds in Colchester were claimants (2,880 people). That is up from 2,675 twelve months before.
4,400 business sites were registered in Colchester in March 2026 (4,395 a year before), and employed 56,000 people in 2024.
Census 2021: 47,253 households, 2,708.1 people per square kilometre, 28.9% of workers based at home, 17.1% of adults retired.
MP
Pam Cox, Labour
- MP for Colchester since 4 July 2024
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Pam Cox on this site
In Parliament
The 5 most recent spoken contributions by Pam Cox in Hansard, from 16 July 2026 to 21 October 2026, quoted from the official report. Hansard search returns 121 spoken contributions by Pam Cox since 4 July 2024.
Q9. Endometriosis affects about 1 in 10 women in the UK, and I have heard from many women in Colchester and north-east Essex who are living in chronic pain with the condition—a pain that is prolonged by unnecessarily long waits for treatment and diagnosis.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Following the visit this week by the victims Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones), to Colchester’s much-respected Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse, or CARA, and the confirmation of an additional £9 million for victim support services in …
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
My hon. Friend mentioned infrastructure. Does he agree that there is a case for redefining that term to include early years provision when we are looking at new housing developments for families?
On the historical point—forgive me; I could not stop myself—the Maternity and Child Welfare Act 1918 probably preceded some of the things the hon. Lady is about to say, as well as some of the measures mentioned by the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean).
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
It is a pleasure to contribute to this debate in memory of Sir David Amess. Sir David, as we have heard, was a tireless advocate for his Southend constituency, so I felt it was fitting to focus on an issue —the role of the University of Essex—that connects Southend with my own …
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 27 October 2026. Up to two items per debate; remarks under 40 characters are left out. All contributions in Hansard.
General election, 4 July 2024
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Change in share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pam Cox | Labour | 18,804 | 41.9% | +11.8 |
| James Cracknell | Conservative | 10,554 | 23.5% | −28.8 |
| Terence Longstaff | Reform UK | 6,664 | 14.8% | |
| Martin Goss | Liberal Democrat | 6,393 | 14.2% | −0.4 |
| Sara Ruth | Green Party | 2,414 | 5.4% | +2.5 |
| James Rolfe | Climate Party | 74 | 0.2% |
Result summary as published: Lab gain from Con. Change in share is in percentage points against the notional 2019 result on the new boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library, election results (data, read 14 October 2026).
Results on these boundaries
| Date | Election | First | Second | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2024 | General election | Labour 41.9% | Conservative 23.5% | 8,250 | 57.1% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 52.3% | Labour 30.1% | 10,940 | 63.9% |
Only results on the constituency boundaries first used at the 2024 general election are shown. The 2019 figures are the House of Commons Library's notional estimates of how votes cast in 2019 would have fallen on these boundaries, not a result that was declared. Source: House of Commons Library, constituency results.
Councils
Colchester lies within Colchester.
- Colchester E07000071
Who has power over Colchester
Every body that makes decisions for Colchester, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Colchester this page: Pam Cox (Labour) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
| Figure | Period | Publisher | Read | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | mid-2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimants as a share of residents aged 16 to 64 | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimant count | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Employment rate, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of residents | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of people working here | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median house price | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Homes sold | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, after housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, before housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Business sites (local units) | March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| People employed by businesses here | 2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Economically inactive, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Households | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents per square kilometre | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Workers mainly working from home | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents aged 16+ who are retired | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
"Data" is the file or query each figure was read from (its SHA-256 is in the link title); "area" shows the same table for this constituency alone.
Common questions
Who is the MP for Colchester?
UK Parliament lists Pam Cox, Labour, as the Member of Parliament for Colchester since the July 2024 general election.
What was the 2024 general election result in Colchester?
Pam Cox (Labour) won with 18,804 votes, a majority of 8,250, on a turnout of 57.1% (House of Commons Library).
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Colchester?
3.7% of residents aged 16 to 64 in September 2026, 2,880 people, on the ONS claimant count.
What is the average house price in Colchester?
The median price paid was £296,250 in the year to March 2026 (ONS, from HM Land Registry sales).
What is the average salary in Colchester?
Median full-time pay of residents was £39,434 a year in April 2025 (ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings).
How many children in Colchester live in low income families?
DWP counts 5,966 (24.3% of under-16s) in relative low income after housing costs for 2024/25.
What is the population of Colchester?
The ONS estimate for mid-2024 is 119,956 residents.
Built 14 October 2026 from official records; how these pages are compiled. This page lists what the record shows and gives no verdict on the MP or the area. Link moved or figure wrong? Tell us.