Before the 1997 general election, Colchester was divided into two separate seats - Colchester North and Colchester South & Maldon. Both were held by Conservatives.
The inaugural battle for a reunited Colcester seat, however, did not see a Tory victor.
In one of the most closely fought-way fights of the election, the Lib Dems won with less than 35% of the vote, and fewer than 2,000 votes separated the three main parties.
The unlucky Conservative candidate was Stephan Shakespeare, Lord Archerís official spokesman during and after his failed London mayoral campaign
Steeped in history, Colchester claims to be Britainís oldest recorded town. Britainís first Roman capital it became a Norman centre in due course and in the English civil war Colchester was a stronghold for the parliamentary Roundheads.
Today, it remains a famous garrison town and is home to the University of Essex. The military and academic presence helps explain an above average population aged between 16 and 24, according to the 1991 census: 15.1% compared to an average 12.7% in England and Wales.
The same figures showed that almost one quarter of all households have a single occupant.