COLCHESTER Council is to retain its rainbow coalition administration - inspite of the Conservative-Lib Dem alliance at Westminster.

The Liberal Democrats became the party with the biggest number of seats on the council after securing a total of 26 of the 60 seats following the elections.

The Conservatives now hold 24 with Labour retaining seven and the Independents, three.

But there will be no repeat of the David Cameron-Nick Clegg deal in Colchester Town Hall.

Instead, the existing coalition of Lib Dems, Labour and the Independents is to continue.

For more on this story, see this week's Essex County Standard.