Elections for Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council were held on Thursday 4 May 2006. The whole council was up for election. Barking and Dagenham is split up into 17 wards, each electing 3 councillors, so a total of 51 seats were up for election.
The Labour Party retained control of the council winning 38 seats and 41% of the popular vote. The British National Party won 12 seats in a rare electoral breakthrough for a far-right party, and formed the official opposition winning 17% of the popular vote. The Conservatives won 1 seat.[1][2]
Background
In the lead up and aftermath of the election, Barking and Dagenham underwent significant demographic change causing a massive rise in support for the British National Party. In the 2001 census, the white British and Irish percent of the borough's population was 82%.
From 2000 to 2011, the proportion of white British residents had decreased from 82% to 49%, the largest decrease of White British residents in any unitary authority across Britain, and the second largest proportional decrease, just behind neighboring Newham. A significant amount of White British residents, who were upset by the massive surge of immigration to the borough, moved out to the home counties, particularly neighbouring Essex, for instance, Cavney Island, a town in Essex, became a hotspot for those moving out of nor only Barking and Dagenham, but also East London boroughs. This trend actually started in the 80s, but accelerated in the 2000s and a significant amount of Essex's population can trace their family links to East London It is also worth noting, the decline was not purely numerical.
The proportion of foreign born residences soared by 205%, the black population increased from 6% to 20%, the Asian population went from 4% to 16% and other white went from 3% to 9%. In 2006 estimates placed the White British percent of the borough at around 65-70%. This rapid demographic change caused a surge in support for the BNP, a far right political party whose main focus was on immigration and demographic change. Many White British residents, most who had lived in the borough for generations, found themselves drawn to the BNP solely by the concern of immigration and demographic change.
As quoted by the Labour MP for Barking at the time, Margaret Hodge, she said "8 out of 10 of my (White British) constituents were considering or plan to vote for the BNP. Between 2001-2011 she tried to balance the new realities facing the borough and the growing resentment of many long term residents. However, her stance was wildly criticized by both sides, both who saw her trying to appeal excessively to the other side. In the run up to the election, numerous other political figures within the borough accused her of "giving" the BNP votes.
115 candidates were nominated in total. Labour again ran a full slate (51) and was the only party to do so. By contrast the Conservative Party ran only 23 candidates, whilst the Liberal Democrats ran 4 and the BNP ran 13.
Election results
2006 Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council election[1][2]
Map of the results of the 2006 Barking and Dagenham council election with ward names. Coloured by party which topped the poll in each ward. Labour in red and British National Party in dark blue.
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