2006 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election

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2006 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election
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←  2004 4 May 2006 2007  →
16 of the 48 seats on St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
25 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative
Seats won772
Seats after23196
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 1Increase2.svg 1Steady2.svg
Popular vote18,54918,2197,942
Percentage40.3%39.6%17.3%
SwingIncrease2.svg 1.7%Increase2.svg 2.3%Decrease2.svg 1.5%
St Helens UK local election 2006 map.svg
Map of the results of the 2006 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election. Labour in red, Liberal Democrats in yellow and Conservatives in blue.
Council control before election


No overall control

Council control after election


No overall control

The 2006 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. [1]

Contents

After the election, the composition of the council was

Background

Before the election the Labour Party needed to gain 1 seat to regain a majority on the council that they had lost at the last election in 2004. [3] Labour had 24 seats before the election, while the Liberal Democrats had 18 and the Conservatives had 6. [4] Labour was able to run the council however as the Conservative mayor had agreed not to use her casting vote. [5]

Among the councillors who were defending seats at the election was the Labour group leader Marie Rimmer in West Park ward, [3] while the seat in Blackbrook was vacant after the death of Labour councillor Albert Smith earlier in 2006. [5] 16 seats were up for election and as well as candidates from the three political parties who held seats on the council, there were also four candidates from the Community Action Party and one each from the British National Party and the Socialist Labour Party. [5] [3]

Election result

Labour remained the largest party on the council but lost one seat to the Liberal Democrats to leave the party with 23 councillors. [6] The Liberal Democrat gain from Labour came in Town Centre ward and moved them to 19 seats on the council, however the Labour council leader Marie Rimmer held her seat in West Park with a 457-vote majority. [6] Meanwhile, the Conservatives remained on 6 seats after holding the 2 seats they had been defending. [2]

Following the election Liberal Democrat Brian Spencer became the new leader of the council after an agreement between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, with the Liberal Democrats taking 5 of the seats on the cabinet and the Conservative group leader Wally Ashcroft taking the other seat. [7] This came after Labour rejected proposals for all three parties to share power on the council and meant Labour lost power on the council after 70 years. [7]

St Helens local election result 2006 [2] [8]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Labour 701-143.840.418,549+1.7%
  Liberal Democrats 710+143.839.618,219+2.3%
  Conservative 200012.517.37,942-1.5%
  Community Action 000001.9895+1.9%
  BNP 000000.7308+0.1%
  Socialist Labour 000000.164+0.1%

Ward results

Billinge and Seneley Green [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Susan Murphy1,50447.8
Conservative David Davies97030.8
Liberal Democrats Charles Gadsden67221.4
Majority53417.0
Turnout 3,14634.8−6.9
Labour hold Swing
Blackbrook [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Paul McQuade1,25748.7
Liberal Democrats Ruth Smith71227.6
Community Action William Guest32712.7
Conservative Judith Collins2218.6
Socialist Labour Ronald Waugh642.5
Majority54521.1
Turnout 2,58130.3−5.6
Labour hold Swing
Bold [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Matthew Dunn1,08748.7
Labour Paul Pritchard1,00144.9
Conservative Charmian Pyke1426.4
Majority863.8
Turnout 2,23030.9−3.2
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Earlestown [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Charles Banks1,15348.6
Liberal Democrats David Smith95340.2
Conservative Catherine Perks26611.2
Majority2008.4
Turnout 2,37229.7−3.8
Labour hold Swing
Eccleston [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Geoffrey Pearl2,66667.3
Conservative Kathleen Barton69017.4
Labour Martin Bond60815.3
Majority1,97649.8
Turnout 3,96442.8−6.8
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Haydock [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Eric Sheldon1,81155.1
Labour Jeanette Banks1,28439.1
Conservative Anthony Rigby1895.8
Majority52716.0
Turnout 3,28436.5−1.2
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Moss Bank [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Richard Ferry1,64852.3
Labour Brian Hart1,26940.2
Conservative William Highcock2377.5
Majority37912.1
Turnout 3,15436.1−6.6
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Newton [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Neil Taylor1,78764.1
Labour Stuart Hughes75627.1
Conservative Margaret Harvey2448.8
Majority1,03137.0
Turnout 2,78734.6−6.0
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Parr [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Terence Shields1,38466.0
Liberal Democrats Janet Hennessy59528.4
Conservative Madeleine Wilcock1175.6
Majority78937.6
Turnout 2,09625.6−4.6
Labour hold Swing
Rainford [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Parr1,74059.9
Labour David Wood79827.5
Liberal Democrats Sandra Ferry36912.7
Majority94232.4
Turnout 2,90742.7−8.3
Conservative hold Swing
Rainhill [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Stephen Glover1,46346.1
Conservative Henry Spriggs96130.3
Liberal Democrats Christina Duncan74923.6
Majority50215.8
Turnout 3,17334.7−7.4
Labour hold Swing
Sutton [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Julie Jones1,72161.4
Labour Marlene Newman87331.2
Conservative Barbara Johnson2077.4
Majority84830.2
Turnout 2,80125.6−12.2
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Thatto Heath [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Richard McCauley1,30855.9
Liberal Democrats Carol Pearl45319.4
Community Action Michael Perry36315.5
Conservative Barbara Woodcock2179.3
Majority85536.5
Turnout 2,34126.7−7.5
Labour hold Swing
Town Centre [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats David Crowther1,05241.0
Labour Margaret McLachlan1,00539.2
BNP Michael Pearcey30812.0
Conservative Jill Jones1134.4
Community Action Leslie Teeling893.5
Majority471.8
Turnout 2,56731.3−1.5
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
West Park [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Marie Rimmer1,90051.8
Liberal Democrats Stephen Broughton1,44339.3
Conservative Charlotte Wood2105.7
Community Action Tracy Lavelle1163.2
Majority45712.5
Turnout 3,66941.6+2.9
Labour hold Swing
Windle [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Kenneth Roughley1,41848.9
Labour Geoffrey Almond98634.0
Liberal Democrats Kenneth Knowles49417.0
Majority43214.9
Turnout 2,89836.5−6.0
Conservative hold Swing

By-elections between 2006 and 2007

Rainford by-election 23 November 2006 [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative David Grice1,58473.3+13.4
Labour David Wood48422.4−5.1
Liberal Democrats Kenneth Knowles934.3−8.4
Majority1,10050.9+18.5
Turnout 2,16131.5−11.2
Conservative hold Swing

References

  1. ↑ "Local elections: St Helens". BBC News. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "UK local election results". Financial Times. 5 May 2006 – via NewsBank.
  3. 1 2 3 Coligan, Nick (4 April 2006). "Labour battle to smash hold of Lib Dems on city". Liverpool Echo – via NewsBank.
  4. ↑ Docking, Neil (13 April 2006). "Election campaign begins in earnest". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications– via NewsBank.
  5. 1 2 3 Kilmurray, Andrew (3 May 2006). "Squaring up for ballot box battle". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications– via NewsBank.
  6. 1 2 Kilmurray, Andrew (5 May 2006). "Rimmer holds seat but Labour's grip on power loosens". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications– via NewsBank.
  7. 1 2 Kilmurray, Andrew (18 May 2006). "New face in the Leader's chair". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications– via NewsBank.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Summary of local election results - 4 May 2006" (PDF). St. Helens Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Declaration of Result of Poll" (PDF). St. Helens Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
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