2006 United Kingdom local elections

2006 United Kingdom local elections

←  2005 4 May 2006 2007  →
All 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 20 out of 46 unitary authorities and 88 out of 238 English districts
First party Second party Third party   Leader David Cameron Tony Blair Menzies Campbell Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats Leader since 6 December 2005 21 July 1994 2 March 2006 Percentage 39% 26% 25% Swing 1% 2% Councils 68 30 13 Councils +/- 11 17 1 Councillors 1,830 1,439 909 Councillors +/- 316 319 2
Colours denote council control following elections, as shown in the main table of results.

The 2006 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 4 May 2006.

All London borough council seats were up for election, as well as a third of the seats on each of the metropolitan borough councils, and a third of some unitary authorities and shire districts. Several councils elected half of their seats: these were Adur, Cheltenham, Fareham, Gosport, Hastings, Nuneaton and Bedworth, and Oxford. Local elections follow a four-year cycle, and the 2006 election was the follow-on from the 2002 elections.

Mayoral contests were held in the London boroughs of Hackney, Lewisham and Newham, and in Watford. Crewe and Nantwich held a referendum on the issue of whether or not to have a directly elected mayor.

This was the first set of elections since David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative Party. The Conservatives strengthened their position as the largest party in local government, making headway against Labour.

Summary of results

Note: Figures for number of councils and councillors is only in regard to those councils up for election in 2006, and does not include councils not up for election.

Party		Councillors		Councils
		Number	Change	Number	Change
	Conservative	1,830	316	68	11
	Labour	1,439	319	30	17
	Liberal Democrats	909	2	13	1
	Residents	35	13	0
	BNP	33	33	0
	Green	29	20	0
	Respect	16	13	0
	Liberal	8	2	0
	Health Concern	5	1	0
	CPA	3	2	0
	Socialist Alternative	3		0
	UKIP	1		0
	Other	0		0
	No overall control	n/a	n/a	65	5

• Turnout was 36%, compared to 40% in 2004 and 33% in 2002. ^[1]

Pre-election predictions

On 7 April, a report produced by the University of Plymouth for Newsnight, based on results of council by-elections in the past three months, suggested that, compared to the 2002 local elections:

• Labour would increase their national vote share by 2% to 28% but that they would lose around 130 seats.
• The Conservatives would suffer a decrease in the national vote share of 4% leaving them with 33% and a loss of around 95 seats.
• The Liberal Democrats would increase their vote share by 2% to 29% and would gain around 190 seats. ^[2]

This prediction may be seen to be almost entirely inaccurate.

Projected national share

In an analysis for the Sunday Times, psephologists Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, of the University of Plymouth, produced an estimate of the national share of the vote. According to their calculations, the parties would have the following share of the vote:

• Conservative: 39%
• Labour: 26%
• Liberal Democrats: 25%
• Others: 10%

They note that this is estimate not intended to predict the vote share in an actual general election, because voters often vote differently in general elections due to local issues, or to a wish to "fire a shot across the government's bows" without actually removing it. ^[3]

The BBC had a similar national share prediction, based on the results of 950 key wards:

• Conservative: 40%
• LibDem: 27%
• Labour: 26%
• Others: 7% ^[4]

Notable battles

• In Birmingham, the Acting Returning officer announced that the votes in the Kingstanding ward had been incorrectly tallied, incorrectly giving a win to the BNP's Sharon Ebanks, whereas she should have been in third place. The only way in which this result can be corrected is for one of the candidates to raise a petition to the courts; the council has said it will support in any way it can any candidates who wish to raise such a petition. ^[5] Labour's Catherine Grundy did so, and was declared the rightful winner.
• In Crawley, after three recounts, one result showed 500 votes for the Labour candidate and 500 for the Conservative. As per electoral law, the candidates subsequently drew lots. The Conservative candidate Adam G. Brown won, giving his party a majority and switching the council from Labour to Conservative control for the first time since 1971.
• Another count was tied in St Albans, this time between Conservative and Lib Dem candidates on 1131 votes each. The candidates drew lots with the Lib Dems winning, giving them a majority on the local council.
• In Chester the Conservatives were in third place in one ward, with around only 20% of the votes (in 2004), however they managed to win the seat with a majority of around 20%, and a 45% vote share. Their vote increased by over 110%, and was believed to be one of the largest increases in vote share (as a percentage) in the country.

Campaign launches

UK Independence Party (UKIP) launched their local election campaign on 28 March 2006, ^[6] where they put forward their policies for the local elections which included: the reduction of council tax by 50%; local binding referendums on major issues; and giving councils control of business rates and letting them receive the proceeds from stamp duty.

The Liberal Democrats' campaign launch was held on 3 April ^[7] and was led by Sir Menzies Campbell MP. ^[7]

Labour's campaign for the local elections was launched on 5 April ^[8] and was led by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair MP (Lab, Sedgefield) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Blair's expected successor, Gordon Brown MP (Lab, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) in the wake of rumours of a split between the two over when Blair should stand down as Prime Minister. ^[9]

Respect launched their election manifesto on 10 April 2006 calling the local elections a referendum on New Labour. ^[10]

The Greens launched their campaign on 11 April, having already announced that 1,300 candidates will be standing across the country. ^{[11] [12]}

The BNP launched their election manifesto on 14 April. Soon after, Margaret Hodge, the Labour Employment Minister, told the press that 8 out of 10 white voters in her east London constituency of Barking admitted being tempted to vote for the BNP, hinting that the party's share of council seats was set to increase. ^[13]

The Conservatives launched their campaign on 18 April. David Cameron, Eric Pickles, Caroline Spelman and Peter Ainsworth fronted a press conference that focused on environmental issues. ^[14]

Timeline

Date	Event
28 March	UKIP (UK Independence Party) launch local election campaign. [6]
29 March	The London Communications Agency issue a study suggesting that the Conservatives would gain a minimum of six London Borough councils. [15]
3 April	The Liberal Democrats launch local election campaign. [16]
4 April	Independent anti-war strategic voting web site launched in London. [17]
5 April	Labour launch their local election campaign. [18] Conservatives offer a chance for "ordinary people" to appear in the local election broadcast. [19]
10 April	Respect launch their local election campaign. [10]
14 April	The British National Party launch their election campaign.
18 April	The first party election broadcast by the Labour Party depicts David Cameron MP (Con, Witney) as a chamleon and even launch a website to promote the idea. [20] See also: Dave the Chameleon.
19 April	The Conservative Election Broadcast (using the tagline "Vote Blue Go Green") was presented by people responding to the Conservatives request for "ordinary people" as reported on 5 April 2006.
20 April	The Liberal Democrat Election Broadcast recounted the election of Menzies Campbell MP as leader.
24 April	The Green Party Election Broadcast asks voters to use their multi member vote to elect Greens onto their local council.
26 April	In a day described by the tabloid press as "New Labour's Black Wednesday", three cabinet ministers have three different 'crises' on the same day.
27 April	Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell MP challenges the Conservatives over their 'Vote Blue Go Green' campaign.
28 April	Local Government Minister David Miliband MP urges voters to "think local" rather than on national issues.
2 May	The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats criticise the Labour Party for taking credit for London's successful Olympic bid in their Party Election Broadcast. The West Midlands Police confirm their presence at Birmingham polling stations on election day amid fears of widespread ballot fraud.
3 May	The final PMQs before the election sees party leaders debating national scandals and Labour Party insiders predicting the worst results since 1968. [21]
4 May	The Labour Party acknowledges it could face the loss of former strongholds and even slip into third place nationally in local government numbers. [22]

England

London boroughs

Council	Previous control		Result		Details
Barking and Dagenham		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Barnet		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Bexley		Labour		Conservative gain	Details
Brent		Labour		No overall control gain	Details
Bromley		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Camden		Labour		No overall control gain	Details
Croydon		Labour		Conservative gain	Details
Ealing		Labour		Conservative gain	Details
Enfield		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Greenwich		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Hackney		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Hammersmith and Fulham		Labour		Conservative gain	Details
Haringey		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Harrow		No overall control		Conservative gain	Details
Havering		No overall control		Conservative gain	Details
Hillingdon		No overall control		Conservative gain	Details
Hounslow		Labour		No overall control gain	Details
Islington		Liberal Democrats		No overall control gain	Details
Kensington and Chelsea		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Kingston upon Thames		Liberal Democrats		Liberal Democrats hold	Details
Lambeth		No overall control		Labour gain	Details
Lewisham		Labour		No overall control gain	Details
Merton		Labour		No overall control gain	Details
Newham		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Redbridge		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Richmond upon Thames		Conservative		Liberal Democrats gain	Details
Southwark		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Sutton		Liberal Democrats		Liberal Democrats hold	Details
Tower Hamlets		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Waltham Forest		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Wandsworth		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Westminster		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details

Metropolitan boroughs

One third of the seats in all 36 Metropolitan Boroughs were up for election.

Council	Previous control		Result		Details
Barnsley		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Birmingham		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Bolton		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Bradford		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Bury		Labour		No overall control gain	Details
Calderdale		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Coventry		No overall control		Conservative gain	Details
Doncaster		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Dudley		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Gateshead		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Kirklees		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Knowsley		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Leeds		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Liverpool		Liberal Democrats		Liberal Democrats hold	Details
Manchester		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Newcastle upon Tyne		Liberal Democrats		Liberal Democrats hold	Details
North Tyneside		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Oldham		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Rochdale		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Rotherham		Labour		Labour hold	Details
St. Helens		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Salford		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Sandwell		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Sefton		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Sheffield		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Solihull		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
South Tyneside		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Stockport		Liberal Democrats		Liberal Democrats hold	Details
Sunderland		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Tameside		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Trafford		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Wakefield		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Walsall		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Wigan		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Wirral		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Wolverhampton		Labour		Labour hold	Details

Unitary authorities

One third of the council seats were up for election in 20 unitary authorities.

Council	Previous control		Result		Details
Blackburn with Darwen		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Bristol		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Derby		Labour [A]		No overall control gain	Details
Halton		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Hartlepool		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Kingston upon Hull		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Milton Keynes		Liberal Democrats		No overall control gain	Details
North East Lincolnshire		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Peterborough		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Plymouth		Labour		No overall control gain	Details
Portsmouth		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Reading		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Slough		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Southampton		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Southend-on-Sea		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Stoke-on-Trent		Labour		No overall control gain	Details
Swindon		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Thurrock		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Warrington		Labour		No overall control gain	Details
Wokingham		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details

^A Derby council was in no overall control following the previous election in a Liberal Democrat/Conservative administration. Following a by-election in July 2005 Labour gained one councillor off the Liberal Democrats, thereby gaining control of the council. ^[23]

District councils

Half of council

Council	Previous control		Result		Details
Adur		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Cheltenham		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Fareham		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Gosport		No overall control		No overall control gain	Details
Hastings		No overall control		Conservative gain	Details
Nuneaton and Bedworth		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Oxford		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details

Third of council

In 81 English district authorities one third of the council was up for election.

Council	Previous control		Result		Details
Amber Valley		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Barrow-in-Furness				No overall control gain	Details
Basildon		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Basingstoke and Deane		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Bassetlaw				Conservative gain	Details
Bedford		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Brentwood		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Broxbourne		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Burnley		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Cambridge		Liberal Democrats		Liberal Democrats hold	Details
Cannock Chase		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Carlisle		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Castle Point		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Cherwell		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Chester		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Chorley				Conservative gain	Details
Colchester		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Congleton		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Craven		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Crawley				Conservative gain	Details
Crewe and Nantwich		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Daventry		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Eastbourne		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Eastleigh		Liberal Democrats		Liberal Democrats hold	Details
Ellesmere Port and Neston		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Elmbridge		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Epping Forest		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Exeter		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Gloucester		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Great Yarmouth		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Harlow		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Harrogate				No overall control gain	Details
Hart		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Havant		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Hertsmere		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Huntingdonshire		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Hyndburn		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Ipswich		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Lincoln		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Macclesfield		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Maidstone		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Mole Valley				Conservative gain	Details
Newcastle-under-Lyme				No overall control gain	Details
North Hertfordshire		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Norwich		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Pendle		Liberal Democrats		Liberal Democrats hold	Details
Penwith		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Preston		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Purbeck		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Redditch				No overall control gain	Details
Reigate and Banstead		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Rochford		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Rossendale		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Rugby		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Runnymede		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Rushmoor		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
St Albans				Liberal Democrats gain	Details
Shrewsbury and Atcham				Conservative gain	Details
South Bedfordshire		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
South Cambridgeshire		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
South Lakeland				Liberal Democrats gain	Details
Stevenage		Labour		Labour hold	Details
Stratford-on-Avon		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Stroud		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Swale		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Tamworth		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Tandridge		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Three Rivers		Liberal Democrats		Liberal Democrats hold	Details
Tunbridge Wells		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Watford		Liberal Democrats		Liberal Democrats hold	Details
Waveney		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Welwyn Hatfield		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
West Lancashire		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
West Lindsey				No overall control gain	Details
West Oxfordshire		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Weymouth and Portland		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Winchester				Conservative gain	Details
Woking		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details
Worcester		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Worthing		Conservative		Conservative hold	Details
Wyre Forest		No overall control		No overall control hold	Details

References

1. "BBC Election 2006 results". News.bbc.co.uk.
2. Gibb, Robbie (7 April 2006). "Friday, 7 April 2006". BBC News.
3. Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, "Tories approach the point of take-off", Sunday Times, 7 May 2006, p. 13
4. "BBC NEWS, Election 2006, UK - National". BBC News.
5. "Elections 2006 - Results". Archived from the original on 7 May 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2006.
6. "UKIP launches local poll campaign". BBC News. 28 March 2006.
7. "At-a-glance: Lib Dem poll launch". BBC News. 3 April 2006.
8. "At-a-glance: Labour's poll launch". BBC News. 5 April 2006.
9. King, Oliver; Tempest, Matthew (5 April 2006). "Blair and Brown unite for campaign launch". The Guardian . Retrieved 18 September 2019.
10. "Galloway launches poll campaign". BBC News. 10 April 2006.
11. "Greens launch local election bid". BBC News. 11 April 2006.
12. "Greens outline electoral campaign". BBC News. 5 April 2006.
13. McSmith, Andy (22 April 2006). "Hodge blamed for increase in far-right's support". The Independent. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
14. "At-a-glance: Conservative poll launch". BBC News. 18 April 2006.
15. "16 boroughs could change in 2006 local elections". London Communications. Archived from the original on 17 February 2006.
16. "Lib Dems launch election campaign". BBC News. 3 April 2006.
17. "Strategic Voter 2005". Strategic Voter. Archived from the original on 5 March 2006.
18. "Blair and Brown in show of unity". BBC News. 5 April 2006.
19. "Tories offer chance of TV stardom". BBC News. 5 April 2006.
20. "Dave the Chameleon - available in any colour (as long as it's blue)". davethechameleon.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2006.
21. "Central Lobby - UK political and parliamentary policy news, interviews and analysis". Epolitix.com. Retrieved 2 February 2013.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
22. "Central Lobby - UK political and parliamentary policy news, interviews and analysis". Epolitix.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
23. "Labour wins city council control". BBC News Online. 15 July 2005. Retrieved 4 September 2011.

Bibliography

• Local elections 2006. House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/26.
• BBC Local Election Website
• Schedule of elections (Electoral Commission)
• Guide to England's 2006 elections (BBC)
• Overview Archived 12 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine (gwydir.demon.co.uk)
• Online hustings, manifestos and candidates for Lambeth (electionmemory.com)

External links

• The great local vote swindle - Electoral Reform Society briefing on the 2006 local elections