The 2006 Barnet Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of

Barnet London Borough Council Barnet London Borough Council, also known as Barnet Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Barnet in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority cont ...

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, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.

Background

The last election in 2002 saw the Conservatives gain a majority of seats after winning 33 seats, compared to 24 for Labour and 6 Liberal Democrats. In December 2005 the Liberal Democrats gained a seat in

High Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Charing C ...

from the Conservatives in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, after having come third in the

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

in 2002. This meant that before the election the Conservatives had 31 seats, the Labour party 24, Liberal Democrats 7 and 1, formerly Conservative, seat was vacant. A total of 219 candidates stood in the election for the 63 seats being contested across 21 wards. These included a full slate from the Conservative and Labour parties, while the Liberal Democrats had 3 candidates in all but one ward. Other candidates included the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

who stood at least one candidate in each ward, as well as 3 from the

United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

, 1 Victory United candidate and 2 independents. 14

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s did not stand for re-election and a further 1, Daniel Hope, stood in a different ward.

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives increase their majority to 11 after winning 37 of the 63 seats. Overall turnout in the election was 41.65%, an increase on the 2002 election turnout of 34%. This turnout included 33,892

postal votes Postal voting is voting in an election where ballot papers are distributed to electors (and typically returned) by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system. In an ele ...

, a rise from 29,195 in 2002. Following the election the Conservative leader of the council, Brian Salinger, lost a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in the Conservative group by 21 votes to 16 and was replaced as leader by his deputy

Mike Freer Michael Whitney Freer (born 29 May 1960) is a British Conservative Party politician and former banker who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Services from September 2022 to July 2024. He was first elected as ...

Ward results

Brunswick Park

Burnt Oak

Childs Hill

Colindale

Coppetts

East Barnet

East Finchley

Edgware

Finchley Church End

Garden Suburb

Golders Green

Hale

Hendon

High Barnet

Mill Hill

Oakleigh

Totteridge

Underhill

West Finchley

West Hendon

Woodhouse

By-elections between 2006 and 2010

East Barnet

Cllr. Olwen Evans died on 25 December 2006 after a long battle with cancer. She had served East Barnet Ward as a councillor for 24 years (1978-1994 and 1998–2006). Turnout was reasonable but lower than usual for this ward due to snowfall on the day of the election, which closed many schools and curtailed refuse collection.

Hale

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Jane Ellison.

Edgware

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Richard F. Weider.

Totteridge

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Caroline S. Margo.

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2006

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2006 London Borough council elections