Local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-lo ...
elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
took place in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and some other parts of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
on Thursday 4 May 2006. Polling stations were open between 7am and 10pm.
All
London borough
The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at t ...
council seats were up for election.
Mayoral contests were held in the London Boroughs of
Hackney,
Lewisham
Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one o ...
, and
Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the ...
.
The
London Conservatives slightly increased their vote share, made 131 council seat gains and won control of 6 new councils, while
London Labour saw its vote share decline by 6% and lost 8 councils and 182 seats. The 2006 result was one of Labour's worst local election results in London, with its share of the vote (27.9%), its number of council seats (684) and number of councils (7) all at their lowest levels since
1968
The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...
. Conversely, the Conservatives won the most seats, the most councils and the most votes in London for the first time since
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...
.
The Labour decline was also accompanied by a rise in the number of minor party councillors, mostly concentrated in specific local authorities.
Respect
Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...
won 15 council seats, the
British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK go ...
won 14 and the
London Green Party
The London Green Party is the regional party of the Green Party of England and Wales that operates in Greater London.
Current representatives
London Assembly Members
* Caroline Russell - Leader of the City Hall Greens
* Siân Berry
* Zack ...
won 12. The
Christian Peoples Alliance and the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
also won two seats each. In total, the election saw 76 minor party or independent councillors elected in London, a figure which remains the highest on record.
Altogether, minor parties and independents won 17% of the vote, the highest ever vote share for 'other' parties until the local elections of
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
.
Results summary
*Turnout: 2,284,882 voters cast ballots, a turnout of 38.9% (+7.1%).
Council results
Overall councillor numbers
The largest party in terms of councils and councillors became the
Conservative Party after this election, with losses by the
Labour Party and a small increase in share of the vote to the
Liberal Democrats. Smaller national parties made significant gains, with the
British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK go ...
and
Respect
Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...
having the second-largest number of councillors in the
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London borough in East London. It lies around 9 miles (14.4 km) east of Central London. It is an Outer London borough and the south is within the London Riverside section of the Thames ...
and
Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originall ...
(respectively). The
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundati ...
also saw its gains concentrated on one area to achieve the third most councillors in the
London Borough of Lewisham
Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes throu ...
. Scattered across boroughs, unaffiliated residents groups won 24 council seats.
Mayoral results
In three London boroughs the executive function of the council is a directly elected mayor. The mayoral elections take place at the same time as councillor elections in those boroughs.
Ward result maps
London-wide
The map below shows the results for each ward across the whole of Greater London.
By borough
File:Barking_and_Dagenham_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Barking and Dagenham 2006 results map
File:Barnet UK local election 2006 map.svg, Barnet 2006 results map
File:Bexley London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Bexley 2006 results map
File:Brent_London_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Brent 2006 results map
File:Bromley London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Bromley 2006 results map
File:Camden_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Camden 2006 results map
File:Croydon London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Croydon 2006 results map
File:Ealing London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Ealing 2006 results map
File:Enfield_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Enfield 2006 results map
File:Greenwich London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Greenwich 2006 results map
File:Hackney London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Hackney 2006 results map
File:Hammersmith and Fulham London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Hammersmith and Fulham 2006 results map
File:Haringey_London_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Haringey 2006 results map
File:Harrow_London_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Harrow 2006 results map
File:Havering_London_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Havering 2006 results map
File:Hillingdon_London_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Hillingdon 2006 results map
File:Hounslow_London_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Hounslow 2006 results map
File:Islington_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Islington 2006 results map
File:Kensington and Chelsea London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Kensington and Chelsea 2006 results map
File:Kingston upon Thames London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Kingston upon Thames 2006 results map
File:Lambeth London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Lambeth 2006 results map
File:Lewisham London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Lewisham 2006 results map
File:Merton London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Merton 2006 results map
File:Newham London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Newham 2006 results map
File:Redbridge London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Redbridge 2006 results map
File:Richmond upon Thames London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Richmond upon Thames 2006 results map
File:Southwark London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Southwark 2006 results map
File:Sutton London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Sutton 2006 results map
File:Tower Hamlets_London_UK_local_election_2006_map.svg, Tower Hamlets 2006 results map
File:Waltham Forest London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Waltham Forest 2006 results map
File:Wandsworth London UK local election 2006 map.svg, Wandsworth 2006 results map
File:Westminster London UK local election 2010 map.svg, Westminster 2006 results map
References
*
*
{{United Kingdom elections
May 2006 events in the United Kingdom
2006