The 2006 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of St Helens

Metropolitan Borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

Council in

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, England. One third of the council was up for election and stayed under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

. After the election, the composition of the council was * Labour 23 * Liberal Democrats 19 *

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Background

Before the election, the Labour Party needed to gain 1 seat to regain a majority on the council they had lost at the last election in 2004. Labour had 24 seats before the election, while the Liberal Democrats had 18 and the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

had 6. However, labour was able to run the council as the Conservative

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

had agreed not to use her

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

. Among the

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 who were defending seats at the election was the Labour group leader Marie Rimmer in West Park

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 ...

, while the seat in

Blackbrook Blackbrook may refer to several places in the United Kingdom: * Blackbrook, Cheshire, England * Blackbrook, Derbyshire, England * Blackbrook, London, in the London Borough of Bromley, near Southborough, Bromley, Southborough * Blackbrook, St Helens ...

was vacant after the death of Labour councillor Albert Smith earlier in 2006. 16 seats were up for election, and candidates from the three political parties who held seats on the council, there were also four candidates from the

Community Action Party The Community Action Party was a minor political party in the United Kingdom, mostly active in Greater Manchester and Merseyside. It advocated free health care and education provision, a managed public transport infrastructure free to all at t ...

and one each from the

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...

and the Socialist Labour Party.

Election result

Labour remained the largest party on the council but lost one seat to the Liberal Democrats, leave the party with 23 councillors. The Liberal Democrat gain from Labour came in the 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. Meanwhile, the Conservatives remained on 6 seats after holding the 2 seats they had been defending. 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 Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

and the Conservative group leader Wally Ashcroft taking the other seat. This came after Labour rejected proposals for all three parties to share power on the council, which meant Labour lost power after 70 years.

Ward results

By-elections between 2006 and 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2006 Saint Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election Saint Helens

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 ...

2000s in Merseyside May 2006 in the United Kingdom