2006 local elections handbook
Scheduled council elections held between April and June 2006, from our ward results. This is the final edition. Where our results for a council are incomplete, its figures will be too low.
- Councils
- 237
- Wards
- 3,310
- Seats
- 4,124
- Candidates
- 15,992
- Votes
- 11,916,311
Seats won by party
| Party | Seats | Candidates | Votes | Vote share* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1,649 | 4,443 | 4,284,226 | 36.6% | |
| Labour | 1,395 | 4,364 | 3,450,838 | 29.5% | |
| Liberal Democrats | 862 | 3,774 | 2,738,187 | 23.4% | |
| Independent | 55 | 514 | 215,602 | 1.8% | |
| BNP | 30 | 366 | 240,986 | 2.1% | |
| Green | 24 | 1,352 | 469,069 | 4.0% | |
| Respect | 16 | 173 | 119,847 | 1.0% | |
| LIB | 8 | 56 | 18,769 | 0.2% | |
| Bath Northeast Somerset Independent Group (BIG) | 7 | 17 | 15,144 | 0.1% | |
| Canvey Island Independent Party | 5 | 6 | 4,678 | 0.0% | |
| IKHHC | 5 | 18 | 10,553 | 0.1% | |
| CCH | 3 | 4 | 2,967 | 0.0% | |
| MoRA | 3 | 3 | 2,982 | 0.0% | |
| CPA | 3 | 70 | 18,038 | 0.2% | |
| STP | 2 | 3 | 2,454 | 0.0% |
*Note on vote share: this is each party's share of the votes cast in the wards we hold for 2006. It is not an estimate for the whole country: many councils did not vote this year, some of our results may be missing, and in wards with several seats each voter had several votes.
National Equivalent Vote — our estimate
What each party's share might have been if the whole of Great Britain had voted in 2006. Built from 3,239 wards that did vote, compared like-for-like with the last time each ward voted, then carried across the places that didn't vote using the change in their region. Shown beside the Elections Centre's published figure where we hold it.
| Party | Our estimate | Elections Centre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CON | 38.2% | 39% | |
| LAB | 25.4% | 26% | |
| LD | 25.3% | 25% | |
| IND | 4.1% | — | |
| GRN | 3.9% | — | |
| BNP | 0.8% | — | |
| UK Independence Party (UKIP) | 0.6% | — |
How far to trust this: it is an estimate, not a count. It uses each party's best-placed candidate in each ward, so multi-seat wards don't inflate anyone. Parties that stand in only a few places stay in those places. Where our ward records are incomplete for a year, the estimate is less reliable — compare it with the Elections Centre column.
Councils changing hands (40)
| Council | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Barrow-in-Furness | Labour | No overall control |
| Basingstoke and Deane | No overall control | Conservative |
| Bassetlaw | No overall control | Conservative |
| Bexley | Labour | Conservative |
| Brent | Labour | No overall control |
| Bury | Labour | No overall control |
| Camden | Labour | No overall control |
| Chorley | No overall control | Conservative |
| Coventry | No overall control | Conservative |
| Crawley | Labour | Conservative |
| Croydon | Labour | Conservative |
| Ealing | Labour | Conservative |
| East Suffolk | No overall control | Conservative |
| Elmbridge | Other | No overall control |
| Epping Forest | No overall control | Conservative |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | Labour | Conservative |
| Harrogate | Conservative | No overall control |
| Harrow | No overall control | Conservative |
| Hart | Conservative | No overall control |
| Hastings | No overall control | Conservative |
| Havering | No overall control | Conservative |
| Hillingdon | No overall control | Conservative |
| Hounslow | Labour | No overall control |
| Islington | Liberal Democrats | No overall control |
| Lambeth | No overall control | Labour |
| Lewisham | Labour | No overall control |
| Merton | Labour | No overall control |
| Milton Keynes | Liberal Democrats | No overall control |
| Mole Valley | No overall control | Conservative |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | Labour | No overall control |
| Redditch | Labour | No overall control |
| Richmond upon Thames | Conservative | Liberal Democrats |
| Shrewsbury and Atcham | No overall control | Conservative |
| South Lakeland | No overall control | Liberal Democrats |
| St Albans | No overall control | Liberal Democrats |
| Stoke On Trent | Labour | No overall control |
| Warrington | Labour | No overall control |
| Waveney | No overall control | Conservative |
| West Lindsey | Conservative | Liberal Democrats |
| Winchester | No overall control | Conservative |
Every council (237)
| Council | Wards | Seats | Before | After |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 1 | 1 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Adur | 14 | 17 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Alnwick | 1 | 1 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Amber Valley | 9 | 7 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Amber Valley | 10 | 9 | — | — |
| Ashfield | 1 | 3 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Aylesbury Vale | 1 | 3 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Babergh | 1 | 3 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Barking and Dagenham | 16 | 50 | Labour | Labour |
| Barnet | 21 | 61 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Barnsley | 23 | 25 | Labour | Labour |
| Barrow-in-Furness | 11 | 0 | Labour | No overall control |
| Basildon | 14 | 14 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Basingstoke and Deane | 20 | 21 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Bassetlaw | 15 | 15 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Bassetlaw | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| Bedford | 17 | 0 | — | — |
| Bexley | 21 | 66 | Labour | Conservative |
| Birmingham | 40 | 42 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 21 | 21 | Labour | Labour |
| Blyth Valley | 1 | 1 | Labour | Labour |
| Bolton | 23 | 22 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Bradford | 33 | 36 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Brent | 21 | 64 | Labour | No overall control |
| Brentwood | 12 | 0 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Bristol | 5 | 5 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Bristol, City of | 23 | 23 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Broadland | 1 | 3 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Bromley | 23 | 60 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Broxbourne | 13 | 12 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Burnley | 14 | 0 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Bury | 17 | 18 | Labour | No overall control |
| Calderdale | 17 | 18 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Cambridge | 16 | 15 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Cambridgeshire | 1 | 1 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Camden | 18 | 54 | Labour | No overall control |
| Cannock Chase | 11 | 0 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Carlisle | 1 | 0 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Carlisle | 15 | 0 | — | — |
| Castle Point | 11 | 11 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Castle Point | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| Cheltenham | 19 | 0 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Cherwell | 17 | 0 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Chorley | 17 | 0 | No overall control | Conservative |
| City of Chester | 19 | 0 | — | — |
| Colchester | 14 | 14 | — | — |
| Colchester | 10 | 6 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Congleton | 16 | 16 | — | — |
| Coventry | 18 | 18 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Craven | 12 | 9 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Crawley | 12 | 10 | Labour | Conservative |
| Crewe and Nantwich | 19 | 20 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Croydon | 24 | 70 | Labour | Conservative |
| Daventry | 13 | 13 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Derby | 17 | 18 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Derbyshire | 2 | 1 | Labour | Labour |
| Doncaster | 23 | 24 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council | 12 | 0 | — | — |
| Dudley | 26 | 27 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Ealing | 23 | 69 | Labour | Conservative |
| East Suffolk | 10 | 10 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Eastbourne | 9 | 9 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Eastleigh | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Eastleigh | 16 | 15 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Ellesmere Port and Neston | 14 | 14 | Labour | Labour |
| Elmbridge | 20 | 20 | Other | No overall control |
| Enfield | 21 | 63 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Epping Forest | 20 | 20 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Epsom And Ewell | 1 | 3 | Other | Other |
| Exeter | 13 | 13 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Fareham | 15 | 16 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Forest Of Dean | 1 | 1 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Gateshead | 27 | 27 | Labour | Labour |
| Gateshead | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| Gedling | 1 | 3 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Gloucester | 6 | 3 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Gloucester | 12 | 12 | — | — |
| Gosport | 17 | 17 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Gravesham | 1 | 1 | Labour | Labour |
| Great Yarmouth | 13 | 13 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Greenwich | 15 | 45 | Labour | Labour |
| Hackney | 19 | 57 | Labour | Labour |
| Halton | 18 | 18 | Labour | Labour |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 15 | 43 | Labour | Conservative |
| Harborough | 1 | 1 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Haringey | 19 | 57 | Labour | Labour |
| Harlow | 12 | 12 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Harrogate | 19 | 19 | Conservative | No overall control |
| Harrow | 21 | 63 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Hart | 12 | 13 | Conservative | No overall control |
| Hartlepool | 4 | 2 | — | — |
| Hartlepool | 14 | 14 | Labour | Labour |
| Hastings | 18 | 17 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Havant | 14 | 14 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Havering | 18 | 54 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Hertsmere | 13 | 13 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Hillingdon | 21 | 62 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Hounslow | 20 | 60 | Labour | No overall control |
| Huntingdonshire | 16 | 0 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Hyndburn | 1 | 1 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Hyndburn | 11 | 10 | — | — |
| Ipswich | 14 | 0 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Islington | 16 | 48 | Liberal Democrats | No overall control |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 18 | 54 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Kingston Upon Hull | 20 | 20 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Kingston Upon Hull, City of | 21 | 23 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Kingston upon Thames | 15 | 45 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Kirklees | 23 | 23 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Knowsley | 21 | 20 | Labour | Labour |
| Lambeth | 20 | 60 | No overall control | Labour |
| Leeds | 34 | 34 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Leicester | 1 | 1 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Lewisham | 18 | 55 | Labour | No overall control |
| Lincoln | 9 | 0 | Labour | Labour |
| Liverpool | 30 | 30 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Macclesfield | 14 | 0 | — | — |
| Maidstone | 17 | 0 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Manchester | 32 | 32 | Labour | Labour |
| Merton | 20 | 66 | Labour | No overall control |
| Milton Keynes | 17 | 17 | Liberal Democrats | No overall control |
| Mole Valley | 2 | 2 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Mole Valley | 14 | 12 | — | — |
| Newcastle Upon Tyne | 26 | 25 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | 20 | 20 | Labour | No overall control |
| Newham | 20 | 60 | Labour | Labour |
| Newport | 1 | 3 | Labour | Labour |
| North East Derbyshire | 1 | 1 | Labour | Labour |
| North East Lincolnshire | 15 | 16 | No overall control | No overall control |
| North Hertfordshire | 17 | 18 | Conservative | Conservative |
| North Tyneside | 19 | 18 | No overall control | No overall control |
| North Tyneside | 5 | 2 | — | — |
| Norwich | 13 | 15 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | 17 | 17 | Labour | Labour |
| Oldham | 20 | 20 | Labour | Labour |
| Oxford | 20 | 0 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Oxfordshire | 1 | 1 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Pendle | 16 | 18 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Pendle | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Penwith | 11 | 0 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Peterborough | 20 | 22 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Plymouth | 21 | 20 | Labour | Labour |
| Portsmouth | 14 | 14 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Preston | 21 | 19 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Purbeck | 8 | 0 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Reading | 15 | 17 | Labour | Labour |
| Redbridge | 21 | 63 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Redditch | 10 | 0 | Labour | No overall control |
| Reigate & Banstead | 15 | 0 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Richmond upon Thames | 18 | 54 | Conservative | Liberal Democrats |
| Rochdale | 20 | 20 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Rochford | 13 | 0 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Rossendale | 12 | 0 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Rother | 3 | 3 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Rotherham | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Rotherham | 22 | 20 | Labour | Labour |
| Rugby | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Rugby | 16 | 12 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Runnymede | 14 | 0 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Rushmoor | 14 | 14 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Salford | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Salford | 22 | 22 | Labour | Labour |
| Sandwell | 24 | 24 | Labour | Labour |
| Sefton | 22 | 23 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Sheffield | 28 | 28 | Labour | Labour |
| Shrewsbury and Atcham | 14 | 14 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Slough | 13 | 13 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Solihull | 18 | 16 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Solihull | 4 | 1 | — | — |
| South Bedfordshire | 17 | 18 | Conservative | Conservative |
| South Cambridgeshire | 19 | 19 | No overall control | No overall control |
| South Lakeland | 17 | 17 | No overall control | Liberal Democrats |
| South Norfolk | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| South Tyneside | 18 | 18 | Labour | Labour |
| Southampton | 16 | 17 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Southend-On-Sea | 17 | 19 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Southwark | 21 | 63 | No overall control | No overall control |
| St Albans | 20 | 20 | No overall control | Liberal Democrats |
| St Edmundsbury | 1 | 0 | Conservative | Conservative |
| St. Albans | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| St. Helens | 16 | 15 | No overall control | No overall control |
| St.Edmundsbury | 1 | 1 | — | Liberal Democrats |
| Stevenage | 3 | 1 | — | — |
| Stevenage | 13 | 13 | Labour | Labour |
| Stockport | 22 | 20 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Stockport | 3 | 1 | — | — |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 1 | 1 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Stoke On Trent | 20 | 20 | Labour | No overall control |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 15 | 15 | — | — |
| Stratford-On-Avon | 6 | 3 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Stroud | 19 | 19 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Sunderland | 26 | 25 | Labour | Labour |
| Sutton | 16 | 45 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Swale | 18 | 15 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Swindon | 20 | 20 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Tameside | 19 | 20 | Labour | Labour |
| Tamworth | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Tamworth | 10 | 10 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Tandridge | 15 | 14 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Taunton Deane | 1 | 1 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Tendring | 1 | 2 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Three Rivers | 17 | 16 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Thurrock | 17 | 16 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Thurrock | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| Tower Hamlets | 19 | 51 | Labour | Labour |
| Trafford | 21 | 21 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Tunbridge Wells | 5 | 4 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Tunbridge Wells | 14 | 11 | — | — |
| Wakefield | 23 | 21 | Labour | Labour |
| Walsall | 22 | 22 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Waltham Forest | 20 | 62 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Wandsworth | 20 | 60 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Warrington | 19 | 20 | Labour | No overall control |
| Warwickshire | 1 | 3 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Watford | 12 | 13 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Watford Borough Council | 6 | 0 | — | — |
| Waveney | 2 | 0 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Waveney | 14 | 6 | — | — |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 14 | 15 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 6 | 3 | — | — |
| West Lancashire | 18 | 18 | Conservative | Conservative |
| West Lindsey | 12 | 12 | Conservative | Liberal Democrats |
| West Oxfordshire | 17 | 16 | Conservative | Conservative |
| West Sussex | 1 | 1 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Westminster | 21 | 57 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Weymouth and Portland | 12 | 12 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Wigan | 25 | 25 | Labour | Labour |
| Winchester | 15 | 11 | No overall control | Conservative |
| Winchester | 12 | 8 | — | — |
| Wirral | 23 | 23 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Woking | 12 | 13 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Wokingham | 20 | 21 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Wolverhampton | 20 | 21 | Labour | Labour |
| Worcester | 14 | 12 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Worthing | 13 | 14 | Conservative | Conservative |
| Wyre Forest | 6 | 4 | No overall control | No overall control |
| Wyre Forest | 12 | 10 | — | — |
| YEOVIL | 2 | 1 | — | Labour |
See also Election Health for 2006's competitiveness figures and Council Control.
