Derby Council election, 2006
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Derby Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Derby
Unitary
Council in England
. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party
lost their majority on the council to no overall control
.
The Labour party had regained a majority of one on the council after a gain from the Liberal Democrats in a July 2005 by-election in Abbey ward
. However they were expected to lose control of the council in the 2006 election. The campaign saw controversy over the Conservative candidate for Sinfin
ward, Randeep Kaur Samra, who was under the legal age of 21 for standing in the election, leading to other political parties demanding an apology from the Conservatives
.
The results saw the Liberal Democrats gain three seats from Labour to deprive them of their majority, although Labour gained one seat from the Conservatives. Overall turnout
was 35.2% and talks followed the election to decide who would run the council. These resulted in an agreement between Labour and the Conservatives, which meant Labour would continue to form the administration but with the Conservatives taking 3 of the 10 seats in the cabinet.
After the election, the composition of the council was
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
Unitary
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
Council in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
lost their majority on the council to no overall control
No overall control
Within the context of local councils of the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control refers to a situation in which no single party achieves a majority of seats and is analogous to a hung parliament...
.
The Labour party had regained a majority of one on the council after a gain from the Liberal Democrats in a July 2005 by-election in Abbey ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
. However they were expected to lose control of the council in the 2006 election. The campaign saw controversy over the Conservative candidate for Sinfin
Sinfin
Sinfin is a southern suburb of Derby, England, historically it was a separate village. It contained the main centre of Rolls-Royce, on Nightingale Road...
ward, Randeep Kaur Samra, who was under the legal age of 21 for standing in the election, leading to other political parties demanding an apology from the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
The results saw the Liberal Democrats gain three seats from Labour to deprive them of their majority, although Labour gained one seat from the Conservatives. Overall turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 35.2% and talks followed the election to decide who would run the council. These resulted in an agreement between Labour and the Conservatives, which meant Labour would continue to form the administration but with the Conservatives taking 3 of the 10 seats in the cabinet.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
24 - Liberal Democrat 15
- ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
11 - IndependentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
1