Southampton Council election, 2006
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Southampton Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Southampton
Unitary
Council in Hampshire
, England
. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
and 15 for Labour
.
Issues in the election included refuse collection, the condition of the pavements
and anti-social behaviour
. The Labour and Liberal Democrat parties clashed over anti-social behaviour, with the parties disagreeing over whether the Liberal Democrat led council was doing enough to tackle such behaviour. The campaign saw national politicians joining in, such as Labour's Hazel Blears
and Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes
.
The election also had two independents
standing on a platform calling for the chairman of Southampton F.C.
Rupert Lowe
to resign.
in the election was 31.3%.
Following the election the 3 parties were unable to reach agreement on who should become leader of the council, with a five hour council meeting on the 18 May failing to reach a conclusion. Finally Liberal Democrat Adrian Vinson continued as council leader for another year.
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
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 Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, 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 council stayed under 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...
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- Liberal Democrat 16
- 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...
16 - 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...
16
Campaign
Before the election the Liberal Democrats formed the administration of the council with 17 seats, compared to 16 for the ConservativesConservative 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...
and 15 for Labour
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...
.
Issues in the election included refuse collection, the condition of the pavements
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
and anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour is behaviour that lacks consideration for others and that may cause damage to society, whether intentionally or through negligence, as opposed to pro-social behaviour, behaviour that helps or benefits society...
. The Labour and Liberal Democrat parties clashed over anti-social behaviour, with the parties disagreeing over whether the Liberal Democrat led council was doing enough to tackle such behaviour. The campaign saw national politicians joining in, such as Labour's Hazel Blears
Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...
and Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes
Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...
.
The election also had two independents
Independent (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...
standing on a platform calling for the chairman of Southampton F.C.
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
Rupert Lowe
Rupert Lowe
Rupert James Graham Lowe is a British businessman, who was the chairman of Southampton Football Club from 1996 to 2006. He regained his power in May 2008, teaming up with Michael Wilde, who had previously forced Lowe out, becoming chairman of the club's parent company, Southampton Leisure Holdings...
to resign.
Election result
The results saw all 3 main parties end the election with 16 seats, after Labour gained 1 seat from the Liberal Democrats. Meanwhile the independents calling for Rupert Lowe to resign as chairman of Southampton F.C. received 200 and 63 votes each. Overall turnoutVoter 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...
in the election was 31.3%.
Following the election the 3 parties were unable to reach agreement on who should become leader of the council, with a five hour council meeting on the 18 May failing to reach a conclusion. Finally Liberal Democrat Adrian Vinson continued as council leader for another year.