Wyre Forest Council election, 2006
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Wyre Forest Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Wyre Forest
District
Council in Worcestershire
, 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
defending 7, Health Concern
4 and the Liberals
3. 50 candidates, including the leader of the council Stephen Clee, stood in the election with the Conservatives hoping to take overall control.
Local health services continued to be the major issue in the campaign after the local NHS trust
announced in April 2006 that it would have to cut 720 jobs in order to save money. Other issues in the election included council tax
, with the Conservatives saying they had reduced it's burden since they began running the council in 2004, and a lack of affordable housing which Labour
wanted to address.
where the sitting Liberal councillor
, Amanda Poole, stood down at the election. Health Concern saw the election results as being excellent, with the health issue in the lead up to the election seen as having helped the party.
As a result the Conservatives failed to take the majority they had been aiming for with the Conservative leader of the council, Stephen Clee, disappointed at failing to make gains but pleased that they remained the largest party. The Labour leader on the council, Jamie Shaw, described the results as "very bad indeed" after the party failed to win any seats. Overall voter turnout
in the election was 37.5%.
Wyre Forest (district)
This article is about the local government district in WorcestershireWyre Forest is a local government district in Worcestershire, England, covering the towns of Kidderminster, Stourport-on-Severn and Bewdley, and several civil parishes and their villages...
District
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
Council in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, 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
- 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...
18 - Health ConcernIndependent Kidderminster Hospital and Health ConcernIndependent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern is a political party based in Kidderminster, United Kingdom...
9 - LiberalLiberal Party (UK, 1989)The Liberal Party is a United Kingdom political party. It was formed in 1989 by a group of individuals within the original Liberal Party who felt that the merger of the party with the Social Democratic Party, to form the Liberal Democrats, had ended the spirit of the Liberal Party, claiming that...
7 - 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...
4 - Liberal Democrat 2
- 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...
2
Campaign
14 seats were contested in the election with 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...
defending 7, Health Concern
Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern
Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern is a political party based in Kidderminster, United Kingdom...
4 and the Liberals
Liberal Party (UK, 1989)
The Liberal Party is a United Kingdom political party. It was formed in 1989 by a group of individuals within the original Liberal Party who felt that the merger of the party with the Social Democratic Party, to form the Liberal Democrats, had ended the spirit of the Liberal Party, claiming that...
3. 50 candidates, including the leader of the council Stephen Clee, stood in the election with the Conservatives hoping to take overall control.
Local health services continued to be the major issue in the campaign after the local NHS trust
NHS Trust
A National Health Service trust provides services on behalf of the National Health Service in England and NHS Wales.The trusts are not trusts in the legal sense but are in effect public sector corporations. Each trust is headed by a board consisting of executive and non-executive directors, and is...
announced in April 2006 that it would have to cut 720 jobs in order to save money. Other issues in the election included council tax
Council tax
Council Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
, with the Conservatives saying they had reduced it's burden since they began running the council in 2004, and a lack of affordable housing which 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...
wanted to address.
Election result
The results saw a net change of only one seat with Health Concern moving to 9 seats at the expense of the Liberals. Health Concern's gain from the Liberals came in Broadwaters wardWards 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:...
where the sitting Liberal councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
, Amanda Poole, stood down at the election. Health Concern saw the election results as being excellent, with the health issue in the lead up to the election seen as having helped the party.
As a result the Conservatives failed to take the majority they had been aiming for with the Conservative leader of the council, Stephen Clee, disappointed at failing to make gains but pleased that they remained the largest party. The Labour leader on the council, Jamie Shaw, described the results as "very bad indeed" after the party failed to win any seats. Overall voter 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...
in the election was 37.5%.