2006 Southampton City Council election

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.[1]

Map of the results of the 2006 Southampton council election. Liberal Democrats in yellow, Labour in red and Conservatives in blue.

After the election, the composition of the council was

• Liberal Democrat 16
• Labour 16
• Conservative 16[2]

Campaign

Before the election the Liberal Democrats formed the administration of the council with 17 seats, compared to 16 for the Conservatives and 15 for Labour.[3]

Issues in the election included refuse collection, the condition of the pavements and anti-social behaviour.[3] 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.[3][4] The campaign saw national politicians joining in, such as Labour's Hazel Blears and Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes.[3]

The election also had two independents standing on a platform calling for the chairman of Southampton F.C. Rupert Lowe to resign.[5]

Election result

The results saw all 3 main parties end the election with 16 seats,[6] after Labour gained 1 seat from the Liberal Democrats.[7] Meanwhile, the independents calling for Rupert Lowe to resign as chairman of Southampton F.C. received 200 and 63 votes each.[5] Overall turnout in the election was 31.3%.[7]

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 18 May failing to reach a conclusion.[8] Finally Liberal Democrat Adrian Vinson continued as council leader for another year.[9]

Southampton Local Election Result 2006[10][11]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	7	0	1	1	41.2	28.8	15,686	1.6
	Labour	6	1	0	1	35.3	29.8	16,256	0.9
	Conservative	4	0	0		23.5	32.5	17,733	1.9
	Green	0	0	0		0	4.3	2,334	2.8
	UKIP	0	0	0		0	1.6	887	4.9
	Independent	0	0	0		0	1.4	740	1.4
	BNP	0	0	0		0	0.9	466	0.8
	Socialist Alternative	0	0	0		0	0.3	157	0.1
	Respect	0	0	0		0	0.3	144	0.3
	Alliance for Green Socialism	0	0	0		0	0.2	95	0.2

Ward results

Bargate

Bargate[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sarah Bogle	861	41.1	+3.1
	Conservative	Amy Willacy	683	32.6	+3.9
	Liberal Democrats	Ruth Liskutin	333	15.9	-5.0
	Alliance for Green Socialism	Philip Pope	95	4.5	+4.5
	Independent	Perry McMillan	63	3.0	+3.0
	Independent	Daniel Warren	58	2.8	+2.8
Majority			178	8.5	-0.8
Turnout			2,093	16.8	-0.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Bassett

Bassett[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Mizon	1,979	46.6	+11.6
	Conservative	Linda Norris	1,926	45.4	+1.8
	Labour	Robert Blond	340	8.0	-3.5
Majority			53	1.2
Turnout			4,245	40.7	+1.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Bevois

Bevois[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Burke	1,169	51.0	+8.8
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Holmes	526	22.9	-3.0
	Conservative	John Whiskerd	441	19.2	-5.0
	Socialist Alternative	Nicholas Chaffey	157	6.8	-0.9
Majority			643	28.0	+11.7
Turnout			2,293	23.4	-2.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Bitterne

Bitterne[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Simon Letts	1,273	41.5	+1.2
	Conservative	Claire Johnson	849	27.7	-3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Naish	481	15.7	-1.6
	BNP	Darren Smith	466	15.2	+4.0
Majority			424	13.8	+4.8
Turnout			3,069	30.4	+1.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Bitterne Park

Bitterne Park[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Williams	1,637	45.2	+8.4
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Reed	767	21.2	-12.7
	Labour	Michael Brainsby	728	20.1	+3.4
	Green	Joseph Cox	288	8.0	+8.0
	Independent	Mark Adams	200	5.5	+5.5
Majority			870	24.0	+21.2
Turnout			3,620	35.3	-2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Coxford

Coxford[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Galton	1,229	37.2	+1.6
	Labour	Donald Thomas	1,180	35.7	+3.0
	Conservative	Edward Daunt	620	18.8	+3.5
	Green	David Curl	273	8.3	+8.3
Majority			49	1.5	-1.5
Turnout			3,302	32.1	+1.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Freemantle

Freemantle[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jeremy Moulton	1,310	40.7	+3.7
	Labour	Thomas Flynn	976	30.4	-2.4
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Russell	483	15.0	-4.0
	Green	Darren Pickering	446	13.9	+2.8
Majority			334	10.4	+6.2
Turnout			3,215	30.4	-1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Harefield

Harefield[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Royston Smith	2,054	55.9	+9.4
	Labour	Penelope Baldwin	1,024	27.9	-0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Diana Wills	595	16.2	-2.2
Majority			1,030	28.0	+10.1
Turnout			3,673	35.3	+1.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Millbrook

Millbrook[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ceren Davis	1,245	38.4	-3.4
	Conservative	Andrew Wells	862	26.6	+5.5
	Labour	Keith Morrell	854	26.4	+3.4
	UKIP	Stephen Phillips	278	8.6	-5.6
Majority			383	11.8	-6.9
Turnout			3,239	29.8	-2.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Peartree

Peartree[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Gerry Drake	1,607	48.7	+2.2
	Conservative	Robert Alexander	922	27.9	-0.9
	Labour	Paul Jenks	772	23.4	-1.3
Majority			685	20.8	+3.2
Turnout			3,301	32.6	-0.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Portswood

Portswood (2)[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jill Baston	1,600
	Liberal Democrats	Steven Sollitt	1,150
	Conservative	Victoria Pulham	680
	Green	Christopher Bluemel	585
	Conservative	Paul Wraight	552
	Labour	Ann Wardle	551
	Labour	David Furnell	482
	Independent	Peter Knight	310
	Respect	David Fegan	144
	Independent	Jeanne Butterfield	109
Turnout			6,163	34.0	-1.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Redbridge

Redbridge[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Catherine McEwing	1,403	44.3	+3.7
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Russell	995	31.4	-2.0
	Conservative	Matthew Dean	770	24.3	-1.7
Majority			408	12.9	+5.7
Turnout			3,168	30.5	+1.5
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Shirley

Shirley[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edwina Cooke	1,591	41.9	+3.2
	Labour	Graham Giles	1,011	26.6	-1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Jane Langshaw	499	13.1	-6.4
	Green	John Spottiswoode	482	12.7	+12.7
	UKIP	David Geddes	217	5.7	-4.7
Majority			580	15.3	+4.5
Turnout			3,800	37.9	-1.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Sholing

Sholing[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Susan Blatchford	1,650	41.9	+6.4
	Conservative	Clare Bettison	1,363	34.6	+1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Cove	529	13.4	-0.3
	UKIP	Tony Weaver	392	10.0	-7.7
Majority			287	7.3	+5.0
Turnout			3,934	37.3	+2.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Swaythling

Swaythling[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Beckett	975	41.1	-0.7
	Conservative	Matthew Costen	681	28.7	+6.9
	Labour	Andrew Wilson	457	19.3	-2.4
	Green	Peter Davis	260	11.0	+11.0
Majority			294	12.4	-7.6
Turnout			2,373	25.0	-1.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Woolston

Woolston[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Carol Cunio	1,525	50.7	+5.6
	Conservative	Kim Baillie	792	26.3	+4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Lisle	693	23.0	-10.5
Majority			733	24.4	+12.8
Turnout			3,010	30.3	-2.7
	Labour hold		Swing

References

1. "Local elections: Southampton". BBC News Online. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
2. "Local elections 2006: Results in full". The Guardian. 6 May 2006. p. 20.
3. Morris, Steven (24 April 2006). "Politics: Local elections: The Labour target: Big guns brought to bear as yob factor tops agenda". The Guardian. p. 13.
4. "This is not a city in crisis, says Hughes". Southern Daily Echo. 5 April 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
5. "Mixed bag in the south". Southern Daily Echo. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
6. "South: Votes cast". BBC News Online. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
7. "Sex scandal blamed for Tory win". BBC News Online. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
8. "No leader? Let's just toss a coin to decide". Southern Daily Echo. 18 May 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
9. "Labour woos the Lib Dems in bid to secure power". Southern Daily Echo. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
10. "Election details". Southampton City Council. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
11. "Local elections". The Times. 6 May 2006. p. 64.