London local elections, 2006

Local government elections took place in London, and some other parts of the United Kingdom on Thursday 4 May 2006. Polling stations were open between 7am and 10pm.

All London borough council seats were up for election. Mayoral contests were held in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Lewisham, and Newham. The previous Borough elections in London were in 2002.

Councils up for election

(Conservative councils in blue, Labour in red, Liberal Democrat in yellow, no overall control in grey)

Current Political Composition

After the last London local elections in 2002, Labour controlled 15, the Conservatives controlled 8 and the Liberal Democrats controlled three of the 32 London Boroughs, with six of the boroughs under no overall control. After the 2002 elections, there were 866 Labour, 653 Conservative, and 309 Liberal Democrat councillors, along with 33 other councillors, mostly representing local issues. [1]

The current position (as of 9 May 2006) has the Conservatives gaining 132 councillors to become the overall largest party in London local politics. Several smaller parties made significant gains, with the British National Party and Respect forming the official opposition in Barking and Tower Hamlets respectively, while the Green Party achieved third-party status in Lewisham.

References

• http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/uklocalgov/elec2006.htm
• http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/elections/2006schedule.cfm
• http://www.alg.gov.uk/doc.asp?doc=16712&cat=2210 , by the Association of London Government, 15 February 2006, retrieved 12 March 2006.
• "Party leaders put to the test with a capital campaign" , by Patrick Wintour and Hugh Muir, The Guardian, Friday February 17, 2006, retrieved 12 March 2006.
• http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Politics/documents/2006/02/17/london_boroughs_1702.pdf