Camden Council election, 2006
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Camden Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Camden London Borough Council
in London
, England
. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party
lost overall control of the council to no overall control
.
and 7 Liberal Democrats
. Since the 2002 election
, in 2005, one of the councillor
s for Fortune Green
, Jonathan Simpson, had defected from the Liberal Democrats to Labour.
A total of 223 candidates stood for the 54 seats being contested in 18 wards
. The Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green
parties contested every seat and there was 1 candidate each from the Christian Peoples Alliance
, Respect Party and United Kingdom Independence Party
, as well as 4 independents
.
During the campaign the Labour Prime Minister
Tony Blair
visited Camden to support his party.
at the election was 37.6%, an increase from 28.5% in 2002.
Following the election the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives made an agreement to form the administration together, with Liberal Democrat Keith Moffitt
becoming the leader of the council and Conservative Andrew Marshall becoming deputy leader.
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Camden London Borough Council
Camden London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 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...
. The whole 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 overall control of 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...
.
Background
Before the election the Labour party controlled the council with 36 seats, compared to 11 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 7 Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
. Since the 2002 election
Camden Council election, 2002
The 2002 Camden Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Camden London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1998 reducing the number of seats by 5...
, in 2005, one of the 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:...
s for Fortune Green
Fortune Green
Fortune Green was originally part of the district of Hampstead but became physically separated from it by the building of the new turnpike road in the 1830s....
, Jonathan Simpson, had defected from the Liberal Democrats to Labour.
A total of 223 candidates stood for the 54 seats being contested in 18 wards
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:...
. The Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
parties contested every seat and there was 1 candidate each from the Christian Peoples Alliance
Christian Peoples Alliance
The Christian Peoples Alliance is a Christian democratic political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in its present form in 1999; it grew out of a cross-party advocacy group known as the Movement for Christian Democracy. The party is active throughout England and has fledgling groups specific...
, Respect Party and United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
, as well as 4 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...
.
During the campaign the Labour Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
visited Camden to support his party.
Election result
The results saw Labour lose their majority on the council with the leader of the council Raj Chadha among those who were defeated. This was the first time since the 1968 election that Labour had not won a majority in Camden and the election saw the Liberal Democrats overtake Labour to become the largest party on the council. The defeated Labour leader of the council Raj Chadha said "that the national circumstances meant a very good council in Camden has been lost". 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...
at the election was 37.6%, an increase from 28.5% in 2002.
Following the election the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives made an agreement to form the administration together, with Liberal Democrat Keith Moffitt
Keith Moffitt
Keith Moffitt is a British Liberal Democrat local government Politician. He has been a Councillor for West Hampstead since 1994, and in the local elections of May 2006 became the first ever Liberal Democrat Leader of Camden London Borough Council, ending Labour's 35 year hold on the borough.In the...
becoming the leader of the council and Conservative Andrew Marshall becoming deputy leader.
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