Elections to Slough Borough Council were held on 4 May 2006. One third of the council was up for election. This was the 121st Slough general local authority election (including both whole Council elections and elections by thirds) since Slough became a local government unit in 1863.
Contents
- Recent political history of Slough
- Summary of Council composition 2004 2006
- List of expiring seats before election
- Election result summary
- Members of Slough Borough Council 2006 2007
- References
Overall, the Labour Party gained three seats, the Conservative Party lost two and the Liberal Democrats lost one. This result was slightly unusual compared with the other UK local elections on the same day whereby the Conservative Party generally gained seats at the expense of the Labour Party.
This election filled thirteen seats for the term 2006-2010. The remaining twenty-eight Slough Councillors continued in office. These seats were previously contested in the whole Council election of 2004 following the redrawing of the ward boundaries in the Borough.
Recent political history of Slough
Slough has an unusual balance of political forces. In the twenty-first century the town has developed something that more resembles the party systems of countries like France and Italy, than that typical in England.
The council has, since 2004, had no party in overall control. A coalition of the Britwellian, Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrat Group (BILLD) and the Conservative Group form the current administration, with the Labour Group in opposition. There were (in April 2006) two non-Group affiliated Independents, one an Independent Conservative and the other an Independent Britwellian Residents Councillor, who is seeking re-election on a Slough Independents ticket.
The BILLD Group is itself a local coalition, containing members from six parties or groups of Independent Councillors based on particular Wards. The existing members of the Group have an electoral pact for the current election, continuing electoral arrangements which started with the Slough Council election 2001.
A number of Independents and others, not affiliated to BILLD, contested the 2006 election.
In April 2006, the composition of the 41 member council was:-
In the 2006 election 51 candidates were nominated for the 13 seats up for election. The list is broken down by Party or group of Independents, with a residual category of Independent candidates standing without prefix or suffix and not affiliated to BILLD.
Summary of Council composition 2004-2006
Before the elections held on 4 May 2006, the composition of Slough Borough Council was as follows:
No overall Majority
Note: The Others category in this table includes all non-Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat Councillors. Richard Stokes (Liberal-Haymill) is the BILLD Group Leader, which group includes the Liberal Democrats and all the Others category Councillors in 2004. By 2006 two of the Councillors in the Others category are not part of the BILLD Group. Two Councillors left the Conservative group between 2004-2006 (one of whom joined BILLD) and a third Councillor left BILLD, re-joined and then left again.
List of expiring seats before election
Election result summary
Members of Slough Borough Council 2006-2007
Notes:-