The 2006 Rushmoor Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of

Rushmoor Rushmoor is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. It covers the towns of Aldershot and Farnborough, Hampshire, Farnborough as well as Cove and North Camp. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the ...

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Council in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. One third of the council was up for election and the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

stayed in overall control of the council. After the election, the composition of the council was: *

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

25 *

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

10 *

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

5 *

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Campaign

Before the election the council had 22 Conservative, 11

, 5

and 3

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s. In total 52 candidates were standing in the election with 14 seats being contested. These candidates came from the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour,

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

Official Monster Raving Loony Party The Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP) is a political party established in the United Kingdom in 1982 by the musician David Sutch, also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", or simply "Lord Sutch". It is notable for its ...

and 1 independent. Issues in the election included

anti-social behaviour Antisocial behavior is a behavior that is defined as the violation of the rights of others by committing crime, such as stealing and physical attack in addition to other behaviors such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disrupti ...

regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

, services for young people, traffic management and the environment. The 3 candidates from the British National Party also caused controversy in the election after they distributed leaflets in Farnborough containing pictures of Mohammad as a

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

. The election had Rushmoor be one of a few councils trialing early voting in an attempt to increase turnout.

Polling station A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although polling place is the building

s were open in the week leading up to the election in Aldershot and Farnborough, as well as one in Aldershot Military Town. Turnout in the election as a whole was 36%, up 5% on the 2003 election with over 1,200 peoples using the 2 early polling stations in Aldershot and Farnborough town centres. However the polling station in the military town, open on the day before the election, got only 46 votes cast.

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives increase their majority after gaining 3 seats to hold 25 of the 42 seats. The Conservatives gained two seats from the Liberal Democrats and one seat in Knellwood, where the previous independent councillor, Patrick Kirby, stepped down at the election. The gains from the Liberal Democrats came in Cove and Southwood

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

where the Conservatives won by 310 votes, and West Heath where the margin was much closer at only 13 votes. These defeats meant the Liberal Democrats were reduced to 10 seats on the council, compared to 5 for Labour and 2 independents. Labour held both of the seats they had been defending with the result in Heron Wood being closest with Labour holding on by 108 votes. The British National Party saw an increased vote, with the party winning 20% in Mayfield, just 28 votes short of second place. Meanwhile, the candidate from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, whose policies had included a pledge to make people buy £90 worth of

Smarties Smarties are colour-varied sugar-coated chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé. Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of abou ...

each week, won 59 votes in Rowhill ward.

Ward results

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2006

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2006 English local elections 2000s in Hampshire