Local Elections 2006 round up
Barnet residents went to the polls on a bright sunny day on 4 May to elect their councillors for the next four years.
Voting took place at 162 polling stations across the borough as electors decided who should represent each of Barnet’s 21 wards.
A total of 219 candidates put themselves forward and the three collecting the most votes in each ward were elected to the council.
Going into the election, Barnet was represented by 31 Conservative councillors, 24 Labour and 7 Liberal Democrats. One seat was vacant. Polling stations closed at 10pm and after all the votes had been counted the picture had changed.
Now the borough has the following political makeup:
- Conservative – 37 seats
- Labour – 20 seats
- Liberal Democrats – 6 seats
The Conservative group has a majority of 11.
It is important that as many people as possible vote in local elections, because the council is responsible for many services that are used every day, including:
- schools
- social services
- roads and pavements
- parks
- Council Tax
- libraries
- planning
- housing
- recycling.
This year voter turnout was up on the previous two full council elections – overall turnout was 41.65%, much higher than 34% in 2002 and 35.7% in 1998.
Turnout was highest in the High Barnet ward, where 49.95% of eligible residents cast a vote, and lowest in Colindale, where 30.99% voted.
More people also chose to cast their vote from home this year. The council issued 33,892 postal votes – a record for a council election in the borough.
Borough election results: 1964 – 2006
The present London boroughs were created under the Local Government Act 1963 and the first elections for the new councils were held in 1964. Initially elections were held every three years. They are now held every four years. In 1964 Barnet was represented by 56 councillors. This was increased to 60 and following boundary changes before 2002’s elections, to 63.
| Year | Conservatives | Labour | Liberal Democrats | Other | Turnout % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 37 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 46.1 |
| 1968 | 56 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 40.8 |
| 1971 | 43 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 36.8 |
| 1974 | 42 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 39.1 |
| 1978 | 49 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 43.6 |
| 1982 | 48 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 43.3 |
| 1986 | 39 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 42.0 |
| 1990 | 39 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 50.0 |
| 1994 | 29 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 45.4 |
| 1998 | 28 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 35.7 |
| 2002 | 33 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 34.0 |
| 2006 | 37 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 41.6 |
Election trivia
- The election was managed under the direction of the Returning Officer, Barnet Council’s Chief Executive Leo Boland. He was assisted by Deputy Returning Officers at each of the three counting centres.
- There were 162 polling stations used between 7am and 10pm, manned by 483 staff.
- A total of 216,717 people were registered to vote this year. In 2002 there were 201,568 registered voters.
- A total of 33,892 postal votes were issued this year, a record for council elections in Barnet. The previous highest was 29,195 in 2002.
- There were 219 candidates standing in the election. The Conservative and Labour parties contested every seat. There were three Liberal Democrat candidates in each ward except one. The Green Party contested every ward and the UK Independence Party one. There was one Victory United candidate and two candidates standing as Independents.
How the votes are counted
When the polls close at 10pm, presiding officers at polling stations seal and deliver boxes to the Returning Officer at the counting centre. Postal votes handed in at the polling station are also delivered.
The count for each ward is carried out on separate tables. Each candidate can appoint one Counting Agent to observe the counting of votes in that particular ward. They sit opposite the clerks counting the votes. They are not allowed to touch the ballot papers and are bound by the secrecy rules governing the election. The number of ballot papers in each box are counted to make sure the figure agrees with the number of ballot papers issued at the polling station. This is called verification. Any postal votes handed in are then opened in the presence of agents and added to those received and opened earlier before being sealed in a ballot box and going to the count table for verification.
When the figures are agreed with Election Agents, all the papers are redistributed to Counting Clerks. Counting Clerks then sort the ballot papers, separating “block votes” (where a voter has cast all three votes for the same party) from the “cross votes” (where a voter has used less than three votes or voted for different parties). Unclear ballot papers are put aside for adjudication. The Returning Officer can reject any ballot paper where the voter’s intention is unclear or where the paper has been improperly marked. Candidates and their agents have an opportunity to give their views on these doubtful papers.
The block vote ballot papers are counted into bundles of 100 and placed in rows clearly labelled under the parties’ names. The cross vote ballot papers are counted using enumeration sheets. First they are sorted into those with three, two and one vote respectively. This enables the actual number of votes to be calculated. Then two Counting Clerks work together, with one calling out the name of each candidate given a vote on each ballot paper and the other marking off against the names on the sheet. Each sheet records votes cast for all candidates until one has 100 votes. Another sheet is then started. These are then added up and added to the control sheet for the count.
Ballot papers are kept with the sheet on which they have been marked off so they can be checked again if necessary. The count continues in this way until all votes are counted.
If the result is queried, i.e. if the numbers are close, a full recount could be called for. There can be any number of recounts, but the Returning Officer can stop this process and declare a result if he feels further demands for recounts are unreasonable.
If, after recounts, votes for the third and fourth-placed candidates are equal, the election would be decided by the drawing of lots. This is extremely rare. Once the count is completed, the Returning Officer declares the result, giving the number of valid votes cast for each candidate together with the total number of rejected ballot papers. Finally the Returning Officer seals all the ballot papers and places them among the council records. After six months, these and all documents relating to the poll are destroyed.
