# 2006 Hertsmere Borough Council election

The 2006 Hertsmere Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Hertsmere Borough Council in Hertfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Conservative 28
* Liberal Democrat 6
* Labour 5

## Background

Before the election the Conservatives controlled the council with 26 seats, compared to 7 for Labour and 6 Liberal Democrats. As well as the normal 13 seats being contested, an extra seat was up for election in Aldenham East after the councillor Nigel Gilmore stepped down. Other councillors standing down included 2 from Labour, Joe Goldberg and Len Silverstone, and Conservatives Ron Gealy and Zita Hobbs. 9 of the 14 seats were being defended by the Conservatives, 3 by Labour and 2 by the Liberal Democrats.

## Election result

The Conservatives increased their majority to 17 after gaining 2 seats from Labour. This reduced Labour to 5 councillors, behind the Liberal Democrats who stayed on 6 after retaining their 2 seats in Bushey. The Conservatives gains came in Borehamwood Brookmeadow, which they took by 103 votes, and Borehamwood Kenilworth, where Labour lost by 12 votes after several recounts. This meant Labour only won 1 seat in Borehamwood Cowley Hill, where they held on by an 86-vote majority.
The Labour group leader Leon Reefe said the reason for the defeats for the party was that "Labour voters are still disenchanted with what's going on nationally", while the Conservative council leader said "obviously national events had a bearing but I still feel that locally we are providing good services".
Hertsmere Local Election Result 2006 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 11 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 78.6 | 57.6 | 13,511 | +1.1% |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.3 | 21.3 | 4,985 | -1.5% |
| Labour | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 7.1 | 18.1 | 4,243 | -1.8% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 289 | +1.2% |
| Victory United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 234 | +1.0% |
| Socialist Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 187 | +0.0% |

## Ward results

Aldenham East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Goldstein | 1,191 | 80.3 | +2.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Bird | 172 | 11.6 | −0.1 |
| | Labour | Peter Halsley | 121 | 8.2 | −2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,019 | 68.7 | +2.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,484 | 48.7 | +4.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Borehamwood Brookmeadow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Harvey Cohen | 730 | 45.9 | −1.6 |
| | Labour | Ian Freeney | 627 | 39.4 | +5.0 |
| | Victory United | Elsie Alokwe | 234 | 14.7 | +14.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 103 | 6.5 | −6.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,591 | 36.5 | +3.5 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Borehamwood Cowley Hill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dinah Hoeksma | 642 | 40.9 | +2.1 |
| | Conservative | Darren Solomons | 556 | 35.4 | +1.8 |
| | Socialist Labour | James Dry | 187 | 11.9 | +1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martin Ownsworth | 186 | 11.8 | −5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 86 | 5.5 | +0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,571 | 31.1 | +0.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Borehamwood Hillside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Sandra Parnell | 1,245 | 62.7 | +14.5 |
| | Labour | Jennifer Reefe | 741 | 37.3 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 504 | 25.4 | +14.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,986 | 34.5 | −3.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Borehamwood Kenilworth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patricia Strack | 511 | 43.4 | +5.4 |
| | Labour | Ernest Butler | 499 | 42.4 | +1.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Zissis Kakoulakis | 167 | 14.2 | −6.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12 | 1.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,177 | 31.6 | +11.0 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Bushey Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Brenda Batten | 1,518 | 73.5 | +4.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Roger Kutchinsky | 375 | 18.2 | −2.2 |
| | Labour | David Bearfield | 171 | 8.3 | −2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,143 | 55.4 | +6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,064 | 41.7 | +1.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Bushey North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Marilyn Colne | 941 | 58.7 | +1.9 |
| | Conservative | John Slade | 437 | 27.3 | −5.4 |
| | Labour | George Bath | 118 | 7.4 | −3.1 |
| | Green | Arjuna Krishna-Das | 106 | 6.6 | +6.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 504 | 31.5 | +7.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,602 | 42.0 | +6.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Bushey Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lynne Hodgson | 741 | 51.5 | +14.9 |
| | Conservative | Abul Choudhury | 698 | 48.5 | −7.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 43 | 3.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,439 | 48.0 | +2.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Bushey St James :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jean Conway | 914 | 43.8 | 0.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Vincent Turner | 846 | 40.5 | −5.9 |
| | Green | Edward Canfor-Dumas | 183 | 8.8 | +8.8 |
| | Labour | Yue Cheng | 146 | 7.0 | −2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 68 | 3.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,089 | 41.1 | −1.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Elstree :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Derrick Gunasekera | 932 | 75.3 | +3.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Silverman | 159 | 12.8 | +12.8 |
| | Labour | Anthony Scott-Norman | 147 | 11.9 | −16.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 773 | 62.4 | +19.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,238 | 34.6 | +8.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Potters Bar Furzefield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Christine Calcutt | 1,066 | 59.3 | +1.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Colin Dean | 443 | 24.6 | +0.9 |
| | Labour | James Fisher | 289 | 16.1 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 623 | 34.6 | +0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,798 | 42.4 | +4.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Potters Barr Oakmere :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Shirley Legate | 1,242 | 66.2 | −2.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Hurd | 320 | 17.0 | +17.0 |
| | Labour | Russell Ramshaw | 315 | 16.8 | −14.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 922 | 49.1 | +12.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,877 | 36.2 | +0.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Potters Bar Parkfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edwin Roach | 1,649 | 70.3 | +2.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Bonner | 478 | 20.4 | +2.1 |
| | Labour | Perry Ellis | 220 | 9.4 | −4.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,171 | 49.9 | 0.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,347 | 41.0 | +0.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Shenley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Rosemary Gilligan | 822 | 69.3 | +4.5 |
| | Labour | Richard Kirk | 207 | 17.5 | −1.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anita Ownsworth | 157 | 13.2 | −4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 615 | 51.9 | +5.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,186 | 31.9 | −4.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |