# 2006 Reading Borough Council election

The 2006 Reading Borough Council election was held on 4 May 2006, at the same time as other local elections across England. Seventeen of the 46 seats on Reading Borough Council were up for election, being the usual third of the council plus two by-elections. The by-election in Southcote ward was caused by the resignation of Labour councillor Christopher Swaine, and the by-election in Thames was caused by the resignation of Conservative councillor Rob Wilson, who had been elected as the member of parliament for Reading East the previous year. Labour lost three seats at the election: two to the Conservatives and one to the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives took the largest number of votes across the borough for the first time since 1992. Despite these losses, Labour remained in control of the council, with David Sutton continuing as leader of the party and the council.

## Results

Reading Borough Council Election, 2006 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 6 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 35.3% | 35.0% | 12,131 | +3.0 pp |
| Labour | 9 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 52.9% | 33.4% | 11,571 | −4.9 pp |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 11.8% | 21.5% | 7,440 | −3.9 pp |
| Green | 0 | | | | 0% | 8.8% | 3,031 | +5.8 pp |
| Independent | 0 | | | | 0% | 1.3% | 453 | |

### Ward results

The results in each ward were as follows (candidates with an asterisk* were the sitting councillor standing for re-election):
Abbey Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Betty Tickner* (Bet Tickner) | 706 | 41.0 |
| | Conservative | Timothy James Harris | 424 | 24.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gareth Daniel Epps | 305 | 17.7 |
| | Green | Douglas James Cresswell | 196 | 11.4 |
| | Independent | Thurlow Timothy Robert O'Neill (Bob O'Neill) | 69 | 4.0 |
| | Independent | Jean-Louis Pascual | 21 | 1.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,721 | 27 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Battle Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Tony Jones* | 990 | 53.6 |
| | Conservative | David John Trim | 376 | 20.3 |
| | Green | Adrian Windisch | 241 | 13.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Edward Spackman | 241 | 13.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,848 | 31 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Caversham Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Andrew Cumpsty | 1,235 | 50.0 |
| | Labour | David O'Meara | 625 | 25.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Diane Jennifer Elliss | 336 | 13.6 |
| | Green | David James Patterson | 276 | 11.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,472 | 39 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Church Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Mohammed Azam Janjua* (Azam Janjua) | 913 | 41.2 |
| | Conservative | Michael Anthony Townend (Mike Townend) | 867 | 39.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christopher John Harris | 239 | 10.8 |
| | Green | Gabriel Berry | 195 | 8.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,214 | 34 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Katesgrove Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Richard Martin Stainthorp* | 647 | 41.0 |
| | Conservative | Mohinder Singh | 332 | 21.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Milorad Susilovic (Mike Susilovic) | 276 | 17.5 |
| | Green | Louise Kaye Keane | 221 | 14.0 |
| | Independent | David Leyland Boobier | 101 | 6.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,577 | 28 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Kentwood Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Jennifer Rynn | 1,024 | 37.6 |
| | Labour | Andrea Mary Collins* | 888 | 32.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Karel Duveen (Ricky Duveen) | 641 | 23.5 |
| | Green | Katia Richardson | 173 | 6.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,726 | 40 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | |
Minster Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Terence James Christopher Byrne (Terry Byrne) | 865 | 38.3 |
| | Labour | Mohammed Ayub | 846 | 37.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nicholas David Wright | 327 | 14.5 |
| | Green | Katherine Jane Buse | 223 | 9.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,261 | 35 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | |
Norcot Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Peter Mervyn Jones* | 1,134 | 51.3 |
| | Conservative | Stephen Richard Watcham | 578 | 26.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Clare Heydeman | 306 | 13.8 |
| | Green | Mark Adrian Walker | 193 | 8.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,211 | 34 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Park Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Shirley Isabella Merriott | 896 | 33.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard James Edward Hall | 671 | 25.3 |
| | Conservative | Wazir Hussain | 609 | 23.0 |
| | Green | Robert James White | 474 | 17.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,650 | 42 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Peppard Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Mark Ralph* | 1,760 | 54.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Frederick D'Este Emery | 1,051 | 32.5 |
| | Labour | Mohammad Nazir (Nazir Choudhary) | 248 | 7.7 |
| | Green | Kay Mary Harrison | 177 | 5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,236 | 46 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Redlands Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Daisy Benson | 1,029 | 45.4 |
| | Labour | Gul Faraz Khan* (Haji Khan) | 677 | 29.9 |
| | Conservative | Richard Leo Lester (Leo Lester) | 398 | 17.6 |
| | Independent | Peter Burt | 163 | 7.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,267 | 37 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | |
Southcote Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John Joseph Ennis* | 1,108 | 50.8 |
| | Conservative | Alan Alexander Hawkins | 748 | 34.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anthony John Warrell | 203 | 9.3 |
| | Green | James Eric Towell | 122 | 5.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,181 | 38 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Southcote Ward (by-election) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Deborah Jane Edwards | 1,252 | 59.9 |
| | Conservative | Patricia Steele | 837 | 40.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,089 | 38 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Thames Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | David Bryan Stevens* | 1,725 | 54.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pauline Arthur | 618 | 19.5 |
| | Labour | Mary Catherine Waite | 479 | 15.1 |
| | Green | Nicholas James Foster | 245 | 7.7 |
| | Independent | Joan Rose Lloyd (Jan Lloyd) | 99 | 3.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,166 | 46 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Thames Ward (by-election) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Isobel Rosalind Norton Ballsdon | 1,887 | 57.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rodney Pinchen | 802 | 24.5 |
| | Labour | Peter Crispin Winfield-Chislett | 579 | 17.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,268 | 48 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Tilehurst Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Judith Fry* (Jude Fry) | 1,023 | 41.4 |
| | Conservative | Sandra Josephine Bowler | 757 | 30.6 |
| | Labour | Raymond Michael Richens | 550 | 22.2 |
| | Green | Sebastian Tarrik Achaibou | 142 | 5.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,472 | 36 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Whitley Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Mary Singleton-White* | 864 | 53.2 |
| | Conservative | Nicholas James Brown | 433 | 26.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Max Thomas Heydeman | 174 | 10.7 |
| | Green | Thomas Hugh Jeremy Chance | 153 | 9.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,624 | 26 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

## By-elections between 2006 and 2007

Tilehurst by-election 16 November 2006 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | R Duveen | 919 | 47.8 | +6.4 |
| | Conservative | | 586 | 30.5 | −0.1 |
| | Labour | | 317 | 16.5 | −5.7 |
| | Green | | 79 | 4.1 | −1.6 |
| | Roman Party | | 21 | 1.1 | +1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 333 | 17.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,922 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |