The 2003 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Stratford-on-Avon District Council in Warwickshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.[1]
After the election, the composition of the council was
- Conservative 27
- Liberal Democrat 22
- Independent 3
- Labour 1[2]
Campaign
[edit]Before the election the Conservatives were one seats short of having a majority on the council with 26 seats, as compared to 22 for the Liberal Democrats, 2 Labour and 3 independents.[3] 16 seats were contested in the election with the Liberal Democrats defending the most seats.[4]
Council tax levels were the major issue in the election with the Liberal Democrats attacking plans for a 58% increase,[4] which they said was mostly due to waste and poor decisions by the council.[3] However the Conservatives defended the rise, blaming it on an insufficient grant from the national government[4] and on the previous Liberal Democrat administration for using cash balances to keep levels artificially low.[3] The election also saw four independent candidates standing in Stratford wards in opposition to the council tax rise.[3]
Election result
[edit]The results saw the Conservatives regain control of the council, after the election saw 5 seats changes hands.[5] They made a net gain of 1 seat at the expense of Labour who were reduced to only 1 seat on the council after losing in Southam ward.[6] The election in Stratford Avenue and New Town saw the closest result with independent Keith Lloyd, standing in protest at council tax levels, defeating Liberal Democrat Bill Lowe by 1 vote.[6] However the Liberal Democrats ended with the same number of seats, with their 2 gains including a surprise win in Stockton and Napton.[6] Turnout in the election varied from a low of 27% to a high of 51%,[7] but overall fell from 45% in 2002 to only 35%.[8] This was despite including 3,000 voters who had used a trial e-voting internet system.[7]
Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 56.3 | 45.5 | 9,856 | +3.7% | |
Conservative | 6 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 37.5 | 39.6 | 8,577 | -3.7% | |
Independent | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.3 | 10.5 | 2,285 | +2.8% | |
Labour | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 4.1 | 885 | -2.6% | |
Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 66 | -0.2% |
Ward results
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Pamela Price | 980 | 59.3 | ||
Conservative | Sylvia Hyde | 673 | 40.7 | ||
Majority | 307 | 18.6 | |||
Turnout | 1,653 | 37.1 | |||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Brian Slaughter | 759 | 54.6 | ||
Liberal Democrats | John Sandle | 632 | 45.4 | ||
Majority | 127 | 9.2 | |||
Turnout | 1,391 | 27.5 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Chris Williams | 501 | 67.0 | +6.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | John Insoll | 247 | 33.0 | +33.0 | |
Majority | 254 | 34.0 | +11.8 | ||
Turnout | 748 | 40.7 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ann Haddon | 652 | 57.9 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Mark Edwards | 474 | 42.1 | ||
Majority | 178 | 15.8 | |||
Turnout | 1,126 | 32.7 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Louise Giblin | 690 | 52.2 | ||
Conservative | Richard Hurley | 631 | 47.8 | ||
Majority | 59 | 4.4 | |||
Turnout | 1,321 | 40.5 | |||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Bob White | 853 | 57.1 | ||
Conservative | Stephen Gray | 642 | 42.9 | ||
Majority | 211 | 14.2 | |||
Turnout | 1,495 | 43.0 | |||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Leslie Hewer | 620 | 42.1 | ||
Labour | James Taylor | 608 | 41.3 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Charlie Williams | 244 | 16.6 | ||
Majority | 12 | 0.8 | |||
Turnout | 1,472 | 31.4 | |||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Nigel Rock | 419 | 62.7 | +36.4 | |
Conservative | Peter Garret | 249 | 37.3 | −6.3 | |
Majority | 170 | 25.4 | |||
Turnout | 668 | 37.5 | |||
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Vincent Seaman | 749 | 43.7 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Judith Riley | 634 | 37.0 | ||
Independent | Roy Lodge | 187 | 10.9 | ||
Independent | Leslie Rouch | 145 | 8.5 | ||
Majority | 115 | 6.7 | |||
Turnout | 1,715 | 41.7 | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Keith Lloyd | 612 | 35.8 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Bill Lowe | 611 | 35.8 | ||
Conservative | Robert Bessell | 417 | 24.4 | ||
Labour | Karen Parnell | 69 | 4.0 | ||
Majority | 1 | 0.0 | |||
Turnout | 1,709 | 34.1 | |||
Independent gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Clive Thomas | 759 | 37.6 | ||
Conservative | Michael Perry | 631 | 31.3 | ||
Independent | Roger Hatch | 478 | 23.7 | ||
Labour | Michael Gerrard | 150 | 7.4 | ||
Majority | 128 | 6.3 | |||
Turnout | 2,018 | 37.9 | |||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Peter Moorse | 762 | 60.6 | ||
Independent | Ted Lloyd | 438 | 34.8 | ||
Labour | Matthew Stephens | 58 | 4.6 | ||
Majority | 324 | 25.8 | |||
Turnout | 1,258 | 37.8 | |||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Tony Cronin | 820 | 58.2 | ||
Conservative | Heather Wersocki | 589 | 41.8 | ||
Majority | 231 | 16.4 | |||
Turnout | 1,409 | 30.2 | |||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Chris Saint | 556 | 68.6 | −3.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Ben Brabyn | 255 | 31.4 | +3.3 | |
Majority | 301 | 37.1 | −6.7 | ||
Turnout | 811 | 43.2 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Peter Barnes | 647 | 76.7 | +1.9 | |
Conservative | Harry Cottam | 196 | 23.3 | −1.9 | |
Majority | 451 | 53.5 | +3.9 | ||
Turnout | 843 | 51.9 | |||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | David Close | 829 | 40.8 | ||
Conservative | Anita MacAulay | 712 | 35.0 | ||
Independent | Philip Coton | 425 | 20.9 | ||
Green | Michael Davies | 66 | 3.2 | ||
Majority | 117 | 5.8 | |||
Turnout | 2,032 | 39.0 | |||
Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Swing |
References
[edit]- ^ "Election 2003: full results and analysis". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 27 August 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
- ^ a b "Election Results". The Times. 2 May 2003. p. 17.
- ^ a b c d Dale, Paul (23 April 2003). "Election 2003: No holds Bard as Tories defend huge tax increase ; In the run-up to the local council elections on May 1 The Birmingham Post will be looking at some of the key battlegrounds. Today, Paul Dale assesses the mood of politicians preparing for knife-edge elections in Shakespeare country". Birmingham Post. p. 2.
- ^ a b c Walker, Jonathan (8 April 2003). "Lib Dems drum up council tax battle". Birmingham Post. p. 7.
- ^ Scott, Fiona (2 May 2003). "Troubled times for Labour ; How you voted". Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 24.
- ^ a b c Portlock, Sarah (2 May 2003). "Jubilant Tories take the lead". Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 24.
- ^ a b Buggins, Arryn (3 May 2003). "A close shave for mayor-elect Doug". Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 5.
- ^ "Mixed results for e-voting". Birmingham Post. 7 May 2003. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Results" (PDF). Political Science Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2010.