2003 Bedford Borough Council election

The 2003 Bedford Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Bedford Borough Council in England.^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections.

Prior to the election, five councillors - four from the Conservatives and one from the Liberal Democrats - left their respective groups and formed the Better Bedford Independent Party.

Summary

Election result

2003 Bedford Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	5	3	29.4	13	18	33.3	7,902	28.7	–9.1
	Labour	3	1	17.6	10	13	24.1	5,170	18.8	–6.8
	Liberal Democrats	5	2	29.4	7	12	22.2	6,706	24.4	–2.5
	Better Bedford Party	2	1	11.8	4	6	11.1	5,163	18.8	N/A
	Independent	3	1	16.7	2	5	9.3	2,154	7.8	–1.7
	BNP	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	223	0.8	N/A
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	186	0.7	+0.4

Ward results

^[2]

Brickhill

Brickhill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lynne Faulkner*	1,191	45.0	−1.8
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Whitehead	1,003	37.9	−2.0
	Better Bedford Party	Roberto Bosco	234	8.8	N/A
	Labour	Karl Sorembik	178	6.7	−3.6
	Green	Jennifer Foley	40	1.5	N/A
Majority			188	7.1
Turnout			2,646	40.3
Registered electors			6,586
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bromham

Bromham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Rigby*	1,181	70.2	−0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Rutherford	176	10.5	−3.0
	Better Bedford Party	Leslie Hunt	175	10.4	N/A
	Labour	Arun Muzhi	151	9.0	−3.3
Majority			1,005	59.7
Turnout			1,683	29.1
Registered electors			5,787
	Conservative hold		Swing

Carlton

Carlton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Jim Brandon*	953	81.2	+5.0
	Conservative	Anthony Morris	108	9.2	−4.4
	Liberal Democrats	David Robertson	63	5.4	−4.8
	Labour	Stephen Poole	49	4.2	N/A
Majority			845	72.0
Turnout			1,173	50.3
Registered electors			2,342
	Independent hold		Swing

Castle

Castle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Better Bedford Party	Margaret Davey*	994	46.2	+5.5
	Labour	Marilyn Leask	751	34.9	−2.0
	Conservative	Michael Williams	230	10.7	−30.0
	Liberal Democrats	Pierret Lob-Levyt	177	8.2	−3.0
Majority			243	11.3
Turnout			2,152	35.8
Registered electors			6,052
	Better Bedford Party gain from Conservative		Swing

Margaret Davey was the incumbent councillor, originally elected for the Conservatives, but defected to the Better Bedford Party. Because this seat is compared to the last time it was up for election it is shown as a Better Bedford Party gain.

Cauldwell

Cauldwell
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christopher Black*	742	50.6	−7.8
	Better Bedford Party	Gurminder Dosanjh	352	24.0	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Neal Bath	206	14.1	−1.1
	Conservative	Denise Coates	166	11.3	−0.7
Majority			390	26.6
Turnout			1,466	25.7
Registered electors			5,774
	Labour hold		Swing

Clapham

Clapham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Tom Foster	633	48.1	*N/A*
	Conservative	Judith Arnold*	310	23.6	−26.6
	Independent	John Creasey	196	14.9	−15.8
	Labour	Terence Carroll	119	9.0	−8.5
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Lawson	57	4.3	−4.0
Majority			323	24.6
Turnout			1,315	32.0
Registered electors			4,128
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

De Parys

De Parys
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Sawyer	559	38.6	−2.6
	Conservative	Tarsem Paul*	473	32.6	−11.2
	Better Bedford Party	Susannah Senior	242	16.7	N/A
	Labour	Jane Caldwell	140	9.7	−0.9
	Green	Mark Steinhardt	35	2.4	N/A
Majority			86	5.9
Turnout			1,449	35.1
Registered electors			4,126
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Goldington

Goldington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Smith*	975	54.6	−2.4
	Better Bedford Party	Stewart Lister	350	19.6	N/A
	Labour	David Lewis	293	16.4	−5.6
	Conservative	Valerie Fulford	169	9.5	−2.5
Majority			625	35.0
Turnout			1,787	29.0
Registered electors			6,201
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Great Barford

Great Barford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carole Ellis*	787	53.4	+0.5
	Better Bedford Party	Elizabeth Ferguson	454	30.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Stekelis	121	8.2	+0.6
	Labour	Pauline Curl	112	7.6	−8.7
Majority			333	22.6
Turnout			1,474	36.3
Registered electors			4,103
	Conservative hold		Swing

Harpur

Harpur
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian Nicholls*	777	46.3	+6.2
	Conservative	Michael Spavins	439	26.1	−7.9
	Better Bedford Party	Stuart Channon	214	12.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Rodney Cottrell	167	9.9	−1.1
	Green	Colin Grimley	82	4.9	−5.6
Majority			338	20.1
Turnout			1,679	27.6
Registered electors			6,128
	Labour hold		Swing

Kempston South

Kempston South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Carl Meader	749	49.2	+11.7
	Better Bedford Party	David Merry	481	31.6	−0.8
	Conservative	Jagdish Singh	132	8.7	−5.4
	Liberal Democrats	Timothy Hill	132	8.7	−2.8
	Green	Neil Foley	29	1.9	N/A
Majority			268	17.6
Turnout			1,523	27.3
Registered electors			5,590
	Labour hold		Swing

Kingsbrook

Kingsbrook
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Anita Gerard	784	45.3	+6.3
	Labour	James Valentine	534	30.8	−9.8
	Better Bedford Party	Katherine Alder	255	14.7	N/A
	Conservative	Barbara Purbrick	158	9.1	−1.9
Majority			250	14.4
Turnout			1,731	27.2
Registered electors			6,419
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

Putnoe

Putnoe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Myrtle Stewardson*	1,250	49.2	+9.5
	Better Bedford Party	Glenn Farrar	477	18.8	N/A
	Conservative	Ralph Hall	427	16.8	−9.5
	BNP	Richard Green	223	8.8	N/A
	Labour	David Williams	166	6.5	−3.6
Majority			773	30.4
Turnout			2,543	38.5
Registered electors			6,618
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Roxton

Roxton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Clarke*	497	70.6	−0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Sophia Stow	132	18.8	+7.8
	Labour	Rosemary Roome	75	10.7	−0.2
Majority			365	51.8
Turnout			704	31.9
Registered electors			2,227
	Conservative hold		Swing

Sharnbrook

Sharnbrook
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Better Bedford Party	Douglas McMurdo	491	54.2	*N/A*
	Conservative	Richard Davison-Francis*	338	37.3	−22.7
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Murphy	43	4.7	−0.6
	Labour	Yanina Jones	34	3.8	−3.4
Majority			153	16.9
Turnout			906	45.5
Registered electors			2,001
	Better Bedford Party gain from Conservative		Swing

Turvey

Turvey
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Celia Hanbury*	560	70.4	−1.6
	Better Bedford Party	Eric Evans	84	10.6	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Gerald Elliott	77	9.7	−18.3
	Labour	Yvonne Anderson	74	9.3	N/A
Majority			479	59.9
Turnout			795	36.7
Registered electors			2,171
	Conservative hold		Swing

Wilshamstead

Wilshamstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Anthony Hare*	372	30.3	−26.9
	Conservative	Victor Wilson-Maccormack	286	23.3	−33.9
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Parker	231	18.8	−15.1
	Better Bedford Party	Vivian Suter	221	18.0	N/A
	Labour	Francer Garrick	117	9.5	N/A
Majority			86	7.0
Turnout			1,227	34.0
Registered electors			3,629
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Anthony Hare was the incumbent councillor, originally elected for the Conservatives, but defected to become an Independent. Because this seat is compared to the last time it was up for election it is shown as an Independent gain.

Wootton

Wootton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Willey*	553	44.2	+8.5
	Conservative	Roy Judge	450	36.0	+2.9
	Better Bedford Party	Leslie Walker	139	11.1	N/A
	Labour	Adrien Beardmore	109	8.7	−0.7
Majority			103	8.2
Turnout			1,251	30.8
Registered electors			4,078
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

References

^ "Results 1973 to 2012" (PDF). Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
^ "Borough Election Results 2003". Bedford Borough Council. Retrieved 6 January 2024.

[1] "Results 1973 to 2012" (PDF). Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 14 February 2023.

[2] "Borough Election Results 2003". Bedford Borough Council. Retrieved 6 January 2024.

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