2003 South Kesteven District Council election

The 2003 South Kesteven District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of South Kesteven District Council in Lincolnshire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party gained control of the council from no overall control.^[1]

Background

Before the election the Conservatives had half of the seats on the council with 29 councillors, compared to 14 independents, 12 Labour and 3 Liberal Democrats.^[2] The Conservatives ran the council in alliance with the Liberal Democrats,^[2] with Linda Neal taking over as leader of the council from Phil Taylor in 2002.^[3]

96 candidates stood for the 58 seats on the council over 34 wards, 15 fewer candidates than at the 1999 election.^[2] In 11 wards there was no election as the candidates for those seats were elected without opposition.^[2] The Conservatives stood 42 candidates, compared to 20 for Labour, 19 independents, 13 Liberal Democrats and 2 candidates for the Green party.^[2]

Election result

The Conservatives gained two seats to take an overall majority on the council with 31 councillors.^[4] This came at the expense of the independents and Labour, who both lost two seats to have 12 and 10 councillors respectively.^[5] Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats picked up two seats to have 5 councillors.^[4] Overall turnout at the election was 29.65%,^[6] around 3% less than in 1999.^[4]

The successful candidates included five married couples, Labour's Dorrien and Neil Dexter, Fereshteh and John Hurst and Avril and Mike Williams, as well as Conservatives Margery and Norman Radley and Graham and Mary Wheat.^[4] Conservative gains included picking up a seat in Bourne East, but they did lose three seats to the Liberal Democrats in Stamford St John's.^[7] In Stamford St George's the second seat for the ward was decided by the toss of a coin and had Conservative Bob Sandall defeat Liberal Democrat Ray Lee.^[7]

South Kesteven local election result 2003^[5]^[6]^[8]
	Seats	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes
Conservative	31	+2	53.4	43.9	15,421
Independent	12	-2	20.7	20.2	7,103
Labour	10	-2	17.2	19.4	6,813
Liberal Democrats	5	+2	8.6	15.5	5,438
Green	0	0	0	1.1	373

Ward results

All Saints (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Terl Bryant	443
	Conservative	Paul Morris	425
	Labour	Mark Ashberry	352
	Labour	Robert Loomes	347
Turnout			1,567

Aveland^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Taylor	unopposed

Barrowby^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Pamela Bosworth	491	82.9
	Labour	Paul Jacklin	101	17.1
Majority			390	65.9
Turnout			592

Belmont (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	George Chivers	441
	Conservative	Nicholas Craft	441
	Liberal Democrats	Jane Carr	288
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Carr	232
	Green	Helen Cross	174
Turnout			1,576

Bourne East (3 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	John Kirkman	854
	Conservative	Judith Smith	636
	Conservative	Donald Fisher	569
	Independent	Guy Cudmore	473
	Labour	Derrick Crump	417
Turnout			2,949

Bourne West (3 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Linda Neal	715
	Conservative	John Smith	683
	Conservative	Brian Fines	659
	Labour	Trevor Holmes	573
Turnout			2,630

Deeping St James (3 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal Democrats	Raymond Auger	797
	Liberal Democrats	Kenneth Joynson	761
	Conservative	Bryan Helyar	683
	Labour	Helen Blades	617
Turnout			2,858

Earlesfield (3 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Neil Dexter	356
	Labour	Dorrien Dexter	345
	Labour	Yvonne Gibbins	290
	Conservative	Madge Allen	230
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Finch	143
	Liberal Democrats	Raymond Harding	119
Turnout			1,483

Ermine^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Manoharan Nadarajah	unopposed

Forest^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Carpenter	unopposed

Glen Eden^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Angeline Percival	unopposed

Grantham St John's (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	John Wilks	480
	Labour	John Hurst	325
	Conservative	Donald Atkinson	245
Turnout			1,050

Green Hill (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Alan Parkin	588
	Conservative	Frank Turner	542
	Labour	Alan Kane	217
Turnout			1,347

Greyfriars (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Michael Taylor	443
	Conservative	Joan Stokes	422
	Labour	Erica South	231
Turnout			1,096

Harrowby (3 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Stephen Hewerdine	621
	Labour	Michael Williams	462
	Labour	Avril Williams	458
	Labour	Clifford Wells	423
	Independent	Bruce Wells	410
	Conservative	Peter Stephens	382
	Liberal Democrats	Julie Hirst	229
	Liberal Democrats	Martin James	226
Turnout			3,211

Heath^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Peter Martin-Mayhew	513	79.8
	Independent	Terence Norman	130	20.2
Majority			383	59.6
Turnout			643

Hillsides^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Elizabeth Channell	405	60.7
	Conservative	Thomas Trollope-Bellew	262	39.3
Majority			143	21.4
Turnout			667

Isaac Newton^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Ian Selby	326	51.5
	Conservative	William Adams	307	48.5
Majority			19	3.0
Turnout			633

Lincrest^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Norman Radley	unopposed

Loveden^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	A.V Kerr	unopposed

Market and West Deeping (3 seats)^[6]^[8]
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Alan Galbraith	unopposed
Independent	Reg Howard	unopposed
Conservative	Stan Pease	unopposed

Morkery^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Margery Radley	302	53.8
	Independent	Christopher Robinson	259	46.2
Majority			43	7.7
Turnout			561

Peascliffe^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Jeffery Thompson	411	68.5
	Conservative	Ian Stokes	189	31.5
Majority			222	37.0
Turnout			600

Ringstone^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frances Cartwright	unopposed

Saxonwell^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Paul Wood	350	55.2
	Conservative	Nigel Parker	284	44.8
Majority			66	10.4
Turnout			634

Stamford St. John's (3 seats)^[6]^[7]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal Democrats	Doarkanathsing Bisnauthsing	714
	Liberal Democrats	Maureen Jalili	618
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen O'Hare	574
	Conservative	Michael Exton	561
	Conservative	David Nalson	544
	Conservative	Brian Sumner	475
Turnout			3,486
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

St. Anne's (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Charles Burrows	468
	Labour	Fereshteh Hurst	296
	Conservative	Janice Clough	281
	Independent	Harry Thomas	217
	Green	Margaret Gregory	199
Turnout			1,461

St George's (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Joyce Gaffigan	370
	Conservative	Percival Sandall	340
	Liberal Democrats	Raymond Lee	339
	Labour	Robina Hill	307
Turnout			1,356

St. Mary's (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Robert Conboy	666
	Conservative	Azar Woods	486
	Independent	Cedric Cadman	321
Turnout			1,473

St. Wulfram's (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Herbert Wheat	614
	Conservative	Mary Wheat	559
	Liberal Democrats	Judith Smith	398
Turnout			1,571

Thurlby^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Nicholson	unopposed

Toller^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reg Lovelock	unopposed

Truesdale (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Paul Genever	649
	Independent	George Waterhouse	541
	Independent	Thomas Butterfield	514
Turnout			1,704

Witham Valley^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rosemary Kaberry-Brown	unopposed

By-elections between 2003 and 2007

Greyfriars

Greyfriars by-election 21 October 2004^[9]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Stokes	166	47.6	−18.1
	Labour		98	28.1	−6.2
	Liberal Democrats		85	24.4	+24.4
Majority			68	19.5
Turnout			349	12
	Conservative hold		Swing

All Saints

All Saints by-election 1 September 2005^[11]
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	271	40.8	−14.9
	Labour	193	29.0	−15.3
	Liberal Democrats	186	28.0	+28.0
	Independent	14	2.1	+2.1
Majority		78	11.7
Turnout		664	19.0
	Conservative hold	Swing

Earlesfield

Earlesfield by-election 1 September 2005^[11]
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Labour	219	62.2	+13.4
	Conservative	133	37.8	+6.2
Majority		86	24.4
Turnout		352	8.2
	Labour hold	Swing

St Anne's

Labour won a by-election in St Anne's ward after the death of councillor Fred Burrows.^[12] Labour candidate Lee Steptoe was unopposed after the Conservative candidates papers were found to be invalid, while the Liberal Democrats were unable to find the required 10 seconders.^[12]

St Anne's by-election 27 October 2005^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lee Steptoe	unopposed
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Market and West Deeping

Market and West Deeping by-election 9 March 2006^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Exton	unopposed
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Truesdale

Truesdale by-election 18 May 2006^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Thomas Webster	416	42.2
	Liberal Democrats		232	23.6
	Independent		171	17.4
	Independent		166	16.9
Majority			184	18.7
Turnout			985	27.7
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

References

^ "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Fewer candidates for local elections". Grantham Journal. 3 April 2003. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ "Tories axe council leader". Grantham Journal. 2 May 2002. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Five married couples on council". Grantham Journal. 9 May 2003. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Election Results - English Councils". The Times. NewsBank. 2 May 2003. p. 17.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj "May 1st 2003 - Ward and Parish Election Results". South Kesteven District Council. Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Toss of a coin decides election". Stamford Mercury. 2 May 2003. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai "Election Candidate Details". South Kesteven District Council. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
^ "Labour wins byelection in army town". Press Association. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
^ "Agenda and minutes". South Kesteven District Council. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Lib Dems fail to take Portsmouth council". Press Association. The Guardian. 2 September 2005. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Labour wins as opponents get it hopelessly wrong". Grantham Journal. 6 October 2005. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
^ "Tories make unopposed byelection gains". Press Association. The Guardian. 10 March 2006. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ "Tories secure 3 seats in council by-elections". 24dash.com. Retrieved 9 May 2015.

[vote2003-1] "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 5 May 2015.

[fewer-2] "Fewer candidates for local elections". Grantham Journal. 3 April 2003. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.

[axe-3] "Tories axe council leader". Grantham Journal. 2 May 2002. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.

[married-4] "Five married couples on council". Grantham Journal. 9 May 2003. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.

[english-5] "Election Results - English Councils". The Times. NewsBank. 2 May 2003. p. 17.

[results-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj "May 1st 2003 - Ward and Parish Election Results". South Kesteven District Council. Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2015.

[toss-7] "Toss of a coin decides election". Stamford Mercury. 2 May 2003. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.

[details-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai "Election Candidate Details". South Kesteven District Council. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

[army-9] "Labour wins byelection in army town". Press Association. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

[agenda-10] "Agenda and minutes". South Kesteven District Council. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

[portsmouth-11] "Lib Dems fail to take Portsmouth council". Press Association. The Guardian. 2 September 2005. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

[hopelessly-12] "Labour wins as opponents get it hopelessly wrong". Grantham Journal. 6 October 2005. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

[unopposed-13] "Tories make unopposed byelection gains". Press Association. The Guardian. 10 March 2006. Retrieved 9 May 2015.

[14] "Tories secure 3 seats in council by-elections". 24dash.com. Retrieved 9 May 2015.

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