2003 Leeds City Council election

The Leeds City Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough Council in West Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.^[1]

Election result

The results saw Labour just keep a majority on the council with 52 of the 99 seats.^[2] They suffered a net loss of 5 seats,^[2] including the leader of the council for the past 7 years, Brian Walker, who was defeated by the Liberal Democrats in Rothwell ward.^[3] The Conservatives gained the most seats to become the second largest party on the council with 22 seats, after making 4 gains in Aireborough, Halton, Otley and Wharfedale and Roundhay wards.^[2] As well as the gain in Rothwell, the Liberal Democrats also picked up a seat from Labour in Burmantofts but lost seats in Bramley and Otley and Wharfedale to Labour and Conservatives respectively.^[2]

Elsewhere independent Tom Leadley gained a seat from Labour in Morley North, while the Greens held their seat in Wortley.^[2] Turnout in the election dropped to just over 30%^[4] with some wards seeing under 20% voting, while the lowest turnout came in Headingley at only 15%.^[5]

Following the election the deputy leader of the council, Keith Wakefield, became leader unopposed after a meeting of the Labour group on the council.^[6]

Leeds Local Election Result 2003^[7]^[8]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	16	1	6	-5	48.5	35.5	55,032	-5.9%
Conservative	8	4	0	+4	24.2	29.1	45,113	-0.1%
Liberal Democrats	7	2	2	0	21.2	25.0	38,831	+2.7%
Green	1	0	0	0	3.0	4.3	6,674	-0.2%
Independent	1	1	0	+1	3.0	1.9	2,875	+0.5%
BNP	0	0	0	0	0	2.8	4,310	+2.7%
Alliance for Green Socialism	0	0	0	0	0	1.1	1,633	+0.3%
Socialist Alliance	0	0	0	0	0	0.3	428	+0.1%
Socialist Alternative	0	0	0	0	0	0.2	234	+0.1%

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:^[7]

Party		Previous council	New council
	Labour	57	52
	Conservative	18	22
	Liberal Democrat	20	20
	Green	3	3
	Independent	1	2
Total		99	99
Working majority		15	5

Ward results

Aireborough^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stuart Andrew	2,899	44.0	−0.4
	Labour	Mike King	2,652	40.2	+2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Hutton	1,043	15.8	−2.1
Majority			247	3.8	−2.9
Turnout			6,594	34.0	−3.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	-1.4

Armley^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Janet Harper	1,676	49.3	−6.7
	Conservative	Glenn Broadbent	572	16.8	−1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen McBarron	562	16.5	+3.8
	Green	Luke Russell	523	15.4	+2.5
	Socialist Alliance	Isaac Lyne	66	1.9	+1.9
Majority			1,104	32.5	−5.0
Turnout			3,399	23.0	−0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.5

Barwick & Kippax^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Lewis	2,950	44.2	−11.6
	Conservative	Alec Shelbrooke	2,364	35.4	+3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Natasha De Vere	622	9.3	+0.6
	BNP	Christopher Andrews	535	8.0	+8.0
	Green	Elizabeth Holmes	210	3.1	+0.3
Majority			586	8.8	−15.4
Turnout			6,681	36.0	−2.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.7

Beeston^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Adam Ogilvie	1,492	44.2	−7.0
	Conservative	William Birch	987	29.3	−1.1
	BNP	Thomas Linden	368	10.9	+10.9
	Liberal Democrats	Kathleen Fenton	366	10.9	−1.6
	Green	Irene Draycup	80	2.4	−0.6
	Socialist Alliance	Philip Goodfield	79	2.3	−0.7
Majority			505	14.9	−5.9
Turnout			3,372	28.5	−0.4
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.9

Bramley^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ted Hanley	1,763	45.9	−6.8
	Liberal Democrats	Julian Cummins	1,520	39.5	+5.8
	Conservative	Michael Best	394	10.2	+0.7
	Green	Francis Gray	167	4.3	+0.2
Majority			243	6.4	−12.6
Turnout			3,844	23.5	−0.4
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	-6.3

Burmantofts^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ralph Pryke	1,706	49.6	+5.6
	Labour	Geoffrey Holloran	1,530	44.5	−2.3
	Conservative	Patricia Hyde	203	5.9	−0.2
Majority			176	5.1	+2.3
Turnout			3,439	28.3	+0.9
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	+3.9

Chapel Allerton^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Norma Hutchinson	1,697	41.9	−10.7
	Alliance for Green Socialism	Garth Frankland	947	23.4	+2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Sitara Khan	816	20.1	+8.3
	Conservative	Roger Illingworth	590	14.6	+0.4
Majority			750	18.5	−12.7
Turnout			4,050	28.1	−3.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.3

City & Holbeck^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mohammed Iqbal	1,292	48.1	−13.5
	Liberal Democrats	Eric Scott	525	19.5	+9.0
	Conservative	Michael Wheeler	421	15.7	−5.5
	Socialist Alternative	David Jones	234	8.7	+2.0
	Green	Janet Pritchard	216	8.0	+8.0
Majority			767	28.6	−11.8
Turnout			2,688	18.0	−2.0
	Labour hold		Swing	-11.2

Cookridge^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Barry Anderson	3,336	52.8	−1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Bentley	1,903	30.1	+10.4
	Labour	Patrick Hennigan	1,083	17.1	−5.7
Majority			1,433	22.7	−8.3
Turnout			6,322	38.0	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.7

Garforth & Swillington^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrea Harrison	2,876	46.0	−5.6
	Conservative	Robert Semple	1,631	26.1	−4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Dowling	1,095	17.5	−0.1
	BNP	Tracy Andrews	656	10.5	+10.5
Majority			1,245	19.9	−0.8
Turnout			6,258	33.0	−0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.4

Halton^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Schofield	2,902	48.2	+7.1
	Labour	Doris McGee	2,134	35.4	−8.0
	Liberal Democrats	David Hollingsworth	989	16.4	+4.4
Majority			768	12.8	+10.5
Turnout			6,025	34.0	+0.1
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+7.5

Harehills^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Taylor	2,683	59.9	+20.3
	Labour	John Clare	1,491	33.3	−18.5
	Conservative	Karl Steenson	174	3.9	+0.9
	Alliance for Green Socialism	Azar Iqbal	128	2.9	+2.9
Majority			1,192	26.6	+14.4
Turnout			4,476	33.4	−7.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+19.4

Headingley^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Gregory Mulholland	1,668	52.4	+3.7
	Labour	Safdar Hussain	764	24.0	−5.8
	Green	Lesley Jeffries	351	11.0	+0.9
	Conservative	Richard Smith	241	7.6	+0.1
	Socialist Alliance	Katherine Owen	158	5.0	+1.0
Majority			904	28.4	+9.5
Turnout			3,182	15.5	−3.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+4.7

Horsforth^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Cleasby	2,404	43.2	−1.0
	Conservative	Neil Hunt	1,997	35.9	+1.6
	Labour	Tony Addison	884	15.9	−1.9
	Green	Andrea Binns	280	5.0	+1.3
Majority			407	7.3	−2.6
Turnout			5,565	33.1	−2.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	-1.3

Hunslet^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Erskine	1,264	63.3	−4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Norman	320	16.0	+2.5
	Conservative	Anthony Larvin	290	14.5	+2.1
	Green	Catherine Harmer	122	6.1	+2.3
Majority			944	47.3	−7.4
Turnout			1,996	18.6	−2.0
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.7

Kirkstall^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Illingworth	1,580	45.7	−11.9
	Liberal Democrats	Toby Fursdon	1,080	31.2	+15.4
	Conservative	Charles Moore	406	11.7	−2.0
	Green	Martin Reed	391	11.3	−1.6
Majority			500	14.5	−27.4
Turnout			3,457	22.9	−2.1
	Labour hold		Swing	-13.6

Middleton^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stuart Bruce	1,630	55.0	−8.6
	Conservative	David Boynton	697	23.5	+5.9
	Liberal Democrats	Sadie Fisher	445	15.0	+1.9
	Green	Patricia Capstick	191	6.4	+0.7
Majority			933	31.5	−14.5
Turnout			2,963	19.9	−1.8
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.2

Moortown^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Harker	2,637	51.8	−3.4
	Labour	David Dresser	1,303	25.6	−0.9
	Conservative	Peter Knowles	936	18.4	+2.4
	Alliance for Green Socialism	Michael Davies	215	4.2	+0.9
Majority			1,334	26.2	−2.5
Turnout			5,091	31.6	−3.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	-1.2

Morley North^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Thomas Leadley	2,473	42.3	+4.5
	Labour	Alex Sobel	1,809	30.9	+1.0
	Conservative	Stephen Kearns	1,126	19.2	−3.7
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Golton	442	7.6	+0.7
Majority			664	11.4	+3.5
Turnout			5,850	30.3	−0.2
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing	+1.7

Morley South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Debra Coupar	2,033	36.3	−16.9
	Conservative	Judith Elliott	1,484	26.5	−2.5
	BNP	Christopher Beverley	1,064	19.0	+19.0
	Liberal Democrats	Rochelle Harris	621	11.1	−6.7
	Independent	Charles Slingsby	402	7.2	+7.2
Majority			549	9.8	−14.4
Turnout			5,604	25.1	+2.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.2

North^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ruth Feldman	2,561	43.5	−2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Judith Chapman	2,272	38.6	+3.3
	Labour	Doreen Illingworth	957	16.3	−1.9
	Alliance for Green Socialism	Brian Jackson	95	1.6	+0.8
Majority			289	4.9	−5.5
Turnout			5,885	35.0	−3.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.7

Otley & Wharfedale^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerard Francis	2,790	38.1	−6.1
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Kirkland	2,581	35.2	+12.0
	Labour	John Eveleigh	1,615	22.1	−7.2
	Green	Paul Marchant	338	4.6	+1.2
Majority			209	2.9	−12.0
Turnout			7,324	38.4	−2.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	-9.0

Pudsey North^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Amanda Carter	3,827	63.2	+11.1
	Labour	Tina Davy	1,383	22.8	−9.4
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Glover	850	14.0	+1.6
Majority			2,444	40.4	+20.5
Turnout			6,060	34.0	−3.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+10.2

Pudsey South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Josephine Jarosz	2,270	42.9	−5.2
	Conservative	Jason Aldiss	1,768	33.4	−2.8
	Liberal Democrats	John Burke	637	12.0	+0.4
	BNP	Richard Warrington	437	8.3	+8.3
	Green	Yvonne Clarke	179	3.4	−0.8
Majority			502	9.5	−2.4
Turnout			5,291	31.8	−1.5
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.2

Richmond Hill^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Marlene Lyons	1,509	54.5	−16.6
	BNP	Mark Collett	550	19.9	+19.9
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Norman	483	17.5	+1.8
	Conservative	Simon Church	225	8.1	−1.8
Majority			959	44.6	−10.8
Turnout			2,767	23.3	−3.6
	Labour hold		Swing	-18.2

Rothwell^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Smith	2,495	49.4	+1.2
	Labour	Brian Walker	2,109	41.7	+0.9
	Conservative	Caroline Judge	451	8.9	−2.1
Majority			386	7.7	+0.3
Turnout			5,055	31.5	−2.6
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	+0.1

Roundhay^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matthew Lobley	2,417	39.6	−1.4
	Labour	Michael Fox	2,347	38.4	−1.3
	Liberal Democrats	John Skinner	901	14.8	+1.0
	Green	Paul Ellis	260	4.3	+0.7
	Alliance for Green Socialism	Malcolm Christie	180	2.9	+1.0
Majority			70	1.1	−0.2
Turnout			6,105	37.2	−2.1
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	-0.0

Seacroft^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Brian Selby	2,003	66.3	−13.9
	Liberal Democrats	Pauline Davies	403	13.3	−5.0
	BNP	Alistair Ingham	356	11.8	+11.8
	Conservative	Donald Townsley	261	8.6	+7.1
Majority			1,600	52.9	−9.0
Turnout			3,023	26.0	+2.5
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.4

University^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerald Harper	1,000	41.8	−15.1
	Liberal Democrats	Joan Ewens	930	38.9	+18.7
	Conservative	Robert Winfield	185	7.7	−5.9
	Green	Bluebell Eikonoklastes	153	6.4	−2.8
	Socialist Alliance	Steven Skinner	125	5.2	+5.2
Majority			70	2.9	−33.8
Turnout			2,393	15.3	−1.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-16.9

Weetwood^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Jennings	2,196	45.5	+0.8
	Labour	Dudley Parker	1,336	27.7	−4.0
	Conservative	Timothy Metcalfe	922	19.1	+1.6
	Green	David Webb	370	7.7	+1.6
Majority			860	17.8	+4.8
Turnout			4,824	29.5	−4.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+2.4

Wetherby^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Millard	4,644	66.0	+0.0
	Labour	Reginald Steel	1,493	21.2	+0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Edmund Conybeare	899	12.8	+0.0
Majority			3,151	44.8	−0.1
Turnout			7,036	34.3	−2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.0

Whinmoor^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Gruen	1,868	49.7	−4.8
	Conservative	Graeme Shaw	989	26.3	−7.5
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Campbell	486	12.9	+1.2
	BNP	Marten Gibson	344	9.2	+9.2
	Alliance for Green Socialism	Amanda Munro	68	1.8	+1.8
Majority			879	23.4	+2.7
Turnout			3,755	30.2	−2.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.3

Wortley^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	David Blackburn	2,843	59.8	+5.8
	Labour	Jane Dowson	1,239	26.1	−5.7
	Conservative	Victoria Richmond	423	8.9	−1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Leanne Winfield	251	5.3	+1.0
Majority			1,604	33.7	+11.5
Turnout			4,756	27.9	−1.8
	Green hold		Swing	+5.7

References

^ "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Labour just cling on". Yorkshire Evening Post. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
^ Hetherington, Peter (3 May 2003). "English local elections: Labour hit by tax rises and 'Baghdad backlash': England: Disaffection boosts Tories and Lib Dems". The Guardian. p. 16. ISSN 0261-3077.
^ "Local elections 2006". BBC News Online. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
^ "Turned out bad again...". Yorkshire Evening Post. 3 May 2003. ISSN 0963-2255.
^ "Life force". Yorkshire Evening Post. 7 May 2003. ISSN 0963-2255.
^ ^a ^b "Local elections 2003". The Times. 2 May 2003. p. 16. ISSN 0140-0460.
^ ^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 "Local Elections 2003". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2018.

[hold-1] "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 6 August 2018.

[cling-2] "Labour just cling on". Yorkshire Evening Post. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 6 August 2018.

[baghdad-3] Hetherington, Peter (3 May 2003). "English local elections: Labour hit by tax rises and 'Baghdad backlash': England: Disaffection boosts Tories and Lib Dems". The Guardian. p. 16. ISSN 0261-3077.

[4] "Local elections 2006". BBC News Online. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2018.

[turned-5] "Turned out bad again...". Yorkshire Evening Post. 3 May 2003. ISSN 0963-2255.

[life-6] "Life force". Yorkshire Evening Post. 7 May 2003. ISSN 0963-2255.

[councils-7] "Local elections 2003". The Times. 2 May 2003. p. 16. ISSN 0140-0460.

[results-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 "Local Elections 2003". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2018.

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