2003 Sunderland City Council election

2003 UK local government election May 2025 December 2013 2003 Sunderland City Council election England Parliamentary no yes 2002 Sunderland City Council election 2002 1 May 2003 2004 Sunderland City Council election 2004 One third of 75 seats on Sunderland City Council 38 Labour Party (UK) 62 21 63 1 Majority party Labour Majority party after election Labour Liberal Democrats (UK) 1 0 1 0 Conservative Party (UK) 11 2 9 2 Independent (politician) Liberal Party (UK, 1989) 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0The 2003 Sunderland Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council in Tyne and Wear, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/vote2003/locals/html/279.stm Local elections 2010-12-22 BBC News Campaign 25 seats were contested in the election by a total of 92 candidates, with the Labour Party, Conservative Party and British National Party contesting every seat. Louise Redvers BNP bid to seize Town Hall seats Evening Chronicle 10 2003-04-02 With the British National Party contesting every seat the issue of asylum seekers was important in the election, with the British National Party saying that Sunderland had seen a "palpable invasion of asylum-seekers". Andrew Norfolk BNP to make history at council elections The Times 16 2003-04-15 However Labour, who were defending 21 of the 25 seats, said that in the previous 2 years only 1,800 had been temporarily housed in the city of a population of 289,000. During the campaign a number of prominent people from the North East including the Bishop of Durham Michael Turnbull and the chairman of Sunderland Football Club Bob Murray issued a statement calling on voters to reject the British National Party. Lindsay Jennings Bishop leads campaign to block BNP in North-East The Northern Echo 1 2003-04-18 Labour defended their record pointing to an excellent rating in government league tables, having the second lowest council tax in the north east despite a 7.7% rise and to regeneration projects. Alison Dargie Labour set to harness optimism The Journal 28 2003-04-19 They targeted the Conservative wards of Hendon and St Peters, but the Conservatives attacked the management of the council for being bloated and said they could bring more efficiency. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats contested 13 seats and said there needed to be more opposition councillors to challenge Labour. The election in Sunderland saw a trial of all postal voting in an attempt to increase turnout. Peter Young Armchair electorate put in the hotseat Evening Chronicle 18 2003-04-17 This helped lead to turnout being over double that seen at the 2002 election at 46%. Andrew Norfolk Jill S/herman BNP surges in Burnley but stalls in Sunderland The Times 15 2003-05-02 Election result The results saw Labour hold control of the council with 63 seats after gaining 2 seats from the Conservatives who were reduced to 9 seats. Philip Johnston Paul Stokes BNP's gains will give it a first taste of power The Daily Telegraph 9 2003-05-02 Sunderland The Journal 2 2003-05-02 One of the 2 gains saw the former leader of council, Bryn Sidaway, win Hendon by 39 votes after a recount, regaining the seat that he had lost in the 1999 election. However Labour did lose 1 seat in Eppleton to an independent Colin Wakefield who had stood to represent a Residents Against Toxic Site campaign. The British National Party failed to win any seats, but did win 13,652 votes, 13.75% of the total and came second in 5 wards. The failure of the British National Party was partly attributed to the increase in turnout due to the all-postal voting. Sunderland local election result 2003 http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/loc03/pages/Sunderland/electioncandidates.html Postal Voting - 1st May 2003 2010-12-22 Political Science Resources https://web.archive.org/web/20120612070115/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/loc03/pages/Sunderland/electioncandidates.html 12 June 2012 dead Election results; English Councils; Local elections 2003 The Times 16 2003-05-02 Election results The Journal 44 2003-05-02 Labour Party (UK) 21 2 1 1 84.0 52.5 52,060 4.4% Conservative Party (UK) 2 0 2 2 8.0 22.3 22,089 9.6% British National Party 0 0 0 0 0 13.8 13,652 10.7% Liberal Democrats (UK) 0 0 0 0 0 7.3 7,265 0.6 Independent (politician) 1 1 0 1 4.0 2.7 2,669 2.5% Liberal Party (UK, 1989) 1 0 0 0 0 1.4 1,408 1.60 0 0 National Front (United Kingdom) 0.1 0 0 73 0.1 This resulted in the following composition of the council: PartyPrevious councilNew councilLabour6263Conservatives119Liberal Democrats11Liberal11Independent01Total7575Working majorityred 49 darkgrayred 51 darkgray Ward by ward results Castletown Labour Party (UK) Leslie Mann 2,087 64.5 -21.7 British National Party Ian Mcdonald 752 23.2 +23.2 Conservative Party (UK) Gwennyth Gibson 396 12.2 -1.6 1,335 41.3 -31.2 3,235 43.1 Labour Party (UK) Central Labour Party (UK) Colin Anderson 1,594 49.0 -10.3 British National Party Christopher Lathan 686 21.1 +21.1 Conservative Party (UK) Dorreen Storey 487 15.0 -4.6 Liberal Democrats (UK) Jane Walters 487 15.0 -6.1 908 27.9 -10.4 3,254 42.3 Labour Party (UK) Colliery Labour Party (UK) Norman Dent 1,722 52.4 -9.8 Conservative Party (UK) John Brown 878 26.7 -11.1 British National Party Ian Leadbitter 685 20.9 +20.9 844 25.7 +1.4 3,285 48.4 Labour Party (UK) Eppleton Independent (politician) Colin Wakefield 1,839 39.6 +39.6 Labour Party (UK) Robert Heron 1,788 38.5 -28.5 Conservative Party (UK) David Wilson 464 10.0 -23.0 Liberal Democrats (UK) Philip Dowell 330 7.1 +7.1 British National Party James Davison 225 4.8 +4.8 51 1.1 4,646 48.9 Independent (politician) Labour Party (UK) Fulwell Conservative Party (UK) John Walton 2,506 53.8 -12.7 Labour Party (UK) Rosalind Copeland 1,313 28.2 +6.5 British National Party Joseph Dobbie 431 9.3 +4.0 Liberal Democrats (UK) Amie Leung 406 8.7 +2.2 1,193 25.6 -19.2 4,656 56.8 Conservative Party (UK) Grindon Labour Party (UK) David Forbes 1,885 62.3 -4.7 Conservative Party (UK) David Andrew 627 20.7 -12.3 British National Party Paul Humble 515 17.0 +17.0 1,258 41.6 +7.7 3,027 43.2 Labour Party (UK) Hendon Labour Party (UK) Brynley Sidaway 1,711 42.8 -2.2 Conservative Party (UK) Paul Maddison 1,672 41.8 +0.9 British National Party David Guynan 619 15.5 +1.5 39 1.0 -3.1 4,002 51.5 Labour Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) Hetton Labour Party (UK) Florence Anderson 2,807 72.9 -2.2 Conservative Party (UK) Olwyn Bird 624 16.2 -8.7 British National Party Andrew Morris 419 10.9 +10.9 2,183 56.7 +6.6 3,850 43.9 Labour Party (UK) Houghton Labour Party (UK) Louise Farthing 2,461 70.1 -10.2 Conservative Party (UK) Gordon Newton 571 16.3 -3.4 British National Party Ian Patterson 480 13.7 +13.7 1,890 53.8 -6.7 3,512 43.9 Labour Party (UK) Pallion Labour Party (UK) Robert Pells 1,695 38.3 -6.1 Conservative Party (UK) Stephen Daughton 1,581 35.8 -4.1 British National Party David Martin 556 12.6 +12.6 Liberal Democrats (UK) Sham Vedhara 410 9.3 -1.8 Independent (politician) Ronald Smith 178 4.0 -0.7 114 2.6 -1.9 4,420 53.5 Labour Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) Ryhope Labour Party (UK) Aileen Handy 2,657 54.5 -15.3 Liberal Democrats (UK) Martyn Herron 798 16.4 +16.4 Conservative Party (UK) William Dunn 730 15.0 -15.2 British National Party Michael Matthews 691 14.2 +14.2 1,859 38.1 -1.5 4,876 45.9 Labour Party (UK) St Chad's Labour Party (UK) John Porthouse 2,090 50.2 -8.0 Conservative Party (UK) Lee Martin 1,224 29.4 -12.4 Liberal Democrats (UK) Elizabeth Foreman 437 10.5 +10.5 British National Party Carol Dobbie 415 10.0 +10.0 866 20.8 +4.4 4,166 51.9 Labour Party (UK) St Michael's Conservative Party (UK) Peter Wood 2,727 56.7 -10.2 Labour Party (UK) David Errington 1,551 32.2 -0.9 British National Party Stephen Bilton 534 11.1 +11.1 1,176 24.4 -9.5 4,812 55.8 Conservative Party (UK) St Peter's Labour Party (UK) Christine Shattock 1,481 34.0 -1.8 Conservative Party (UK) Lilian Walton 1,362 31.3 -8.1 Liberal Democrats (UK) John Lennox 841 19.3 -5.4 British National Party Jason Dent 674 15.5 +15.5 119 2.7 4,358 54.1 Labour Party (UK) Shiney Row Labour Party (UK) Anne Hall 3,060 60.8 -11.7 Liberal Democrats (UK) Neil Grundy 878 17.4 +17.4 Conservative Party (UK) John Calvert 621 12.3 -15.2 British National Party Sharon Leadbitter 474 9.4 +9.4 2,182 43.4 -1.7 5,033 45.2 Labour Party (UK) Silksworth Labour Party (UK) Patricia Smith 2,760 65.7 -6.5 Conservative Party (UK) Patricia Francis 646 15.4 -6.1 British National Party Trevor Jenkins 575 13.7 +7.4 Independent (politician) Georgina Kennedy 221 5.3 +5.3 2,114 50.3 -0.4 4,202 44.3 Labour Party (UK) South Hylton Labour Party (UK) Susan Watson 1,927 61.7 -6.7 British National Party Debra Hiles 674 21.6 +21.6 Conservative Party (UK) Kathryn Chamberlin 520 16.7 -14.9 1,253 40.1 +3.3 3,121 43.0 Labour Party (UK) Southwick Labour Party (UK) Bryan Charlton 1,519 53.1 -9.8 British National Party Alan Brettwood 510 17.8 -1.9 Independent (politician) Frederick Crone 431 15.1 +15.1 Liberal Democrats (UK) Christine Griffin 217 7.6 -3.7 Conservative Party (UK) Alice Mclaren 183 6.4 +0.2 1,009 35.3 -7.9 2,860 45.7 Labour Party (UK) Thorney Close Labour Party (UK) David Allan 1,983 63.7 -3.4 British National Party Joseph Dobbie 680 21.8 +6.2 Conservative Party (UK) Paula Wilkinson 450 14.5 -2.8 1,303 41.9 -8.0 3,113 42.6 Labour Party (UK) Thornholme Liberal Party (UK, 1989) Winifred Lundgren 1,408 42.9 -13.7 Labour Party (UK) Phillip Gibson 919 28.0 -2.2 Conservative Party (UK) Marjorie Matthews 499 15.2 +2.0 British National Party Philip Clark 453 13.8 +13.8 489 14.9 -11.5 3,279 45.5 Liberal Party (UK, 1989) Town End Farm Labour Party (UK) Gowan Scott 1,760 59.4 -1.7 British National Party John Martin 878 29.7 +1.7 Conservative Party (UK) Gillian Connor 323 10.9 +0.0 882 29.8 -3.3 2,961 45.1 Labour Party (UK) Washington East Labour Party (UK) Eric Timmins 3,003 61.0 -1.1 Conservative Party (UK) Jacqueline Atkinson 822 16.7 -6.1 Liberal Democrats (UK) Avril Kitching 650 13.2 -1.9 British National Party David Richardson 371 7.5 +7.5 National Front (United Kingdom) Mark Farrell 73 1.5 +1.5 2,181 44.3 +5.0 4,919 44.2 Labour Party (UK) Washington North Labour Party (UK) John Murray 2,703 74.0 -5.5 Conservative Party (UK) Kathleen Irvine 528 14.5 -6.0 British National Party Ian Guilbert 422 11.6 +11.6 2,175 59.5 +0.5 3,653 42.2 Labour Party (UK) Washington South Labour Party (UK) Bryan Williams 3,152 52.4 +2.6 Liberal Democrats (UK) Owen Dumpleton 1,169 19.4 +1.9 Conservative Party (UK) Michael Dixon 1,112 18.5 -14.2 British National Party Gordon Pace 586 9.7 +9.7 1,983 32.9 +15.8 6,019 42.4 Labour Party (UK) Washington West Labour Party (UK) William Craddock 2,432 61.5 -4.3 Liberal Democrats (UK) David Griffin 642 16.2 -1.4 Conservative Party (UK) Justin Garrod 536 13.5 -3.0 British National Party Keith Byrne 347 8.8 +8.8 1,790 45.2 -3.0 3,957 42.8 Labour Party (UK) References 2002 Sunderland City Council election Sunderland City Council elections 2004 Sunderland City Council election Category:2003 English local elections 2003 Category:2000s in Tyne and Wear