2003 Eastbourne Borough Council election

2003 UK local government election December 2013 February 2022 thumb|300px|right|Map of the results of the 2003 Eastbourne Borough Council election. Conservatives in blue and Liberal Democrats in yellow. The 2003 Eastbourne Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Eastbourne Borough Council in East Sussex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats stayed in overall control of the council.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/vote2003/locals/html/100.stm Local elections BBC News Online 16 December 2011 After the election, the composition of the council was: Liberal Democrats 14 Conservative 13https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1429056/Local-council-election-results.html Local council election results 3 May 2003 The Daily Telegraph London 16 December 2011 Background Before the election the Liberal Democrats had a 3-seat majority on the council, with 15 councillors compared to 12 for the Conservative Party.http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/04/17/The+Argus+Archive/6738070.Eastbourne_Council/ Eastbourne Council 17 April 2003 The Argus 17 December 2011 A total of 33 candidates stood for the 9 seats being contested, with candidates from the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Labour Party, Green Party and 1 from the UK Independence Party. The Conservatives campaigned hard on the 38% rise in council tax, fourth highest in the country, that the Liberal Democrat controlled council had made.http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/05/02/The+Argus+Archive/6737134.Lib_Dems_hold_on_to_Eastbourne/ Lib Dems hold on to Eastbourne 2 May 2003 The Argus 17 December 2011 However the Liberal Democrats defended the rise, saying there had been a poor central government grant and that most of the rise had been due to needing to replace the company doing refuse collection.http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/05/01/The+Argus+Archive/6737159.Voters_make_up_their_minds/ Voters make up their minds 1 May 2003 The Argus 17 December 2011 The Liberal Democrats also pointed to the reopening of the Old Town Library and the Beachy Head Countryside Centre, with anger at these closures having helped the Liberal Democrats gain control at the 2002 election. During the campaign the Conservative shadow deputy prime minister David Davis visited Eastbourne to support the Conservatives at the election.http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/04/04/The+Argus+Archive/6738851.Tory_deputy_shows_ale_is_well_with_party/ Tory deputy shows ale is well with party 4 April 2003 The Argus 17 December 2011 Election result The Liberal Democrats lost a seat to the Conservatives, reducing their majority on the council to just 1 seat.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/2994893.stm Tories close gap at ballot box 2 May 2003 BBC News Online 17 December 2011 The Conservative gain came in Old Town ward, where Ian Lucas took the seat for the party, with the increase in council tax being reported as a major reason for the Conservative gain.http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/05/02/The+Argus+Archive/6737149.Eastbourne_Borough_Council__Lib_Dem_hold/ Eastbourne Borough Council: Lib Dem hold 2 May 2003 The Argus 17 December 2011 Overall turnout at the election was 33.6%, compared to 33.9% in 2002.http://www.eastbourne.gov.uk/EasysiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=385&type=full&servicetype=Inline Results of elections held Thursday 1 May 2003 Eastbourne Borough Council 16 December 2011 Eastbourne local election result 2003 Conservative Party (UK) 5 1 0 +1 55.5 49.5 11,222 +8.1 Liberal Democrats (UK) 4 0 1 -1 44.4 39.2 8,880 -10.1 Labour Party (UK) 0 0 0 0 0.0 6.7 1,508 +1.7 Green Party of England and Wales 0 0 0 0 0.0 4.1 923 +0.8 UK Independence Party 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.6 138 +0.1 Ward results Devonshire Liberal Democrats (UK) Neil Stanley 1,222 58.1 Conservative Party (UK) Kenneth Graham 723 34.3 Green Party of England and Wales Nancy Dalton 160 7.6 499 23.8 2,105 27.1 -0.8 Liberal Democrats (UK) Hampden Park Liberal Democrats (UK) Olive Woodall 955 49.9 Labour Party (UK) David Brinson 439 22.9 Conservative Party (UK) Edward Abella 414 21.6 Green Party of England and Wales Leslie Dalton 107 5.6 516 27.0 1,915 26.1 -3.1 Liberal Democrats (UK) Langney Liberal Democrats (UK) Robert Slater 828 46.9 Conservative Party (UK) Thomas Walters 722 40.9 Labour Party (UK) Jonathan Pettigrew 153 8.7 Green Party of England and Wales Christine Quarrington 62 3.5 106 6.0 1,765 23.9 -1.9 Liberal Democrats (UK) Meads Conservative Party (UK) David Elkin 2,202 71.3 Liberal Democrats (UK) Steven Wallis 518 16.8 Labour Party (UK) David Buck 216 7.0 Green Party of England and Wales Clive Gross 154 5.0 1,684 54.5 3,090 39.4 +0.5 Conservative Party (UK) Old Town Conservative Party (UK) Ian Lucas 1,813 50.2 Liberal Democrats (UK) John Creaven 1,471 40.8 Green Party of England and Wales Liam Stephens 173 4.8 Labour Party (UK) Robert Rossetter 152 4.2 342 9.4 3,609 46.9 +1.9 Conservative Party (UK) Liberal Democrats (UK) Ratton Conservative Party (UK) Sandie Howlett 1,803 64.8 Liberal Democrats (UK) Peter Durrant 652 23.4 Labour Party (UK) Martin Falkner 205 7.4 Green Party of England and Wales Kevin Moore 123 4.4 1,151 41.4 2,783 36.1 +0.7 Conservative Party (UK) St Anthony's Liberal Democrats (UK) Norman Marsh 1,349 54.2 Conservative Party (UK) Sheila Charlton 810 32.6 Labour Party (UK) Nora Ring 190 7.6 UK Independence Party Kenneth Alderton 138 5.5 539 21.6 2,487 30.6 -5.2 Liberal Democrats (UK) Sovereign Conservative Party (UK) Patrick Warner 1,255 54.7 Liberal Democrats (UK) Alan Carroll 1,040 45.3 215 9.4 2,295 37.8 +6.0 Conservative Party (UK) Upperton Conservative Party (UK) Ann Murray 1,480 56.4 Liberal Democrats (UK) Stafford Gowland 845 32.2 Labour Party (UK) Peter Tucker 153 5.8 Green Party of England and Wales John Morrison 144 5.5 635 24.2 2,622 35.0 +1.0 Conservative Party (UK) References 2003 Category:2003 English local elections Category:2000s in East Sussex