The 2003 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Welwyn Hatfield District Council in Hertfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives increase their majority on the council after making one gain from Labour in Hatfield West.[3] No other seats changed parties, with the Conservatives holding Sherrards by 123 votes over Labour.[3] The closest result came in Handside ward where the Conservatives held the seat by 20 votes over the Liberal Democrats, meaning that the Liberal Democrats remained without any seats on the council.[3] Overall turnout in the election was 33.1%,[4] down by 2% from the 2002 election, with a quarter of the votes cast being postal votes.[3]

Welwyn Hatfield Local Election Result 2003[2][4]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 9 1 0 +1 56.3 45.1 9,591 -3.1%
  Labour 7 0 1 -1 43.8 32.3 6,858 -2.0%
  Liberal Democrats 0 0 0 0 0 22.6 4,794 +5.1%

Ward results

Brookmans Park & Little Heath[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Stephen Boulton 1,203 77.2 +1.3
Liberal Democrats Catherine Edwards 211 13.5 +0.7
Labour Margaret White 145 9.3 -2.0
Majority 992 63.7 +0.6
Turnout 1,559
Conservative hold Swing
Haldens[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mike Larkins 652 51.5 -3.1
Conservative Stuart Jackson 345 27.3 -1.9
Liberal Democrats Helen Bassett 269 21.2 +5.0
Majority 307 24.2 -1.2
Turnout 1,266
Labour hold Swing
Handside[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Dennis Lewis 1,022 44.4 +2.8
Liberal Democrats Daniel Cooke 1,002 43.5 +3.0
Labour Lynn Chesterman 279 12.1 -5.8
Majority 20 0.9 -0.2
Turnout 2,303
Conservative hold Swing
Hatfield Central[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Maureen Cook 530 44.3 +1.7
Liberal Democrats Hazel Laming 420 35.1 -0.8
Conservative Roger Roberts 247 20.6 -1.0
Majority 110 9.2 +2.5
Turnout 1,197
Labour hold Swing
Hatfield East[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Long 782 55.2 -2.9
Labour Samuel Smith 352 24.9 -0.5
Liberal Democrats Lis Meyland-Smith 282 19.9 +3.4
Majority 430 30.3 -2.4
Turnout 1,416
Conservative hold Swing
Hatfield South (2)[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alfred Appleby 377
Labour Linda Mendez 376
Conservative Ronald Smith 175
Conservative Andrew Peffer 164
Liberal Democrats Richard Griffiths 111
Liberal Democrats Sheila Archer 108
Turnout 1,311
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Hatfield West[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Hawkins 644 47.0 -3.5
Labour Roy Moss 509 37.2 -0.5
Liberal Democrats Simon Archer 217 15.8 +4.0
Majority 135 9.8 -3.0
Turnout 1,370
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
Hollybush[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alan Johnson 623 55.8 -4.4
Conservative Yvonne Stanbury 280 25.1 -2.4
Liberal Democrats Janet Gammage 213 19.1 +6.8
Majority 343 30.7 -2.0
Turnout 1,116
Labour hold Swing
Howlands[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jill Weston 627 51.8 -1.6
Conservative Marian Pile 364 30.1 -1.9
Liberal Democrats Jonathan Arch 220 18.2 +3.6
Majority 263 21.7 +0.3
Turnout 1,211
Labour hold Swing
Northaw[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Mansfield 990 80.3 +0.7
Liberal Democrats Nigel Bain 148 12.0 +1.2
Labour Sheila Jones 95 7.7 -1.9
Majority 842 68.3 -0.5
Turnout 1,233
Conservative hold Swing
Panshanger[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Darren Bennett 615 42.4 -8.5
Labour Christopher Cory 453 31.3 +1.7
Liberal Democrats Ted Naseby 381 26.3 +6.8
Majority 162 11.1 -10.2
Turnout 1,449
Conservative hold Swing
Peartree[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Stephen Roberts 491 47.7 -11.4
Liberal Democrats Wanda Armstrong-Bridges 362 35.1 +16.7
Conservative David Perkins 177 17.2 -5.3
Majority 129 12.6 -24.0
Turnout 1,030
Labour hold Swing
Sherrards[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Burnapp 984 45.6 -1.4
Labour Anthony Crump 861 39.9 -2.5
Liberal Democrats Louise Lotz 311 14.4 +3.8
Majority 123 5.7 +1.1
Turnout 2,156
Conservative hold Swing
Welwyn North[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Julie Cragg 664 62.2 -1.3
Liberal Democrats David Bartlett 230 21.6 +4.1
Labour Jan Burnell 173 16.2 -2.9
Majority 434 40.6 -3.8
Turnout 1,067
Conservative hold Swing
Welwyn South[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Smith 935 60.0 -0.8
Labour Julia Henderson 315 20.2 -6.5
Liberal Democrats Ian Skidmore 309 19.8 +7.3
Majority 620 39.8 +5.7
Turnout 1,559
Conservative hold Swing

References

  1. ^ "English local elections: Results". The Guardian. 2 May 2003. p. 12.
  2. ^ a b "Election Results". The Times. 2 May 2003. p. 17.
  3. ^ a b c d "Tories tighten grip on Welwyn Hatfield". Watford Observer. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Welwyn Hatfield Council Election Result" (PDF). Political Science Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
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