2003 Colchester Borough Council election

2003 Colchester Borough Council election

←  2002 1 May 2003 (2003-05-01) 2004  →
21 out of 60 seats to Colchester Borough Council 31 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	27.5% (3.4%)
First party Second party   Party Liberal Democrats Conservative Last election 26 seats, 36.4% 24 seats, 39.5% Seats before 23 24 Seats won 8 10 Seats after 25 24 Seat change 2 Popular vote 8,740 11,108 Percentage 32.0% 40.6% Swing 4.4% 1.1%   Third party Fourth party   Party Independent Labour Last election 4 seats, 3.7% 6 seats, 19.1% Seats before 8 4 Seats won 1 2 Seats after 6 5 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 1,563 5,467 Percentage 5.7% 20.0% Swing 2.0% 0.9%
Council control before election No overall control Council control after election No overall control

Map of the results of the 2003 Colchester council election. Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in yellow, Labour in red and independents in light grey. Wards in dark grey were not contested in 2003.

The 2003 Colchester Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Colchester Borough Council in Essex, England. This was the same day as the other 2003 United Kingdom local elections. One third of the seats were up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. ^[1]

Background

Prior to the election, two sitting Labour councillors resigned from the party, leaving the Labour group with 4 seats. Don Quinn (St Andrew's) left the Labour group to sit as an Independent, whilst Phillip Hawkins (Wivenhoe Cross) resigned his seat after moving to Scotland. ^[2]

Before the election the Conservatives were the largest party with 24 seats, the Liberal Democrats had 23 seats, Labour had 4 seats, there were 8 independents and 1 seat was vacant. ^[3] The council was run by a cabinet comprising 3 Conservatives, 3 Liberal Democrats and 1 Labour members. ^[4]

21 seats were being contested, with 2 seats available in Wivenhoe Cross due to the vacancy. ^[3] The remaining 20 seats all had the sitting councillors defending their seats and included the Labour group leader Tim Young in St Andrew's and the Conservative mayor Nigel Chapman in Fordham and Stour. ^[3] Meanwhile, in Highwoods, Ian Ringer, defended the seat as an independent after leaving the Liberal Democrats earlier in 2003. ^[3]

Election result

Prior to the election, 3 Liberal Democrat councillors from Highwoods ward defected and sat as Independents, reducing the Liberal Democrat group to 23 councillors.

2003 Colchester Borough Council election [5] [6]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	8	2	38.1	17	25	41.7	8,740	32.0	–4.4
	Conservative	10		47.6	14	24	40.0	11,108	40.6	+1.1
	Independent	1	2	4.8	5	6	10.0	1,563	5.7	+2.0
	Labour	2	1	9.5	3	5	8.3	5,467	20.0	+0.9
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	370	1.4	+0.2
	Socialist Alliance	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	96	0.4	+0.3

Before the election one seat was vacant in Wivenhoe Cross ward.

Ward results

Shown below are ward results according to the council's election results archive. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Three of the single-seat wards (Dedham & Langham, East Donyland, Marks Tey) were not up for election this year. Neither were three of the two-seat wards (Harbour, Lexden, St John's).

Berechurch

Berechurch Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Brooks*	746	52.1	+2.3
	Labour	Julia Thomas	404	28.2	−7.9
	Conservative	Sarah McLean	274	19.2	+5.5
Majority			342	23.9	N/A
Turnout			1,432	24.5	−6.5
Registered electors			5,844
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	5.1

Birch & Winstree

Birch & Winstree

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Crowe*	966	71.8	+9.8
	Liberal Democrats	Barry Woodward	190	14.1	−6.1
	Labour	Audrey Spencer	183	13.6	−3.7
Majority			776	57.7	N/A
Turnout			1,345	31.0	−8.0
Registered electors			4,338
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.0

Castle

Castle Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kenneth Jones*	903	54.4	−1.6
	Conservative	Pauline Lucas	404	24.3	+5.0
	Labour	Malcolm Cannon	210	12.7	−1.4
	Green	Walter Schwarz	132	8.0	−2.0
Majority			499	30.1	N/A
Turnout			1,660	28.6	−3.4
Registered electors			5,809
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	3.3

Christ Church

Christ Church

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Hunt	662	48.0	+6.3
	Conservative	Roger Buston*	587	42.6	+2.0
	Labour	David Canning	124	9.0	−8.3
Majority			75	5.4	N/A
Turnout			1,379	43.4	+3.4
Registered electors			3,174
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	2.2

Copford & West Stanway

Copford & West Stanway Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elizabeth Blundell*	353	70.5	−4.7
	Independent	Patrick Mead	70	14.0	N/A
	Labour	Anna Trudgian	40	8.0	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Scott-Boutell	37	7.4	−17.1
Majority			283	56.5	+5.8
Turnout			501	34.0	−1.0
Registered electors			1,475
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Fordham & Stour

Fordham & Stour Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Chapman*	797	71.9	+9.9
	Liberal Democrats	Wilma Sutton	161	14.5	−7.5
	Labour	Gary Griffiths	144	13.0	−3.0
Majority			636	57.4	N/A
Turnout			1,108	27.6	−5.4
Registered electors			4,021
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.7

Great Tey

Great Tey Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Chillingworth	645	68.6	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Carolyn Catney	196	20.9	−13.4
	Labour	Alan Trudigan	108	11.5	N/A
Majority			449	47.8	+16.3
Turnout			940	42.7	+2.7
Registered electors			2,199
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.2

Highwoods

Highwoods

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maris Fuller	417	32.5	+7.7
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Hayman	408	31.8	−24.2
	Independent	Ian Ringer*	339	26.4	N/A
	Labour	Edmund Chinnery	121	9.4	−9.8
Majority			9	0.7	N/A
Turnout			1,290	22.0	+2.0
Registered electors			5,854
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing	15.7

Mile End

Mile End Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Turrell*	589	44.5	+13.8
	Conservative	Shahid Husain	400	30.2	−3.5
	Labour	Janet Smith	171	12.9	−12.2
	Independent	Jane Chinnery	124	9.4	N/A
	Green	Mary Bryan	40	3.0	N/A
Majority			189	14.2	N/A
Turnout			1,331	26.3	+0.3
Registered electors			5,058
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	8.6

New Town

New Town Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Fisher*	767	55.9	−1.1
	Conservative	Glenn Bath	325	23.7	+8.0
	Labour	Jane Green	281	20.5	−6.8
Majority			442	31.7	N/A
Turnout			1,395	22.9	−3.1
Registered electors			6,088
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	4.6

Prettygate

Prettygate Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sandra Gray	1,044	48.3	+4.9
	Conservative	Ron Levy*	935	43.3	+0.7
	Labour	Luke Dopson	182	8.4	−5.5
Majority			109	5.0	N/A
Turnout			2,161	36.2	−0.8
Registered electors			6,002
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	2.1

St. Andrew's

St Andrew's Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tim Young*	813	62.2	+6.1
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Berriman	270	20.6	−0.7
	Conservative	Anne Allan	184	14.1	−1.6
	Socialist Alliance	Jeremy Jepps	41	3.1	−3.9
Majority			543	41.4	N/A
Turnout			1,313	19.7	−0.3
Registered electors			6,676
	Labour hold		Swing	3.4

St. Anne's

St Annes's Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Barrie Cook*	853	58.3	+3.0
	Labour	Peter Brine	295	20.2	−6.1
	Conservative	Angus Allan	283	19.4	+0.9
	Socialist Alliance	David Isaacson	31	2.1	N/A
Majority			558	38.2	N/A
Turnout			1,461	22.7	−2.3
Registered electors			6,433
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	4.6

Shrub End

Shrub End

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Bourne	596	38.3	+4.5
	Conservative	Alan Scattergood*	530	34.0	−2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Williamson	408	26.2	−3.8
	Socialist Alliance	John Coombes	24	1.5	N/A
Majority			66	4.2	N/A
Turnout			1,568	24.5	−0.5
Registered electors			6,410
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	3.4

Stanway

Stanway Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Lesley Scott-Boutell*	918	52.3	−0.9
	Conservative	John Reeves	610	34.8	+0.6
	Labour	John Spademan	222	12.7	+0.4
Majority			308	17.6	N/A
Turnout			1,755	28.8	−5.2
Registered electors			6,090
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	0.8

Tiptree

Tiptree Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Margaret Crowe	546	35.0	+17.2
	Independent	Anne Burgess	542	34.7	−1.0
	Labour	Alan Mogridge	415	26.6	+1.2
	Green	Stella Barnes	56	3.6	−4.6
Majority			4	0.3	N/A
Turnout			1,561	26.4	−2.6
Registered electors			5,908
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing	9.1

West Bergholt & Eight Ash Green

West Bergholt & Ash Green Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jill Todd*	774	66.7	+19.5
	Liberal Democrats	Una Jones	238	20.5	+0.4
	Labour	Ian Yates	149	12.8	−5.1
Majority			536	46.0	N/A
Turnout			1,166	30.3	−2.7
Registered electors			3,846
	Conservative hold		Swing	19.6

No Green candidate as previous (14.8%).

West Mersea

West Mersea Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Margaret Kimberley*	1,107	63.0	+2.3
	Labour	Bry Mogridge	359	20.4	+1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Ronald Baker	249	14.2	−3.5
Majority			748	42.6	N/A
Turnout			1757	30.1	−0.9
Registered electors			5,844
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.6

Wivenhoe Cross

Wivenhoe Cross Ward (2 seats due to by-election)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	David Adams*	313	57.5
	Conservative	Eugene Kraft	264	48.5
	Labour	Aulay MacKenzie	172	31.6
	Labour	Paul Bishop	142	26.1
	Liberal Democrats	Barry James	101	18.6
Turnout			544	16.8
Registered electors			3,246
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Labour

Wivenhoe Quay

Wivenhoe Quay Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Richard Davies*	488	35.9	+4.4
	Conservative	Kenneth Rogers	394	29.0	+6.1
	Labour	Stephen Ford	336	24.7	−8.2
	Green	Christopher Fox	142	10.4	−2.4
Majority			94	6.9	N/A
Turnout			1,371	35.6	−2.4
Registered electors			3,846
	Independent hold		Swing	0.9

By-elections

Wivenhoe Quay

A by-election took place on 22 April 2004 after the death of the independent councillor Richard Davies. ^[9]

Wivenhoe Quay By-Election 22 April 2004 ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Ford	626	34.4	+9.7
	Conservative	Anne Quarrie	614	33.7	+4.7
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremy Jacobs	581	31.9	N/A
Majority			12	0.7	N/A
Turnout			1,821	44.0	+8.4
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing	2.5

No Independent (35.9%) or Green (10.4%) candidates as previous.

References

1. "Colchester : Hung council on election night". Essex County Publications. 2 May 2003 – via NewsBank.
2. "Two councillors quit Labour Party". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
3. "Essex: Politicians set to slug it out". Essex County Publications. 2 April 2003 – via NewsBank.
4. "Colchester : No Labour place on council cabinet". Essex County Publications. 7 May 2003 – via NewsBank.
5. "BBC News Vote 2003 Local Elections". BBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
6. "Colchester Borough Council Elections 1 May 2003 - Results". Colchester Borough Council. Archived from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
7. "Colchester election results 2003". East Anglian Daily Times . 6 May 2003. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
8. "Summary of the number of votes cast and turnout". Colchester Borough Council. Archived from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
9. "Wivenhoe: Man defends election call that cost £1, 400". Essex County Publications. 17 March 2004 – via NewsBank.
10. "Local Authority Byelection Results". Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2014.