2003 Derbyshire Dales District Council election

Map of the results of the 2003 Derbyshire Dales District Council election. Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in yellow, Labour in red and independents in grey.

The 2003 Derbyshire Dales District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Derbyshire Dales District Council in Derbyshire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1999. ^[1] The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council. ^[2]

Background

Before the election the Conservatives had a majority on the council with 21 seats, compared to 9 for the Liberal Democrats, 6 for Labour and 3 independents. ^[3]

Issues at the election included housing, with the Conservatives saying they would make more land available, council tax, where the Liberal Democrats attacked the Conservatives for a 19.9% increase, and waste collection, with Labour objecting to the end of large waste collection, which they said had led to fly tipping. ^[3] The Liberal Democrats said they were targeting seats in the villages of Baslow and Taddington, while Labour said they were aiming for Darley Dale. ^[3] However the Conservatives were guaranteed seats after the election, as 13 of their candidates faced no opposition, ^[3] the highest number of any council in the country. ^[4]

Election result

The Conservatives gained 3 seats to increase their majority on the council with 24 councillors, after gaining seats from independents in Bakewell ward. ^[5] The Liberal Democrats remained on 9 seats, while Labour finished with 5 seats and 1 independent was elected. ^[5] Turnout at the election varied between a high of 52% and a low of 24%, ^[6] but was down on the 1999 election. ^[5]

Derbyshire Dales local election result 2003 ^{[7] [2]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	24			+3	61.5	42.5	13,153
	Liberal Democrats	9			0	23.1	35.7	11,058
	Labour	5			-1	12.8	14.3	4,438
	Independent	1			-2	2.6	7.5	2,310

Ward results

Ashbourne North (2 seats) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Elliott	unopposed
	Conservative	Anthony Millward	unopposed

Ashbourne South (2 seats) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Lewer	517
	Conservative	Alan Hodkinson	487
	Labour	Che Lear Page	210
	Labour	Lytton Page	165
Turnout			1,379	24.0

Bakewell (3 seats) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Judith Twigg	1,042
	Conservative	Carol Walker	810
	Conservative	John Pearce	786
	Independent	John Brighton	531
	Independent	Hilary Young	452
	Liberal Democrats	Maureen Smith	376
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Pocock	351
	Independent	Trevor Smith	332
	Liberal Democrats	Joyce Steele	298
	Labour	Stephen Pope	162
Turnout			5,140	46.4

Bradwell ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Janet Goodison	unopposed

Brailsford ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carol Valentine	unopposed

Calver ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Catherine Hunt	575	72.2
	Liberal Democrats	Shirley Holt	221	27.8
Majority			354	44.4
Turnout			796	49.5

Carsington Water ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lewis Rose	468	77.7
	Liberal Democrats	Julia Pulman	134	22.3
Majority			334	55.4
Turnout			602	40.2

Chatsworth ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Longden	unopposed

Clifton & Bradley ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Bates	unopposed

Darley Dale (3 seats) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Burton	1,051
	Liberal Democrats	David Fearn	1,014
	Liberal Democrats	Sandra Fearn	989
	Conservative	John Wall	396
	Conservative	Howard Simpson-Birks	395
	Conservative	Terence Kilburn	344
	Labour	Fionntann Page	184
Turnout			4,373	37.8

Dovedale and Parwich ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Spencer	441	77.1
	Labour	Eric Page	131	22.9
Majority			310	54.2
Turnout			572	46.0

Doveridge and Sudbury ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Brindley	unopposed

Hartington & Taddington ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Chapman	364	74.0
	Liberal Democrats	Eleanor Nancolas	128	26.0
Majority			236	48.0
Turnout			492	38.1

Hathersage and Eyam (2 seats) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jacqueline Bevan	unopposed
	Conservative	David Hoskin	unopposed

Hulland ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jennifer Radford	unopposed

Lathkill and Bradford ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Moore	320	52.2
	Conservative	Andrew Howard	293	47.8
Majority			27	4.4
Turnout			613	45.4

Lutton and Longstone ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Otter	unopposed

Masson (2 seats) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John March	395
	Labour	Nicholas Elliott	328
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Bowman	248
	Conservative	Joanna Cochrane	237
	Liberal Democrats	Janet Beckett	236
	Conservative	Vivienne Smith	230
Turnout			1,674	33.2

Matlock All Saints (3 seats) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Barker	914
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Burfoot	897
	Conservative	Geoffrey Stevens	867
	Liberal Democrats	Martyn Moss	766
	Conservative	Melvyn Askew	566
	Conservative	John Smith	541
	Independent	Ann Elliott	413
	Independent	Jacqueline Power	262
Turnout			5,226	43.2

Matlock St. Giles (3 seats) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Flitter	1,035
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Allwood	913
	Liberal Democrats	Ursula Lunn	815
	Conservative	Diana Dakin	703
	Conservative	Jacqueline Stevens	692
	Conservative	Barrie Tipping	665
	Labour	Tane Page	229
Turnout			5,052	41.8

Norbury ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Bull	unopposed

Stanton ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Deborah Read	unopposed

Tideswell ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tracy Critchlow	282	50.9
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Barber	272	49.1
Majority			10	1.8
Turnout			554	36.9

Winster & South Darley ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Raymond Dring	400	64.6
	Conservative	Jean Wall	128	20.7
	Labour	Paul Tozer	91	14.7
Majority			272	43.9
Turnout			619	52.0

Wirksworth (3 seats) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Irene Ratcliffe	901
	Labour	James Ratcliffe	822
	Labour	Peter Slack	820
	Conservative	Kevin Hall	468
	Conservative	Gladwyn Gratton	452
	Conservative	Lesley Hall	405
Turnout			3,868	31.2

By-elections between 2003 and 2007

All Saints Matlock

A by-election in All Saints Matlock was held on 27 November 2003 after the Liberal Democrat councillor Martin Burfoot was forced to resign after complaints of a conflict of interest due to his holding a position on the Peak District National Park Authority. ^[8] His wife Sue Burfoot held the seat for the Liberal Democrats. ^[8]

All Saints Matlock by-election 27 November 2003 ^{[9] [10] [8]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Burfoot	678	54.0	+16.8
	Conservative	Jacquie Stevens	578	46.0	+10.7
Majority			100	8.0
Turnout			1,256	29.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Litton and Longstone

Litton and Longstone by-election 31 March 2005 ^{[9] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		338	66.0
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Barber	174	34.0
Majority			164	32.0
Turnout			512	36.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Winster & South Darley

Winster & South Darley by-election 20 April 2006 ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Moseley	316	40.8	+20.1
	Liberal Democrats	George Edwards	281	36.2	-28.4
	Labour		178	23.0	+8.3
Majority			35	4.6
Turnout			775
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Lathkill & Bradford

Lathkill & Bradford by-election 11 May 2006 ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent		unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

References

1. "Local elections". BBC News Online . Retrieved 11 December 2011.
2. "Local council election results". The Daily Telegraph . 3 May 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
3. "Public urged to voice their view". Matlock Mercury . 24 April 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
4. "Less choice in elections". Matlock Mercury . 1 May 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
5. "Tories keep control". Derbyshire Times . 8 May 2003. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
6. "Town council to have new faces". Matlock Mercury . 8 May 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
7. "District Council election 1st. May 2003" (PDF). Political Science Resources. Derbyshire Dales District Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
8. "All Saints gets new councillor". Matlock Mercury . 11 December 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
9. "Local Authority Byelection Results". Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
10. "Small byelection gain for Lib Dems". The Guardian . 28 November 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
11. "Tories lose council majority in key marginal". The Guardian . 1 April 2005. Retrieved 11 December 2011.