2003 South Lakeland District Council election

The 2003 South Lakeland District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of South Lakeland District Council in Cumbria, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. ^[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was:

• Liberal Democrat 23
• Conservative 18
• Labour 9
• Independent 2 ^[2]

Background

Before the election the Liberal Democrats had 21 seats, the Conservatives 19, Labour 9 and independents 3. ^[3] 17 seats were being contested with the Conservatives defending 10, the Liberal Democrats 6 and an independent 1 seat. ^[3] 2 sitting Liberal Democrat councillors stood down at the election, Patricia Himsworth in Arnside and Beetham, and Claire Chorley in Burneside. ^{[3] [4]}

Major issues in the election included housing, regeneration, recycling, public toilets, ^[5] affordable transport and refuse collection. ^[6]

Election result

The results saw the Liberal Democrats remain the largest party with 23 seats, ^[7] but without a majority, after gaining 2 seats from the Conservatives in Cartmel and Low Furness & Swarthmoor and 1 seat from an independent in Whinfell. ^[3] However the Conservatives did take 1 seat back from the Liberal Democrats in Arnside & Beetham to hold 18 seats. ^[3] Labour remained on 9 seats, while independents dropped to 2 seats. ^[3] Overall turnout in the election was 44%, with a low of 33.9% in Windermere Applethwaite to a high of 54.2% in Kirkby Lonsdale. ^[3]

South Lakeland Local Election Result 2003 ^{[3] [8]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	9	1	2	-1	52.9	49.7	7,923	+19.1%
	Liberal Democrats	8	3	1	+2	47.1	43.7	6,967	-2.1%
	Independent	0	0	1	-1	0	5.4	854	+3.9%
	Labour	0	0	0	0	0	1.2	198	-20.9%

Ward results

Arnside and Beetham ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Rollins	906	47.3	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Brenda Tidmarsh-Stephen	812	42.4	-6.4
	Labour	Jocelyn Innes	198	10.3	N/A
Majority			94	4.9
Turnout			1,916	54.1	+10.0
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Broughton ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joss Curwen*	700	75.7	-16.6
	Liberal Democrats	John Humberstone	225	24.3	-68.0
Majority			475	51.4
Turnout			925	48.9	+2.0
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

• Joss Curwen was originally elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor.

Burneside ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Frank Hodson	385	60.6	-23.0
	Conservative	Stephen Procter	250	39.4	N/A
Majority			135	21.2
Turnout			635	40.7	+7.6
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Cartmel ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Howard Martin	364	54.2	N/A
	Conservative	Leslie Hadwin*	308	45.8	+45.8
Majority			56	8.4
Turnout			672	44.6	+44.6
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent		Swing

• Leslie Hadwin was originally elected unopposed as an Independent councillor.

Crake Valley ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Noel Spendlove*	360	65.9	-2.7
	Conservative	Robert Webster	186	34.1	+2.7
Majority			174	31.8
Turnout			546	37.9	-3.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Crooklands ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Galbraith	440	51.0	-20.0
	Liberal Democrats	Sheila Eccles	423	49.0	+27.8
Majority			17	2.0
Turnout			863	49.0	+11.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Grange ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reginald Parker	907	53.0	-3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Ronald Shapland	803	47.0	+9.0
Majority			104	6.0
Turnout			1,710	46.7	+1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Holker ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Manning*	519	67.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Rawsthorn	246	32.2	N/A
Majority			273	35.6
Turnout			765	51.9	+51.9
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

• John Manning had previously been elected in a by-election.

Kirkby Lonsdale ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Barclay Stainton	629	61.2	-4.6
	Independent	Alan Day	338	32.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Lansdowne	61	5.9	N/A
Majority			291	28.3
Turnout			1,028	54.2	+0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lakes Ambleside ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Vatcher*	499	45.1	-0.5
	Conservative	Brian Barton	480	43.4	+24.7
	Independent	George Middleton	127	11.5	-24.5
Majority			19	1.7
Turnout			1,106	36.2	-2.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Low Furness & Swarthmoor ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sonjie Marshall	710	52.6	-1.0
	Conservative	William Tyson*	640	47.4	+23.4
Majority			70	5.2
Turnout			1,350	39.7	+1.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

• William Tyson had been elected at a by-election for the Conservative Party.

Sedbergh ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kevin Lancaster*	697	71.4	+11.2
	Liberal Democrats	Sydney McLennan	279	28.6	+10.1
Majority			418	42.8
Turnout			976	34.5	-6.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Whinfell ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Thornton	489	55.7	N/A
	Independent	William Robinson*	389	44.3	+44.3
Majority			110	11.4
Turnout			878	48.2	+48.2
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent		Swing

Windermere Applethwaite ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jennifer Borer*	343	60.7	-0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Audrey Ahmad	222	39.3	+0.2
Majority			121	21.4
Turnout			565	33.9	-2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Windermere Bowness North ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Deidre Cranwell*	478	57.1	+4.3
	Conservative	Martin Hall	359	42.9	+9.1
Majority			119	14.2
Turnout			837	52.7	+5.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Windermere Bowness South ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jane Hoyle*	410	75.9	+16.6
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Scott-Parker	130	24.1	-16.6
Majority			280	51.8
Turnout			540	38.5	+2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Windermere Town ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kathleen Atkinson*	481	76.3	+27.7
	Conservative	Elizabeth Graham	149	23.7	-12.4
Majority			332	52.6
Turnout			630	37.4	-3.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

References

1. "Local elections". BBC News Online . Retrieved 10 November 2009.
2. "Local council election results". The Daily Telegraph . 3 May 2003. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
3. "Local Council Elections May 2003". South Lakeland District Council. Archived from the original on 6 June 2003. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
4. "Election: Lib Dem women bow out". The Westmorland Gazette . 11 April 2003. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
5. "Election: Battle lines are drawn in the fight for votes". The Westmorland Gazette . 11 April 2003. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
6. "Election: Candidates in the running". The Westmorland Gazette . 17 April 2003. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
7. "Election: No change of power at South Lakeland District Council". The Westmorland Gazette . 2 May 2003. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
8. "Local Elections 1 May 2003". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2011.