2003 Wealden District Council election

Map of the results of the 2003 Wealden council election. Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in yellow and independents in grey.

The 2003 Wealden District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Wealden District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1999 reducing the number of seats by 3. ^[1] The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council. ^[2]

Background

At the last election in 1999 the Conservatives won 34 seats, compared to 22 for the Liberal Democrats and 2 independents. ^[3] In November 2003 the Conservatives gained 2 seats from the Liberal Democrats in a by-election in Uckfield, ^[4] but the Liberal Democrats took one seat back in the same ward in a June 2002 by-election. ^[5]

The Liberal Democrats also lost seats after 2 Hailsham councillors, Nick and Madeline Ellwood, were expelled from the party, and a further 2, John Glover and Ian Haffenden, resigned from the party in protest. ^[6] The 4 councillors who resigned formed a Wealden Independents party, while the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, Allan Thurley, stepped down over the expulsions and was succeeded by Eddie Rice. ^[7]

A total of 133 candidates stood for the 55 seats in 35 wards being contested, after boundary changes reduced the number of seats from 58. ^{[3] [8]} The changes increased the number of seats in Crowborough and Uckfield, while combining some of the rural seats. ^[3]

Campaign

A major issue at the election was council tax after it increased by 18%, 5.1% of which was due to Wealden Council. ^[3] The Conservatives blamed the increase on the government providing a poor grant to the council, while the Liberal Democrats called for the council tax to be replaced by a local income tax. ^[3] Another issue was housing with the Conservatives called for more land to be released for low cost housing, but the Liberal Democrats attacked the number of houses to be built, saying the infrastructure needed to be improved first. ^[3] Both the Labour party and local independents also campaigned against the 1,300 houses to be built in Hailsham, with The Independents saying more houses should be built in the north of the council area. ^[3]

The Conservatives said they would tackle littering and continue the household recycling scheme, while the Liberal Democrats called for policing to be improved and for the council to be modernised. ^[3] Meanwhile, Labour aimed to win their first seat on the council in Uckfield and called for the council to abolish the reduction in council tax for second homes. ^{[3] [9]}

Election result

The Conservatives stayed in control of the council with 34 seats, while the Liberal Democrats took 15 seats and independents won 6. ^[10] Few seats changed parties, with the Conservatives keeping a 13-seat majority. ^[8] The changes that did happen included the Liberal Democrat group leader Eddie Rice losing his seat in Rotherfield and the Liberal Democrats were also defeated in Polegate South, where Ivy Scarborough, a Residents Association candidate was successful. ^{[10] [11]} Independents were also successful in Crowborough and Hailsham, while Labour failed to take any seats. ^[10] Overall turnout at the election was 35%, up from 33.5% in 1999. ^[12]

Wealden local election result 2003 ^{[2] [13]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	34			-1	61.8	49.4	31,769
	Liberal Democrats	15			-2	27.3	35.0	22,515
	Independent	6			0	10.9	9.5	6,142
	Labour	0			0	0	3.9	2,534
	Green	0			0	0	1.9	1,246
	UKIP	0			0	0	0.2	137

3 Conservative candidates were unopposed at the election. ^[13]

Ward results

Alfriston ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Whitehead	673	67.3
	Liberal Democrats	Caroline Adcock	327	32.7
Majority			346	34.6
Turnout			1,000	49.5

Buxted and Maresfield (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patricia Kennedy	904
	Conservative	Norman Buck	862
	Green	Peter Selby	357
	Independent	Ken Ogden	314
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Morgan	293
Turnout			2,730	36.2

Chiddingly and East Hoathly ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sylvia Tidy	unopposed

Cross-in-Hand/Five Ashes ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jonica Fox	511	69.0
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Bryant	177	23.9
	Green	Jennifer Evans	53	7.2
Majority			334	45.1
Turnout			741	38.2

Crowborough East (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Carolyn Clark	555
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Mein	540
	Conservative	Anthony Edwards	422
	Conservative	Neil Waller	408
	Labour	Derek Sivers	118
Turnout			2,043	27.5

Crowborough Jarvis Brook ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ian McKirgan	222	39.0
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Bucklitsch	221	38.8
	Conservative	Brian Hewitt	126	22.1
Majority			1	0.2
Turnout			569	28.8

Crowborough North (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Chantal Wilson	1,038
	Conservative	Hector Munro	671
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Mahony	328
	Labour	Sonja Le Vay	201
	Independent	Michael Wallman	131
Turnout			2,369	35.8

Crowborough St Johns ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Broughton-Tompkins	458	75.3
	Liberal Democrats	Hilary Lyon	103	16.9
	Labour	Jean McCarthy	47	7.7
Majority			355	58.4
Turnout			608	32.0

Crowborough West (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Diane Phillips	814
	Conservative	Antony Quin	812
	Liberal Democrats	Edward Willis	394
	Labour	Brendan Clegg	238
Turnout			2,258	32.2

Danehill/Fletching/Nutley (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sylvia Martin	1,052
	Conservative	Bernard Brown	1,024
	Liberal Democrats	John Stevens	571
Turnout			2,647	39.6

East Dean ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian West	612	67.8
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Hillman	290	32.2
Majority			322	35.6
Turnout			902	46.9

Forest Row (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rowena Moore	708
	Conservative	Raymond Parsons	668
	Liberal Democrats	Linda Graham	526
	Labour	Norma McNamara	270
Turnout			2,172	33.5

Framfield ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Gore	563	64.9
	Liberal Democrats	Susanna Mockridge	168	19.4
	UKIP	Keith Riddle	137	15.8
Majority			395	45.5
Turnout			868	42.2

Frant/Withyham (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Abergavenny	827
	Conservative	Lynda Myers	822
	Liberal Democrats	Briony Taylor	431
	Green	Keith Obbard	404
	Labour	Michael Clare	179
Turnout			2,663	38.6

Hailsham Central & North (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Holbrook	494
	Liberal Democrats	Laura Murphy	434
	Conservative	Richard West	425
	Conservative	John Ball	419
	Independent	John Glover	348
	Independent	Madeleine Ellwood	344
	Labour	Steven Jordan	146
Turnout			2,610	32.1

Hailsham East ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Coltman	170	33.7
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Cock	128	25.3
	Labour	Dudley Rose	113	22.4
	Independent	William Crittenden	94	18.6
Majority			42	8.4
Turnout			505	26.6

Hailsham South and West (3) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Geoffrey Rowe	713
	Independent	Jonathan Ellwood	702
	Independent	Ian Haffenden	685
	Liberal Democrats	Sharon Cottingham	572
	Conservative	Sybil Bentley	567
	Liberal Democrats	Edward Powell	554
	Liberal Democrats	Gavin Blake-Coggins	551
	Conservative	Jeffery Bentley-Astor	524
	Conservative	John Kent	511
Turnout			5,379	28.7

Hartfield ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jeremy Hollins	unopposed

Heathfield East ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Janice Dunk	443	69.9
	Liberal Democrats	John Evans	191	30.1
Majority			252	39.8
Turnout			634	34.8

Heathfield North and Central (3) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Angel	1,082
	Conservative	Margaret Kirkpatrick	1,063
	Conservative	Veronica Oakes	996
	Liberal Democrats	David Hall	447
	Green	Timothy Rayner	432
Turnout			4,020	28.2

Hellingly (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Blake	817
	Liberal Democrats	David White	732
	Conservative	Barby Dashwood-Hall	583
	Conservative	Brian Smith	528
Turnout			2,660	36.9

Herstmonceux ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Long	477	63.1
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Love	279	36.9
Majority			198	26.2
Turnout			756	36.5

Horam ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Susan Stedman	381	56.9
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Benson	289	43.1
Majority			92	13.8
Turnout			670	33.2

Mayfield ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Redman	459	54.3
	Liberal Democrats	Allan Thurley	387	45.7
Majority			72	8.6
Turnout			846	41.7

Ninfield and Hooe with Wartling ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pamela Doodes	unopposed

Pevensey and Westham (3) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dianne Dear	1,245
	Conservative	John Vincent	1,233
	Conservative	Linda McKeever	1,135
	Liberal Democrats	Laura Parker	793
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Thomas	781
Turnout			5,187	29.7

Polegate North (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Roy Martin	888
	Liberal Democrats	Christina Berry	802
	Independent	Gerald Carter	478
	Independent	John Harmer	453
	Conservative	Anne Hampson	160
	Conservative	Michael Hampson	152
Turnout			2,933	37.7

Polegate South ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ivy Scarborough	349	45.7
	Liberal Democrats	Patrick Trowell	241	31.6
	Conservative	Michael Richards	173	22.7
Majority			108	14.1
Turnout			763	38.7

Rotherfield ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Logan	379	47.4
	Liberal Democrats	Edwin Rice	365	45.7
	Independent	David Heritage	55	6.9
Majority			14	1.7
Turnout			799	41.7

Uckfield Central ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Claire Dowling	425	52.7
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Cooper	308	38.2
	Labour	Eileen Wolley	73	9.1
Majority			117	14.5
Turnout			806	35.1

Uckfield New Town ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Nottage	339	54.2
	Labour	Ian Smith	144	23.0
	Conservative	Daphne Mainprice	143	22.8
Majority			195	31.2
Turnout			626	31.0

Uckfield North (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Sparks	632
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Whittaker	520
	Conservative	Michael Heap	356
	Labour	Duncan Bennett	250
	Labour	Leonard Ashby	246
Turnout			2,004	27.8

Uckfield Ridgewood ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Parker	483	57.2
	Conservative	Silvia Buck	310	36.7
	Labour	Jane 'Espinasse	51	6.0
Majority			173	20.5
Turnout			844	39.1

Wadhurst (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anna Monaghan	767
	Conservative	Robert Hodgson	734
	Liberal Democrats	Emma Sanderson-Nash	395
	Liberal Democrats	Rosalyn Bucklitsch	324
	Labour	Jane Zacharzewski	144
Turnout			2,364	32.0

Willingdon (3) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Shing	1,770
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Seabrook	1,559
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Watkins	1,516
	Conservative	David Burtenshaw	1,043
	Conservative	Guy Woodford	1,000
	Conservative	Raymond Ingram	949
	Independent	Margaret Piper	216
	Labour	Patricia Brinson	123
	Labour	Helen Sedgewick	114
	Labour	Gillian Roles	77
Turnout			8,367	48.7

By-elections between 2003 and 2007

Uckfield Ridgewood

A by-election was held in Uckfield Ridgewood on 16 September 2004 and was held for the Liberal Democrats by Robert Sweetland with a 185-vote majority. ^{[14] [15]}

Uckfield Ridgewood By-Election 16 September 2004 ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Sweetland	380	60.4	+3.2
	Conservative	Jacob Vince	195	31.0	-5.7
	Labour	Leonard Ashby	54	8.6	+2.6
Majority			185	29.4	+8.9
Turnout			629	28.6	+8.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Pevensey and Westham

A by-election was held in Pevensey and Westham on 29 September 2005 after the death of the previous councillor John Vincent. ^{[14] [16]} The seat was held for the Conservatives by Kevin Balsdon with a 760-vote majority. ^{[13] [17]}

Pevensey and Westham By-Election 29 September 2005 ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kevin Balsdon	1,229	66.7	+5.6
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Thomas	469	25.5	-13.4
	Labour	Robert Walker	143	7.8	+7.8
Majority			760	41.2
Turnout			1,841	25.7	-4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Crowborough North

A by-election was held in Crowoborough North on 6 April 2006 and was held for the Conservatives by Timothy Tyler with a 279-vote majority. ^{[14] [18]}

Crowborough North By-Election 6 April 2006 ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Timothy Tyler	417	52.5	+22.5
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Bucklitsch	138	17.4	+2.7
	Independent	Paul Scott	103	13.0	-33.4
	Labour	Jean McCarthy	94	11.8	+2.8
	Independent	Colin Stocks	43	5.4	+5.4
Majority			279	35.1
Turnout			795	20.1	-15.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Uckfield New Town

A by-election was held in Uckfield New Town on 29 June 2006 after the death of the Liberal Democrat councillor Ian Nottage. ^{[14] [19]} The seat was held for the Liberal Democrats by Julia Hey with a 170-vote majority. ^[20]

Uckfield New Town By-Election 29 June 2006 ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Julia Hey	381	57.6	+3.4
	Conservative	Marion Rowland	211	31.9	+9.1
	Green	Samantha Bryant	69	10.4	+10.4
Majority			170	25.7	-5.5
Turnout			661	32.5	+1.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

References

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15. "BNP wins first London seat since 1993". The Guardian . 17 September 2004. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
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17. "SNP triumphs in Fife". The Guardian . 30 September 2005. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
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20. "Lib Dems hold council seats". Sussex Express. 30 June 2006. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2011.