2003 West Berkshire Council election

Map of the results of the 2003 West Berkshire Borough Council election. Conservative in blue and Liberal Democrats in yellow.

The 2003 West Berkshire Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of West Berkshire Council in Berkshire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2000 reducing the number of seats by two. ^[1] The Liberal Democrats lost overall control of the council to no overall control. ^[2]

Background

At the last election in 2000 the Liberal Democrats held control of the council with 28 councillors, compared to 25 for the Conservatives and there was 1 independent councillor. ^[3] However boundary changes took place for the 2003 election, which reduced the number of seats from 54 to 52 and affected all but 3 of the wards. ^[4]

Election result

Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats won 26 seats, meaning that the Liberal Democrats lost the majority on the council that they had held for the previous 12 years. ^[4] The Liberal Democrat leader on the council, Lena Rust was defeated in Basildon ward by the Conservatives, while in Westwood ward the Conservatives gained the seat by 4 votes after 4 recounts. ^[4] However the Liberal Democrats did pick up a seat in the new Theale ward. ^[4]

Following the election the Liberal Democrats were able to continue running the council due to the chairman's casting vote. ^[4]

West Berkshire local election result 2003 ^{[2] [5]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	26			+1	50.0	50.3	33,815
	Liberal Democrats	26			-2	50.0	45.6	30,628
	Labour	0			0	0	3.1	2,104
	Green	0			0	0	0.5	307
	Independent	0			-1	0	0.4	294
	Socialist Labour	0			0	0	0.1	59

Ward results

Aldermaston ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Irene Neill	677	70.4
	Liberal Democrats	Douglas Gibbons	284	29.6
Majority			393	40.9
Turnout			961	48

Basildon ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Webber	684	55.9
	Liberal Democrats	Lena Rust	539	44.1
Majority			145	11.8
Turnout			1,223	55

Birch Copse (3 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Mooney	806
	Conservative	Anthony Linden	733
	Conservative	Andrew Kilgour	716
	Labour	Clive Taylor	443
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Bown	412
	Liberal Democrats	Vera Barnett	356
	Liberal Democrats	Nagalingamudaly Sidamparaooillai	316
Turnout			3,782

Bucklebury (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham Pask	1,345
	Conservative	Quentin Webb	1,188
	Liberal Democrats	Alastair Reed	523
	Liberal Democrats	Astrid Roberts	425
Turnout			3,481

Burghfield (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Royce Longton	975
	Liberal Democrats	John Farrin	933
	Conservative	Anthony Orme	688
	Conservative	Deborah Bartley-Brown	656
Turnout			3,252

Calcot (3 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Bedwell	972
	Conservative	Peter Argyle	876
	Conservative	Manohar Gopal	835
	Labour	Michael Thompson	428
	Liberal Democrats	Craig Drury	285
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Gee	282
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Walter	255
Turnout			3,933

Chieveley ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nora French	468	68.3
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Hendel-Blackford	217	31.7
Majority			251	36.6
Turnout			685	38

Clay Hill (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Barnett	793
	Liberal Democrats	Trevor Banning	732
	Conservative	Jeoffrey Beck	669
	Conservative	Alma Beck	666
	Labour	Barry Lambert	103
Turnout			2,963	35

Cold Ash ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Findlay	598	55.2
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Marriage	486	44.8
Majority			112	10.4
Turnout			1,084	50

Compton ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Barbara Alexander	622	60.4
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Harris	408	39.6
Majority			214	20.8
Turnout			1,030	46

Downlands ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Chandler	609	60.0
	Independent	John Morgan	294	29.0
	Labour	Paul Johnston	112	11.0
Majority			315	31.0
Turnout			1,015	46

Falkland (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Caroline Suggett	1,137
	Liberal Democrats	Valerie Bull	1,068
	Conservative	Adrian Edwards	1,026
	Conservative	Richard Kingsley	982
	Labour	Carol Sambrook	158
Turnout			4,371	46

Greenham (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	William Drummond	728
	Liberal Democrats	Julian Swift-Hook	675
	Conservative	Brian Jolly	585
	Conservative	Antony Forward	555
Turnout			2,543	38

Hungerford (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Denise Gaines	1,065
	Liberal Democrats	James Mole	1,046
	Conservative	David Liddiard	885
	Conservative	Victoria Clarke	881
Turnout			3,877

Kintbury (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony Stansfeld	1,000
	Conservative	Andrew Rowles	997
	Liberal Democrats	Linda Alton	439
	Liberal Democrats	James Russell	403
Turnout			2,839	37

Lambourn Valley (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Jones	705
	Conservative	Amos Lundie	502
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Cocker	447
	Liberal Democrats	John Davies	389
Turnout			2,043	24

Mortimer (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Lock	1,104
	Liberal Democrats	Sandra Harding	1,047
	Conservative	Antony Barker	440
	Conservative	Francis Shorrock	400
Turnout			2,991	39

Northcroft (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Farrant	460
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Vickers	407
	Conservative	Charlotte Farrow	330
	Conservative	Barrington Tristram	302
	Labour	Stephen Billcliffe	152
Turnout			1,651

Pangbourne ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Susan Kemp	591	74.2
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Cutler	127	15.9
	Labour	Cara Brenda	79	9.9
Majority			464	58.3
Turnout			797	36

Purley on Thames (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Timothy Metcalfe	577
	Conservative	John Chapman	550
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Dowding	414
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Bird	376
	Green	Miriam Kennet	194
	Green	Marlyn Lee	113
	Labour	Senan Hartney	108
Turnout			2,332	24

Speen (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Bryant	1,006
	Conservative	Marcus Franks	910
	Liberal Democrats	Clive Hillman	756
	Liberal Democrats	Michaela Tod	692
	Labour	Michael Lamden	90
Turnout			3,454	39

St Johns (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sally Hannon	838
	Conservative	Emma Webster	818
	Conservative	Michael Johnston	815
	Liberal Democrats	Roger Hunneman	803
	Labour	Derek Brear	124
Turnout			3,398	40

Sulhamstead ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Chopping	460	51.2
	Liberal Democrats	David Shepherd	439	48.8
Majority			21	2.4
Turnout			899	44

Thatcham Central (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alexander Payton	717
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Pritchard	690
	Conservative	Ellen Crumly	529
	Conservative	Richard Crumly	528
Turnout			2,464

Thatcham North (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Judge	703
	Liberal Democrats	Mollie Lock	626
	Conservative	Paul Broome	431
	Conservative	Luke Smith	386
Turnout			2,146

Thatcham South and Crookham (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Owen Jeffery	757
	Liberal Democrats	Terence Port	657
	Conservative	Samantha Bennett	437
	Conservative	Piero Pagliaroli	380
Turnout			2,231

Thatcham West (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jeffrey Brooks	760
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Woodhams	758
	Conservative	Rosemary Goodchild	443
	Conservative	Matthew Wilson	411
Turnout			2,372

Theale ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Macro	283	41.4
	Conservative	Lionel Turner	231	33.8
	Labour	Terence Jackson	169	24.7
Majority			52	7.6
Turnout			683	32

Victoria (2 seats) ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Craw	662
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Rodger	645
	Conservative	Brian Goodall	315
	Conservative	Rebecca Smith	306
	Socialist Labour	Katrina Howse	59
Turnout			1,987	30

Westwood ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Laszlo Zverko	293	40.7
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Reeves	289	40.1
	Labour	Robert Tutton	138	19.2
Majority			4	0.6
Turnout			720	32.0

By-elections between 2003 and 2007

Victoria

The Liberal Democrats remained in control of the council with the chairman's casting vote after retaining Victoria ward in a by-election on 4 December 2003. ^[6]

Victoria by-election 4 December 2003 ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Roger Hunneman	727	58.6	-5.3
	Conservative	Jeffrey Beck	461	37.2	+6.8
	Labour	Barry Lambert	52	4.2	+4.2
Majority			266	21.4
Turnout			1,240	39.9	+10.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Thatcham North

A by-election was held in Thatcham North on 5 May 2005 after Liberal Democrat councillor Bob Judge resigned from the council. ^[8] The seat was gained for the Conservatives by Sheila Ellison with a majority of 175 votes over the Liberal Democrats, which gave the Conservatives a majority on the council. ^[9]

Thatcham North by-election 5 May 2005 ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sheila Ellison	1,431	53.3	+15.0
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Reeves	1,256	46.7	-15.0
Majority			175	6.6
Turnout			2,687	68.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Pangbourne

A by-election was held in Pangbourne ward on 20 April 2006 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Susie Kemp. ^{[10] [11]} The seat was held for the Conservatives by Pamela Bale with a majority of 574 votes over the Liberal Democrats. ^{[10] [11]}

Pangbourne by-election 20 April 2006 ^{[10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pamela Bale	725	74.6	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Brown	151	15.5	-0.4
	Labour	Senan Hartney	96	9.9	0.0
Majority			574	59.1	+0.9
Turnout			972	45.1	+9.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "Local elections". BBC News Online . Retrieved 25 December 2014.
2. "English councils - Unitary authorities". The Times . NewsBank. 3 May 2003. p. 47.
3. "West Berkshire". BBC News Online . Retrieved 26 December 2014.
4. "West Berks Council hung - Lib Dems' 12-year grip over". Reading Post . NewsBank. 2 May 2003.
5. "West Berkshire". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
6. "Labour loses council seat to Socialist". Press Association . theguardian.com. 5 December 2003. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
7. "Voting and Elections". West Berkshire Council. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
8. "District Council By-Election: Thatcham North - 5th May 2005" (PDF). West Berkshire Council. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
9. "English elect councils and mayors". BBC News Online. 7 May 2005. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
10. "District Council By-Election: Pangbourne Ward 20th April 2006" (PDF). West Berkshire Council. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
11. "Local Authority Byelection Results - April 2006". Local Authority Byelection Results. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.