Map of the results of the 2003 Craven District Council election. Independents in light grey, Conservatives in blue and Liberal Democrats in yellow. Wards in dark grey were not contested in 2003.

The 2003 Craven District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Craven District Council in North Yorkshire, 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:

Background

Before the election the Conservatives were the largest group with 13 seats, while there 9 Liberal Democrats and 8 independents.[3] However the council was controlled by an alliance between independents and Liberal Democrats.[3]

10 of the 30 seats on the council were elected in 2003, with the Conservatives defending 6, independents 3 and the Liberal Democrats defended 1 seat.[3] Two of the three independents were re-elected without opposition.[3]

Election result

Independents gained 2 seats from the Conservatives to mean there were 10 independent councillors on the council.[4] The independent gains from the Conservatives came in Skipton East where Mike Hill was elected, and in West Craven where Robert Mason gained a seat.[5] Meanwhile, another independent, Robert Heseltine, regained a seat on the council 3 years after having been forced to resign his seat due to being convicted of falsifying accounts, after defeating the sitting independent councillor Frances Cook by 217 votes in Skipton South.[5]

Despite losing 2 seats the Conservatives remained the largest group on the council with 11 councillors, after holding another 4 seats.[5] Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats stayed on 9 seats, after holding the only seat they had been defending in Skipton West.[5]

Craven local election result 2003[2][6]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Independent 5 2 0 +2 50.0 30.0 2,020 -0.9%
  Conservative 4 0 2 -2 40.0 45.7 3,079 +5.6%
  Liberal Democrats 1 0 0 0 10.0 24.3 1,633 -3.8%

Ward results

Bentham[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gerald Hurtley 521 51.5
Independent Manuel Camacho 490 48.5
Majority 31 3.1
Turnout 1,011
Conservative hold Swing
Embsay with Eastby[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Quinn 404 67.0
Independent Dennis Hall 199 33.0
Majority 205 34.0
Turnout 603
Conservative hold Swing
Gargrave and Malhamdale[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Crawford 596 58.5
Liberal Democrats Andrew Wood 422 41.5
Majority 174 17.1
Turnout 1,018
Conservative hold Swing
Glusburn[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Roger Nicholson unopposed
Independent hold Swing
Skipton East[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Michael Hill 423 41.7
Conservative Pamela Heseltine 320 31.5
Liberal Democrats Darren Moorby 272 26.8
Majority 103 10.1
Turnout 1,015
Independent gain from Conservative Swing
Skipton North[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Marcia Turner 604 56.4
Liberal Democrats Andrew Rankine 466 43.6
Majority 138 12.9
Turnout 1,070
Conservative hold Swing
Skipton South[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Robert Heseltine 412 57.5
Independent Frances Cook 195 27.2
Conservative Kenneth Creek 110 15.3
Majority 217 30.3
Turnout 717
Independent gain from Independent Swing
Skipton West[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Pauline English 473 67.0
Conservative Paul Whitaker 233 33.0
Majority 240 34.0
Turnout 706
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Sutton-in-Craven[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Kenneth Hart unopposed
Independent hold Swing
West Craven[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Robert Mason 301 50.8 +16.2
Conservative John Binns 291 49.2 +5.6
Majority 10 1.7
Turnout 592
Independent gain from Conservative Swing

By-elections between 2003 and 2004

A by-election was held in Bentham on 13 November 2003 after the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor John Pilkington on his being charged by police with child pornography.[7][8] The seat was gained by an independent Manuel Camacho with a majority of 107 votes over Conservative John Jackson.[7][8]

Bentham by-election 13 November 2003[7][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Manuel Camacho 474 56.4 +7.9
Conservative John Jackson 367 43.6 -7.9
Majority 107 12.8 N/A
Turnout 841 29.6
Independent gain from Liberal Democrats Swing

References

  1. ↑ "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Election results". Financial Times. NewsBank. 2 May 2003. p. 4.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Craven: Contests in 8 wards". Cumbria County Publications. NewsBank. 11 April 2003.
  4. ↑ Robinson-Tate, Michaela (2 May 2003). "Election: Craven results". Cumbria County Publications. NewsBank.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Councillor wins back seat after criminal conviction". West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire Counties Publications. NewsBank. 2 May 2003.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Craven District Council - Election results". Craven District Council. Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "Election for seat of accused councillor". West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire Counties Publications. NewsBank. 24 October 2003.
  8. 1 2 3 "Independents win in byelection polls". Press Association. The Guardian. 14 November 2003. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
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