2003 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council election

The 2003 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Windsor and Maidenhead Unitary 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 1.^[1] The Liberal Democrats gained overall control of the council from no overall control.^[2]

Campaign

Windsor and Maidenhead council was a top target for the Liberal Democrats in the 2003 local elections.^[3] The party had come close to taking the Maidenhead parliamentary constituency at the last general election in 2001 and were optimistic of taking control of the council.^[4]^[5] The Liberal Democrats were expected to benefit from the support of the estimated 3,000 Muslims who lived in the council area due to the party's opposition to the Iraq War.^[4] The issue of a proposed extension to a local mosque was also used for the Liberal Democrats,^[4] but the Conservatives accused them of pandering to the Muslim community.^[6]

The council had been controlled by the Conservatives since the 2000 election in an alliance with 2 of the independent councillors.^[7] However the Liberal Democrats attacked the council for having raised council tax by 9.3% in the last year and by 20% over the 3 years since the last election.^[7] They also criticised the council for its plans to demolish the town hall and pointed to a weak rating for the council by the Audit Commission.^[7] However the Conservatives said Windsor and Maidenhead's council tax was still one of the lowest in the southeast and that if the Liberal Democrats implemented the policies in their manifesto it would mean a 27% increase in council tax.^[7]

Boundary changes which reduced the number of seats by 1, meant both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats needed 1 less seat to take control of the council.^[6] With the election important to both parties, the Conservative Party Chairman and local MP Theresa May and the Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy both campaigned in the area.^[6]

The council again used a mobile polling station to go to railway stations and supermarkets in an attempt to increase turnout.^[8]

Election result

The results saw the Liberal Democrats take control of the council,^[9] after gaining 13 seats.^[10] The election results were seen as giving the Liberal Democrats hope for the next general election in the Maidenhead constituency after the party won 61% of the vote in wards within the constituency against 33.6% for the Conservatives.^[10]

Windsor and Maidenhead Local Election Result 2003^[2]^[11]
	Seats	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes
Liberal Democrats	34	+13	59.6	49.0	46,098
Conservative	15	-14	26.3	37.8	35,585
Independent	5	+5	8.8	4.8	4,540
OWRA	2	0	3.5	1.8	1,732
Labour	1	0	1.8	6.0	5,617
Green	0	0	0	0.5	464
Residents	0	-5	0	0	0

Ward results

Ascot and Cheapside (2)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	David Hilton	775
	Conservative	Peter Spooner	708
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Pope	229
	Liberal Democrats	Geoffrey Taylor	214
	Green	Stephen Young	120
Turnout			2,046	30.3

Belmont (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Bruton	1,524
	Liberal Democrats	Clive Baskerville	1,406
	Liberal Democrats	David Mackay	1,364
	Conservative	Philip Love	752
	Conservative	Iain Buchanan	712
	Conservative	Asghar Majeed	638
	Labour	Patricia Shenstone	147
Turnout			6,543	39.1

Bisham and Cookham (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Mohinder Brar	1,196
	Liberal Democrats	David Ricardo	1,090
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Cubley	1,000
	Conservative	Alan Jay	968
	Conservative	Michael Lawrence	964
	Conservative	Chester Denniford	936
	Labour	Judith Percival	144
	Labour	Paul Percival	105
Turnout			6,403	40.9

Boyn Hill (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Holness	1,297
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Hyde	1,235
	Liberal Democrats	David Howes	1,215
	Conservative	Yames Bragg	643
	Conservative	Howard McBrien	641
	Conservative	Arshad Hussain	606
	Green	Ann Hay	113
	Labour	Robert Barclay	81
	Labour	Jennifer Cooper	81
Turnout			5,912	36.7

Bray (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Leo Walters	1,028
	Conservative	Barry Thompson	986
	Conservative	David Burbage	982
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Janikoun	509
	Liberal Democrats	Heather Elliot	460
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Shurben	396
	Labour	Alan Wellstead	147
Turnout			4,508	28.4

Castle Without (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	David Eglise	962
	Liberal Democrats	Bryan Hedley	962
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Pritchett	959
	Conservative	George Bathurst	444
	Conservative	Catherine Lavender	429
	Conservative	David Coppinger	399
	Labour	Margaret Atwell	136
	Labour	Janet Milward	132
Turnout			4,423	31.4

Clewer East (2)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Gliksten	655
	Liberal Democrats	Lee Hibbard	640
	Conservative	Keith Evans	553
	Conservative	Eileen Quick	541
	Labour	Andrew Gittins	120
Turnout			2,509	38.1

Clewer North (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Cynthia Endacott	967
	Independent	Eileen Penfold	914
	Independent	Geoffrey Fido	883
	Conservative	Peter Smith	457
	Conservative	James Richards	452
	Conservative	Wesley Richards	430
	Liberal Democrats	John Foster	274
	Labour	Ann Matthews	265
	Labour	Andrew Foakes	250
	Liberal Democrats	Nicola Shurben	249
	Labour	Antony Matthews	245
	Liberal Democrats	Gary Wilson	227
Turnout			5,613	31.6

Clewer South (2)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Fagence	742
	Liberal Democrats	Antony Wood	706
	Conservative	Jennifer Heaven	232
	Conservative	Victor Chukwuemeka	207
	Labour	Linda Ayres	89
	Labour	Kenneth Coles	87
Turnout			2,063	27.6

Cox Green (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Victoria Howes	1,332
	Liberal Democrats	Bruce Adams	1,320
	Liberal Democrats	Emrys Richards	1,295
	Conservative	Paul Digby	529
	Conservative	Maureen Mallet	493
	Conservative	Charles Horder	490
	Labour	Ian Harvey	132
	Labour	Robert Horner	121
	Labour	Mohammed Shafiq	90
Turnout			5,802	34.3

Datchet (2)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Jesse Grey	613
	Conservative	Elizabeth Hawkes	610
	Liberal Democrats	Timothy O'Flynn	438
	Independent	Ewan Larcombe	264
	Labour	Peter Ward	129
Turnout			2,054	29.7

Eton and Castle^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Pratt	309	58.3
	Conservative	Gwyn Collier	180	34.0
	Labour	Jennifer Ward	41	7.7
Majority			129	24.3
Turnout			530	29.7

Eton Wick^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Mark Olney	484	62.9
	Conservative	Stephen Smith	286	37.1
Majority			198	25.8
Turnout			770	42.0

Furze Platt (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Stock	1,459
	Liberal Democrats	Cynthia Pitteway	1,411
	Liberal Democrats	Humaira Javed	1,377
	Conservative	Clifford Baker	613
	Conservative	Penelope Baker	590
	Conservative	Anthony Willis	566
	Labour	Katherine Holder	117
Turnout			6,133	37.7

Horton and Wraysbury (2)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Donald Gregory	790
	Independent	Richard Bertram	722
	Conservative	Duncan Parker	516
	Conservative	David Martin	474
	Labour	Paul Rae	69
Turnout			2,571	34.7

Hurley and Walthams (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	John Iles	1,166
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremy Hyde	1,154
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Langdown	1,118
	Conservative	David Penfold	639
	Conservative	Philip Watss	580
	Conservative	Justin List	563
	Labour	Patrick McDonald	295
	Labour	Kelly Dale	272
	Labour	Kevin Webb	261
Turnout			6,048	44.0

Maidenhead Riverside (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Pamela Proctor	1,374
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Herlinger	1,341
	Liberal Democrats	Alison Napier	1,294
	Conservative	Andrew Jenner	877
	Conservative	Catherine Hollingsworth	784
	Conservative	Jennifer Spear	723
	Labour	Pamela Kennedy	117
	Green	Craig McDermott	86
Turnout			6,596	41.8

Oldfield (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Derek Wilson	729
	Conservative	Dorothy Kemp	725
	Conservative	Gillian Moore	713
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Dorrington	640
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Bartley	622
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Hill	608
	Labour	Kathleen Cutting	293
	Labour	Anthony Randall	217
	Labour	Nigel Smith	193
Turnout			4,740	28.3

Old Windsor (2)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	OWRA	Malcolm Beer	906
	OWRA	Eric Wiles	826
	Conservative	Christopher Hawkes	173
	Conservative	James Belsey	161
	Labour	Roy Reeves	125
	Labour	Ahamed Mashoor	103
Turnout			2,294	30.5

Park (2)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Scott	854
	Liberal Democrats	Beverley Green	835
	Conservative	Anthony Cross	640
	Conservative	John Henson	634
	Labour	Brent Curless	77
	Labour	Annemarie Price	67
Turnout			3,107	37.3

Pinkneys Green (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Kathryn Newbound	1,480
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Werner	1,360
	Liberal Democrats	Wilson Hendry	1,341
	Conservative	Charles Hollingsworth	603
	Conservative	Brian Webster	598
	Conservative	Jacqueline Porter	581
	Labour	Margaret Horner	127
Turnout			6,090	38.9

Sunningdale (2)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Christine Bateson	858
	Conservative	John Webb	847
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Herbert-Brown	212
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Cross	185
	Labour	Kevin Cochrane	122
Turnout			2,224	31.8

Sunninghill and South Ascot (3)^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Brian Birkhead	914
	Conservative	Alison Knight	904
	Conservative	Lynda Yong	896
	Liberal Democrats	Enid Cross	698
	Liberal Democrats	Charmian Hopkins	686
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Bushill	678
	Green	Stephen Shaw	145
	Labour	Elizabeth Yates	136
Turnout			5,057	34.4

References

^ "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
^ ^a ^b "English councils". The Times. 3 May 2003. p. 47.
^ "Parties try to shift focus to Birmingham from Baghdad". Financial Times. 15 April 2003. p. 10.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Local Elections: Where a mosque is the big issue; Lib Dem target Maidenhead". The Independent. 22 April 2003. p. 6.
^ Hartley-Brewer, Julia (20 April 2003). "Tories face a poll wipe-out". The Express on Sunday.
^ ^a ^b ^c Milne, Richard (1 May 2003). "Tension rises in Maidenhead amid claims of dirty tricks". Financial Times. p. 5.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Sherman, Jill (24 April 2003). "Lib Dems plotting to overthrow Tories in Windsor". The Times. p. 10.
^ "New voting methods 'increase turnout'". BBC News Online. 30 April 2003. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
^ Lydall, Ross (2 May 2003). "But in the south Tories fail to make big breakthrough". Evening Standard. p. 7.
^ ^a ^b Waugh, Paul (3 May 2003). "How Britain voted: Kennedy claims parity with 30% share of vote; Liberal Democrats". The Independent. p. 18.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x "Borough Election Results 2003 - By Ward". The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Archived from the original on 12 January 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2010.

[gain-1] "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 27 November 2010.

[english-2] "English councils". The Times. 3 May 2003. p. 47.

[focus-3] "Parties try to shift focus to Birmingham from Baghdad". Financial Times. 15 April 2003. p. 10.

[mosque-4] "Local Elections: Where a mosque is the big issue; Lib Dem target Maidenhead". The Independent. 22 April 2003. p. 6.

[face-5] Hartley-Brewer, Julia (20 April 2003). "Tories face a poll wipe-out". The Express on Sunday.

[dirty-6] Milne, Richard (1 May 2003). "Tension rises in Maidenhead amid claims of dirty tricks". Financial Times. p. 5.

[overthrow-7] Sherman, Jill (24 April 2003). "Lib Dems plotting to overthrow Tories in Windsor". The Times. p. 10.

[turnout-8] "New voting methods 'increase turnout'". BBC News Online. 30 April 2003. Retrieved 28 November 2010.

[but-9] Lydall, Ross (2 May 2003). "But in the south Tories fail to make big breakthrough". Evening Standard. p. 7.

[how-10] Waugh, Paul (3 May 2003). "How Britain voted: Kennedy claims parity with 30% share of vote; Liberal Democrats". The Independent. p. 18.

[results-11] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x "Borough Election Results 2003 - By Ward". The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Archived from the original on 12 January 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2010.

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