2003 Craven District Council election

File:Craven UK local election 2003 map.svg

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.

After the election, the composition of the council was:

• Conservative 11
• Independent 10
• Liberal Democrats 9

Background

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

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. Two of the three independents were re-elected without opposition.

Election result

Independents gained 2 seats from the Conservatives to mean there were 10 independent councillors on the council. 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. 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.

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

Craven local election result 2003

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
		5	2	0	+2	50.0	30.0	2,020	-0.9%
		4	0	2	-2	40.0	45.7	3,079	+5.6%
		1	0	0	0	10.0	24.3	1,633	-3.8%

Ward results

Bentham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Gerald Hurtley	521	51.5
		Manuel Camacho	490	48.5
Majority			31	3.1
Turnout			1,011
	hold		Swing

Embsay with Eastby

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John Quinn	404	67.0
		Dennis Hall	199	33.0
Majority			205	34.0
Turnout			603
	hold		Swing

Gargrave and Malhamdale

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		David Crawford	596	58.5
		Andrew Wood	422	41.5
Majority			174	17.1
Turnout			1,018
	hold		Swing

Glusburn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Roger Nicholson	unopposed
	hold		Swing

Skipton East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Michael Hill	423	41.7
		Pamela Heseltine	320	31.5
		Darren Moorby	272	26.8
Majority			103	10.1
Turnout			1,015
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing

Skipton North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Marcia Turner	604	56.4
		Andrew Rankine	466	43.6
Majority			138	12.9
Turnout			1,070
	hold		Swing

Skipton South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Robert Heseltine	412	57.5
		Frances Cook	195	27.2
		Kenneth Creek	110	15.3
Majority			217	30.3
Turnout			717
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing

Skipton West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Pauline English	473	67.0
		Paul Whitaker	233	33.0
Majority			240	34.0
Turnout			706
	hold		Swing

Sutton-in-Craven

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Kenneth Hart	unopposed
	hold		Swing

West Craven

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Robert Mason	301	50.8
		John Binns	291	49.2
Majority			10	1.7
Turnout			592
	gain from Template:Yesno		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. The seat was gained by an independent Manuel Camacho with a majority of 107 votes over Conservative John Jackson.

Bentham by-election 13 November 2003

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Manuel Camacho	474	56.4
		John Jackson	367	43.6
Majority			107	12.8
Turnout			841	29.6
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing