Pendle Council election, 2003
Encyclopedia
The 2003 Pendle Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Pendle
Borough
Council in Lancashire
, 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
, 19 Liberal Democrat and 11 Conservative
councillor
s, with Labour holding power as a minority administration. 18 seats were being elected, with 2 seats contested in Boulsworth after the death of councillor Jo Belbin. In total 63 candidates stood, with only one sitting councillor, Abdul Jabbar in Brierfield, not standing for re-election. As well as candidates from the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, there were also 3 candidates from the Socialist Alliance
, 4 independents
and 4 from the British National Party
. This was the first time the British National Party had put up candidates in Pendle.
Issues in the election included the proposed redevelopment of Nelson
town centre, plans for an A56
bypass and the proposed demolition of houses in Nelson West. Other issues as usual were council tax
levels, litter, street safety and crime, while the national issue of the Iraq War was expected to influence voters.
Following the election many of the Liberal Democrat councillors boycotted the swearing in of a new mayor
in protest against the way he was elected instead of the previous years deputy mayor. Liberal Democrat Alan Davies became the new leader of the council, but his party initially refused to take places on the executive committee. This was because the council had voted for a 4-3-3 party split on the committee rather than the 5-3-2 split the Liberal Democrats had proposed. Meanwhile the Labour group chose Frank Clifford to become the new leader of their group.
Pendle
Pendle is a local government district and borough of Lancashire, England. It adjoins the Lancashire boroughs of Burnley and Ribble Valley, the North Yorkshire district of Craven and the West Yorkshire districts of Calderdale and the City of Bradford...
Borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
Council in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control
No overall control
Within the context of local councils of the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control refers to a situation in which no single party achieves a majority of seats and is analogous to a hung parliament...
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- Liberal Democrat 23
- LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
15 - ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
11
Campaign
Before the election the council had 19 LabourLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, 19 Liberal Democrat and 11 Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s, with Labour holding power as a minority administration. 18 seats were being elected, with 2 seats contested in Boulsworth after the death of councillor Jo Belbin. In total 63 candidates stood, with only one sitting councillor, Abdul Jabbar in Brierfield, not standing for re-election. As well as candidates from the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, there were also 3 candidates from the Socialist Alliance
Socialist Alliance (England)
The Socialist Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance in England between 1992 and 2005.In late 2005, a small group reformed with the name "Socialist Alliance", with a mutual affiliation with the larger Alliance for Green Socialism.-Origins:...
, 4 independents
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
and 4 from the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
. This was the first time the British National Party had put up candidates in Pendle.
Issues in the election included the proposed redevelopment of Nelson
Nelson, Lancashire
Nelson is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 28,998 in 2001. It lies 4 miles north of Burnley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal....
town centre, plans for an A56
A56 road
The A56 is a road in England which extends between the city of Chester in Cheshire and the village of Broughton in North Yorkshire. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections, and traverses environments as diverse as the dense urban sprawl of inner city Manchester and the...
bypass and the proposed demolition of houses in Nelson West. Other issues as usual were council tax
Council tax
Council Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
levels, litter, street safety and crime, while the national issue of the Iraq War was expected to influence voters.
Election result
The results saw the Liberal Democrats become the largest party on the council, but without a majority, after making four gains from Labour. This took the Liberal Democrats to 23 seats, compared to 15 for Labour and 11 Conservatives, after the Liberal Democrats nearly won as many votes as the Conservative and Labour parties combined. The Labour leader of the council, Azhar Ali, was among the councillors to lose their seats in the election, which saw the party fail to win any seats. Ali blamed the defeats both on a backlash against the Iraq War and on an alleged "dirty tricks campaign". Meanwhile the British National Party failed to win any seats, but did poll a significant number of votes.Following the election many of the Liberal Democrat councillors boycotted the swearing in of a new mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in protest against the way he was elected instead of the previous years deputy mayor. Liberal Democrat Alan Davies became the new leader of the council, but his party initially refused to take places on the executive committee. This was because the council had voted for a 4-3-3 party split on the committee rather than the 5-3-2 split the Liberal Democrats had proposed. Meanwhile the Labour group chose Frank Clifford to become the new leader of their group.