Redcar and Cleveland Council election, 2003
Encyclopedia
The 2003 Redcar and Cleveland Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Redcar and Cleveland
Unitary
Council in England
. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1999
. The Labour party
lost overall control of the council to no overall control
.
had made changes to the wards
of the council. The changes included renaming Belmont ward to Westworth, and Redcar ward to Zetland, with 18 of the 22 wards having boundary changes.
Before the election Labour ran the council with 31 seats, compared to 14 Conservatives
, 11 Liberal Democrats
and 3 East Cleveland Independents. In total 151 candidates stood for the 59 seats that were being contested, an increase of 9 from the 1999 election.
The election had a trial of all postal voting
to try and increase turnout
, with ballot
s being delivered to voters 2 weeks before the election.
ward was suspended on election night after 2 recounts and completed the following day. Overall turnout at the election was 51.5%, an increase from 37% in 1999.
Labour lost their majority on the council, finishing with 23 seats, 7 short of a majority. Among the Labour councillor
s to lose seats was the leader of the council Dave Walsh in Eston
ward, after he had moved to contest Eston, instead of Loftus
which he had previously been a councillor for.
Following the election Labour chose George Dunning, formerly the deputy leader, as the new leader of the party on the council, defeating Dave McLuckie by 12 votes to 11. Meanwhile the 8 independents joined together, with Steve Kay as their leader, in a East Cleveland, Eston and Marske
Independents group. After negotiations the Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Independent groups formed a coalition to take control of the council from Labour.
One East Cleveland Independent was unopposed at the election.
Redcar and Cleveland
The borough of Redcar & Cleveland is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England consisting of Redcar, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Guisborough, and small towns such as Brotton, Eston, Skelton and Loftus. It had a resident population of 139,132 in 2001, and is part of the Tees...
Unitary
Unitary authorities of England
Unitary authorities of England are areas where a single local authority is responsible for a variety of services for a district that elsewhere are administered separately by two councils...
Council in 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...
. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1999
Redcar and Cleveland Council election, 1999
The 1999 Redcar and Cleveland Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Redcar and Cleveland Unitary Council in England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.-Election result:...
. The Labour party
Labour 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...
lost overall control of the council to 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...
.
Background
Between 1999 and 2003 the Local Government Boundary Commission for EnglandLocal Government Boundary Commission for England
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England a body established to review boundaries of local government areas in England and their electoral arrangements.-History and establishment:...
had made changes to the wards
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
of the council. The changes included renaming Belmont ward to Westworth, and Redcar ward to Zetland, with 18 of the 22 wards having boundary changes.
Before the election Labour ran the council with 31 seats, compared to 14 Conservatives
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...
, 11 Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
and 3 East Cleveland Independents. In total 151 candidates stood for the 59 seats that were being contested, an increase of 9 from the 1999 election.
The election had a trial of all postal voting
Postal voting
Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
to try and increase turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
, with ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
s being delivered to voters 2 weeks before the election.
Election result
The count for BrottonBrotton
Brotton is a village in the parish of Skelton and Brotton, in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately 2.5 miles southeast of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, 16.7 miles east of Middlesbrough and 16.6 miles northwest of Whitby...
ward was suspended on election night after 2 recounts and completed the following day. Overall turnout at the election was 51.5%, an increase from 37% in 1999.
Labour lost their majority on the council, finishing with 23 seats, 7 short of a majority. Among the Labour 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 to lose seats was the leader of the council Dave Walsh in Eston
Eston
Eston is a town within the Unitary Authority of Redcar and Cleveland, England. Within the Middlesbrough agglomeration it falls inside the Greater Eston initiative...
ward, after he had moved to contest Eston, instead of Loftus
Loftus, North Yorkshire
Loftus is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in a region between Saltburn-by-the-Sea and the North York Moors...
which he had previously been a councillor for.
Following the election Labour chose George Dunning, formerly the deputy leader, as the new leader of the party on the council, defeating Dave McLuckie by 12 votes to 11. Meanwhile the 8 independents joined together, with Steve Kay as their leader, in a East Cleveland, Eston and Marske
Marske-by-the-Sea
Marske-by-the-Sea is a village in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England.It is located on the coast, in an area sometimes referred to as East Cleveland, between the seaside resorts of Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea although it is not...
Independents group. After negotiations the Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Independent groups formed a coalition to take control of the council from Labour.
One East Cleveland Independent was unopposed at the election.