Southampton Council election, 2003
Encyclopedia
The 2003 Southampton Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Southampton
Unitary
Council in Hampshire
, 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
and Millbrook
from Liberal party
councillor
s who had previously left the Liberal Democrats, and the seat of Woolston
from Labour
. This was the first time the Liberal Democrats, or their predecessors the Liberal Party
, had been the largest party in Southampton for over 90 years.
Labour were reduced to 16 seats after losing another seat in Sholing
to the Conservatives
who went up to 12 seats. The Liberal party defeats reduced them to only 1 seat, while 1 independent
who was not up for re-election remained. Overall turnout
was up by only 0.8% from 2002 at 29%, despite all voters having the option to vote by post
.
Following the election, discussions were held in order to decide who would be to take control of the council, with Labour trying to remain in control and the Liberal Democrats to take over. The Conservatives refused to support either of the other groups, meaning that the Liberal and independent councillors held the balance, as Labour's Parvin Damani had a potential casting vote
as mayor. However the full council meeting on the 21 May saw Liberal Democrat Adrian Vinson become council leader by 1 vote, after gaining the support of independent and formerly Labour councillor Paul Russell, after Vinson had earlier offered Russell a cabinet
post.
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
Unitary
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
Council in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, 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 18
- 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...
16 - 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...
12 - LiberalLiberal Party (UK, 1989)The Liberal Party is a United Kingdom political party. It was formed in 1989 by a group of individuals within the original Liberal Party who felt that the merger of the party with the Social Democratic Party, to form the Liberal Democrats, had ended the spirit of the Liberal Party, claiming that...
1 - IndependentIndependent (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...
1
Election result
The results saw the Liberal Democrats become the largest party on the council with 18 seats, but without a majority, after making 3 gains. They gained the seats of CoxfordCoxford, Southampton
Coxford is an Electoral Ward in the Unitary Authority of Southampton, England. It had a population of 14,232 as of the 2001 census....
and Millbrook
Millbrook, Southampton
Millbrook is a suburb and former civil parish of Southampton. As the area developed, several settlements grew within the parish, some of them becoming parishes in their own right, thus reducing the extent of the Millbrook parish. As well as the Millbrook of today, the original Millbrook parish...
from Liberal party
Liberal Party (UK, 1989)
The Liberal Party is a United Kingdom political party. It was formed in 1989 by a group of individuals within the original Liberal Party who felt that the merger of the party with the Social Democratic Party, to form the Liberal Democrats, had ended the spirit of the Liberal Party, claiming that...
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 who had previously left the Liberal Democrats, and the seat of Woolston
Woolston, Southampton
Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Hampshire, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston.The area is rich in maritime and aviation history...
from Labour
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...
. This was the first time the Liberal Democrats, or their predecessors the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
, had been the largest party in Southampton for over 90 years.
Labour were reduced to 16 seats after losing another seat in Sholing
Sholing
Sholing, previously Scholing, is a district on the eastern side of the city of Southampton in southern England. It is located between the districts of Bitterne, Thornhill and Woolston....
to the 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...
who went up to 12 seats. The Liberal party defeats reduced them to only 1 seat, while 1 independent
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...
who was not up for re-election remained. Overall 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...
was up by only 0.8% from 2002 at 29%, despite all voters having the option to vote by post
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....
.
Following the election, discussions were held in order to decide who would be to take control of the council, with Labour trying to remain in control and the Liberal Democrats to take over. The Conservatives refused to support either of the other groups, meaning that the Liberal and independent councillors held the balance, as Labour's Parvin Damani had a potential casting vote
Casting vote
A casting vote is a vote given to the presiding officer of a council or legislative body to resolve a deadlock and which can be exercised only when such a deadlock exists...
as mayor. However the full council meeting on the 21 May saw Liberal Democrat Adrian Vinson become council leader by 1 vote, after gaining the support of independent and formerly Labour councillor Paul Russell, after Vinson had earlier offered Russell a cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
post.