Map of the results of the 2003 St Albans City and District Council election. Liberal Democrats in yellow, Conservatives in blue and Labour in red.
The 2003 St Albans City and District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of St Albans District Council in Hertfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.[1]
After the election, the composition of the council was:
Following the last election in 2002 the Conservatives were the largest party with 21 seats, compared to 20 for the Liberal Democrats, 15 for Labour, 1 independent and 1 seat was vacant.[3] However the Liberal Democrats gained a seat from the Conservatives at a by-election in Verulam,[4] which meant that going into the 2003 election both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats needed to gain 8 seats to win a majority.[5]
Voting trial
The election saw a trial of various voting methods. Voters could choose between e-voting, either by computer or on a touchscreen at a polling booth, voting by phone or by post, or on a traditional ballot paper.[6] The period for voting was also increased to allow voting from the 28 April to the 1 May 2003.[6]
However problems occurred at 15 polling stations where the system did not recognise voters pin numbers,[7] which meant that traditional paper ballots had to be used in those polling stations.[8] The issues meant the election nearly had to be voided, with the count only able to start over 3 hours after polls had closed.[9]
However turnout was up by 5% on the previous election in 2002 at 43%.[10]
Election result
The Liberal Democrats gained 2 seats from Labour to become the largest party on the council with 23 councillors.[9] The Conservatives remained on 21 seats and there was still 1 independent, while the losses for Labour in Ashley and St Peter's wards reduced them to 13 seats.[9]
Following the election the Liberal Democrat group on the council chose Robert Donald as their new leader taking over from Brian Peyton.[11]
A by-election was held in Verulam ward on 5 April 2004 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Pauline Buffham, who was moving abroad.[14] The seat was gained for the Liberal Democrats by Susan Campbell with a majority of 265 votes over the Conservatives.[15]
^Price, Shannon (4 July 2002). "Lib-Dem victory this time around". Hertfordshire County Publications. NewsBank.
^"London: Local election preview". BBC News Online. 4 April 2003. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
^ abMorris, Owen (9 April 2003). "Pupils set to e-vote". Hertfordshire County Publications. NewsBank.
^"Non-voters are the majority". BBC News Online. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
^"A new day for democracy". www.publicservice.co.uk. 21 May 2003. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
^ abcCollins, Paul (2 May 2003). "E-voting glitches hamper city elections". Hertfordshire County Publications. NewsBank.
^"St Albans e-voting trial goes horribly wrong. Almost". The Register. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
^"Lib Dems name new leader". Hertfordshire County Publications. NewsBank. 19 May 2003.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstu"District Council Election Results 1st May 2003". St Albans District and City Council. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
^"By-election date set after councillor quits". Hertfordshire County Publications. NewsBank. 26 February 2004.
^ ab"Verulam Ward By Election Result 5th April 2004". St Albans City and District Council. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.