2003 South Oxfordshire District Council election

The 2003 South Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of South Oxfordshire District Council, a non-metropolitan district council in Oxfordshire, England. This was part of the wider 2003 UK local elections. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1999 reducing the number of seats by 2. The Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives take control from the Liberal Democrat and Labour coalition that had run the council before the election. This was the first time the Conservatives had controlled the council since 1995 and came after they made 5 gains to hold 27 of the 48 seats on the council. The Liberal Democrats lost eight seats, including the council chairman John Griffin in Crowmarsh ward and the council leader Jan Morgan. Meanwhile, Labour also lost three seats including the cabinet member for finance Nick Hards. However the Henley Residents Group gained seats, picking up all 4 seats for Henley. Overall turnout in the election was 35.13%, after voting hours had been extended in an attempt to increase turnout.

South Oxfordshire Local Election Result 2003

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	27			+5	56.3	47.1	27,821
	Liberal Democrats	9			-8	18.8	29.3	17,291
	Labour	4			-3	8.3	11.1	6,563
	Independent	4			0	8.3	5.9	3,500
	Henley Residents Group	4			+4	8.3	5.1	3,029
	Green	0			0	0	1.5	874

Ward results

Aston Rowant

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dorothy Brown	530	74.5
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Savory	105	14.8
	Labour	Timothy Savory	76	10.7
Majority			425	59.7
Turnout			711	38.1

Benson (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Cooper	862
	Conservative	Felix Bloomfield	791
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Booker	787
	Conservative	Patrick Loughran	554
Turnout			2,994	38.4

Berinsfield (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Cotton	825
	Conservative	Philip Cross	764
	Liberal Democrats	Marc Hiles	583
	Liberal Democrats	Carole Heath-Whyte	490
	Labour	Kenneth Hall	325
	Labour	Michael Hall	229
Turnout			3,216	39.1

Brightwell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mary Greene	521	56.9
	Liberal Democrats	Jane Fishwick	395	43.1
Majority			126	13.8
Turnout			916	46.0

Chalgrove

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Turner	510	60.6
	Conservative	Ann Pritchard	284	33.8
	Labour	Paul Collins	47	5.6
Majority			226	26.8
Turnout			841	38.4

Chiltern Woods

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julian Thomson	438	67.4
	Liberal Democrats	Felicity Chancellor	212	32.6
Majority			226	34.8
Turnout			650	34.5

Chinnor (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Linda Cameron	688
	Independent	Patricia Haywood	523
	Conservative	David Heaven	513
	Independent	Martin Wright	509
	Independent	Eric Stanley	227
	Labour	Julie Marfleet	180
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Cockayne	151
Turnout			2,791	32.5

Cholsey and Wallingford South (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patricia Dawe	727
	Conservative	Andrea Leadsom	682
	Liberal Democrats	Janet Morgan	671
	Liberal Democrats	Josephine Clyde	628
Turnout			2,708	35.2

Crowmarsh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Jennings	402	53.7
	Liberal Democrats	John Griffin	346	46.3
Majority			56	7.4
Turnout			748	41.7

Didcot All Saints (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Flood	552
	Independent	Sara Davidson	438
	Conservative	Alan Thompson	419
	Labour	Mark Fysh	391
	Labour	Shirley Brown	381
	Liberal Democrats	Emma Beszant	204
Turnout			2,385	31.9

Didcot Ladygrove (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Service	509
	Conservative	Colin Daukes	498
	Conservative	Marcus Harris	478
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Parry	473
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Jones	468
	Labour	Nicholas Hards	435
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Worgan	420
	Labour	Philippa Giaretta	409
	Labour	William Atkinson	402
Turnout			4,092	26.1

Didcot Northbourne (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael McNulty	416
	Labour	David Giaretta	388
	Conservative	Roger Jeffreys	265
	Conservative	Roger Hawlor	261
	Liberal Democrats	Miranda Jennings	172
Turnout			1,502	21.0

Didcot Park (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Davies	665
	Labour	Eleanor Hards	630
	Conservative	Marie Flood	480
	Conservative	Lyndon Elias	442
	Liberal Democrats	Lee Thacker	197
	Green	David Brooks-Saxl	169
Turnout			2,583	30.9

Forest Hill and Holton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Purse	585	66.5
	Conservative	John Walsh	295	33.5
Majority			290	33.0
Turnout			880	37.8

Garsington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Tomline	471	60.4
	Conservative	Michael Belcher	309	39.6
Majority			162	20.8
Turnout			780	35.7

Goring (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elizabeth Ducker	1,222
	Conservative	Pearl Slatter	1,117
	Liberal Democrats	Alice Harrison	640
	Liberal Democrats	Caroline Wardle	590
	Green	James Norman	309
Turnout			3,878	45.3

Great Milton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Nowell-Smith	419	46.5
	Conservative	Frank Nixey	333	36.9
	Labour	Malcolm Newdick	92	10.2
	Green	Alistair Morris	58	6.4
Majority			86	9.6
Turnout			902	44.2

Hagbourne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Greene	662	68.4
	Liberal Democrats	Jancis Smith	203	21.0
	Labour	Jeremy Goff	103	10.6
Majority			459	47.4
Turnout			968	46.6

Henley North (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Henley Residents Group	Kenneth Arlett	779
	Henley Residents Group	Gillian Zakss	710
	Conservative	Nigel Spencer-Jones	621
	Conservative	Bruce Harrison	563
	Green	Aidan Carlisle	142
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Pinfield	142
Turnout			2,957	35.1

Henley South (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Henley Residents Group	Terry Buckett	895
	Henley Residents Group	Barry Wood	645
	Conservative	Alan Rooke	439
	Conservative	Anthony Lane	417
	Liberal Democrats	Noel Snell	339
	Green	Susan Miles	145
Turnout			2,880	35.2

Sandford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Stimson	275	45.8
	Conservative	Rolien Tremain	208	34.7
	Labour	William Atkinson	66	11.0
	Green	David Scott	51	8.5
Majority			67	11.1
Turnout			600	28.8

Shiplake (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Rudge	973
	Conservative	Malcolm Leonard	945
	Liberal Democrats	Emily Cooper	339
	Liberal Democrats	David Curl	287
Turnout			2,544	35.6

Sonning Common (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Donald Naish	983
	Conservative	Henry Kemp	908
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Martyn-Johns	399
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Wardle	335
Turnout			2,625	33.1

Thame North (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Bretherton	526
	Conservative	Patrick Welply	471
	Liberal Democrats	Jeneva Paul	418
	Conservative	Nicholas Carter	416
	Labour	Euan Aitken	222
	Labour	Christopher Chandler	201
Turnout			2,254	27.5

Thame South (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ann Midwinter	825
	Conservative	David Dodds	642
	Labour	Mary Stiles	566
	Conservative	Ana Choudhury	460
Turnout			2,493	33.7

Wallingford North (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Denis Strange	978
	Conservative	Nigel Moor	607
	Liberal Democrats	Norah Laurie	581
	Conservative	John Cohen	363
Turnout			2,529	35.4

Watlington (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Mann	835
	Conservative	David Sloan	803
	Liberal Democrats	Jane Fleming	741
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Snell	617
Turnout			2,996	40.0

Wheatley (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Roger Bell	674
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Gray	638
	Conservative	John Hamer	566
	Conservative	Diana Ludlow	487
	Labour	Matthew Andrews	184
	Labour	Daniel Ferrett	155
Turnout			2,704	33.2

Woodcote

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Quinton	553	58.1
	Liberal Democrats	Robin Peirce	398	41.9
Majority			155	16.2
Turnout			951	49.3