# 2003 Hart District Council election

The 2003 Hart Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Hart District Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Conservative 22
* Liberal Democrat 10
* Independent 3

## Background

12 seats were to be contested in the 2003 election, but Eversley ward saw Conservative councillor Hugo Eastwood re-elected without opposition. The other 11 seats had the Conservatives defending 6 seats compared to 5 for the Liberal Democrats, with 10 of them having sitting councillors standing for re-election. The only candidates from other parties standing were 4 from the Labour Party and 3 from the Green Party.

## Election result

The results saw the Conservatives retain control of the council after no seats changed parties. There were 2 close results with the Conservatives holding Fleet North by 19 votes over the Liberal Democrats, while the Liberal Democrats held Blackwater and Hawley by 16 votes over the Conservatives. This meant the Conservatives retained 22 seats, compared to 10 for the Liberal Democrats and 3 Independents. Overall turnout in the election was 28.52%.
Following the election, councillor Jan Pearson, quit the Conservative group to sit as an Independent saying she was unhappy about how the group made decisions. Meanwhile, Conservative Lorraine Fullbrook became the new leader of the council after only having been first elected to the council in the 2002 election.
Hart Local Election Result 2003 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58.3 | 51.8 | 6,315 | +6.2% |
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41.7 | 44.0 | 5,358 | +2.4% |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 364 | -0.6% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 144 | +0.8% |

## Ward results
### Blackwater and Hawley

Blackwater and Hawley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Neighbour | 557 | 50.7 | |
| | Conservative | Vivienne Gascoigne | 541 | 49.3 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16 | 1.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,098 | 31.9 | +6.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Church Crookham West

Church Crookham West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Lorraine Fullbrook | 593 | 55.5 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nicola Dommett | 424 | 39.7 | |
| | Green | Nigel Moakes | 52 | 4.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 169 | 15.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,069 | 28.3 | −3.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Eversley

Eversley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Hugo Eastwood | unopposed | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Fleet Courtmoor

Fleet Courtmoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Wallace Vincent | 673 | 59.5 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jeffrey Smith | 458 | 40.5 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 215 | 19.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,131 | 29.9 | −6.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Fleet North

Fleet North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Barrell | 355 | 51.4 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Robinson | 336 | 48.6 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19 | 2.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 691 | 23.6 | −2.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Frogmore and Darby Green

Frogmore and Darby Green :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Viv Street | 601 | 62.1 | |
| | Conservative | Colin Mortimer | 256 | 26.4 | |
| | Labour | John Davies | 111 | 11.5 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 345 | 35.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 968 | 23.3 | −5.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Hartley Wintney

Hartley Wintney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mark Fullbrook | 888 | 75.7 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Whitcroft | 285 | 24.3 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 603 | 51.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,173 | 30.3 | −3.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Hook

Hook :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Andrew Henderson | 955 | 64.7 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Evans | 453 | 30.7 | |
| | Green | Lars Mosesson | 68 | 4.6 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 502 | 34.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,476 | 26.4 | −4.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Odiham

Odiham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Roger Jones | 984 | 76.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anthony Over | 299 | 23.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 685 | 53.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,283 | 37.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Yateley East

Yateley East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Graham Cockarill | 652 | 56.5 | |
| | Conservative | Thomas Schwartz | 404 | 35.0 | |
| | Labour | Sophie Shepherd | 97 | 8.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 248 | 21.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,153 | 28.7 | +2.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Yateley North

Yateley North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Simpson | 775 | 61.1 | |
| | Conservative | James Lawrence | 430 | 33.9 | |
| | Labour | Keith Spendlove | 63 | 5.0 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 345 | 27.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,268 | 33.1 | +9.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Yateley West

Yateley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Myra Billings | 518 | 59.5 | |
| | Conservative | Edward Bromhead | 236 | 27.1 | |
| | Labour | Mary Jenkins | 93 | 10.7 | |
| | Green | Margaret Adhemar | 24 | 2.8 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 282 | 32.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 871 | 22.2 | −1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |