# 2003 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election

The 2003 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Welwyn Hatfield District Council in Hertfordshire, 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 27
* Labour 20
* Vacant 1

## Election result

The results saw the Conservatives increase their majority on the council after making one gain from Labour in Hatfield West. No other seats changed parties, with the Conservatives holding Sherrards by 123 votes over Labour. The closest result came in Handside ward where the Conservatives held the seat by 20 votes over the Liberal Democrats, meaning that the Liberal Democrats remained without any seats on the council. Overall turnout in the election was 33.1%, down by 2% from the 2002 election, with a quarter of the votes cast being postal votes.
Welwyn Hatfield Local Election Result 2003 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 9 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 56.3 | 45.1 | 9,591 | -3.1% |
| Labour | 7 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 43.8 | 32.3 | 6,858 | -2.0% |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.6 | 4,794 | +5.1% |

## Ward results

Brookmans Park & Little Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen Boulton | 1,203 | 77.2 | +1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Catherine Edwards | 211 | 13.5 | +0.7 |
| | Labour | Margaret White | 145 | 9.3 | −2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 992 | 63.7 | +0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,559 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Haldens :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Mike Larkins | 652 | 51.5 | −3.1 |
| | Conservative | Stuart Jackson | 345 | 27.3 | −1.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Bassett | 269 | 21.2 | +5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 307 | 24.2 | −1.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,266 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Handside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Dennis Lewis | 1,022 | 44.4 | +2.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Daniel Cooke | 1,002 | 43.5 | +3.0 |
| | Labour | Lynn Chesterman | 279 | 12.1 | −5.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20 | 0.9 | −0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,303 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Hatfield Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Maureen Cook | 530 | 44.3 | +1.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hazel Laming | 420 | 35.1 | −0.8 |
| | Conservative | Roger Roberts | 247 | 20.6 | −1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 110 | 9.2 | +2.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,197 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Hatfield East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Michael Long | 782 | 55.2 | −2.9 |
| | Labour | Samuel Smith | 352 | 24.9 | −0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lis Meyland-Smith | 282 | 19.9 | +3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 430 | 30.3 | −2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,416 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Hatfield South (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Alfred Appleby | 377 |
| | Labour | Linda Mendez | 376 |
| | Conservative | Ronald Smith | 175 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Peffer | 164 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Griffiths | 111 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sheila Archer | 108 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,311 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing |
Hatfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Hawkins | 644 | 47.0 | −3.5 |
| | Labour | Roy Moss | 509 | 37.2 | −0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Archer | 217 | 15.8 | +4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 135 | 9.8 | −3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,370 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Hollybush :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alan Johnson | 623 | 55.8 | −4.4 |
| | Conservative | Yvonne Stanbury | 280 | 25.1 | −2.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Janet Gammage | 213 | 19.1 | +6.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 343 | 30.7 | −2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,116 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Howlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jill Weston | 627 | 51.8 | −1.6 |
| | Conservative | Marian Pile | 364 | 30.1 | −1.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Arch | 220 | 18.2 | +3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 263 | 21.7 | +0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,211 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Northaw :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Mansfield | 990 | 80.3 | +0.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nigel Bain | 148 | 12.0 | +1.2 |
| | Labour | Sheila Jones | 95 | 7.7 | −1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 842 | 68.3 | −0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,233 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Panshanger :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Darren Bennett | 615 | 42.4 | −8.5 |
| | Labour | Christopher Cory | 453 | 31.3 | +1.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ted Naseby | 381 | 26.3 | +6.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 162 | 11.1 | −10.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,449 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Peartree :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Stephen Roberts | 491 | 47.7 | −11.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Wanda Armstrong-Bridges | 362 | 35.1 | +16.7 |
| | Conservative | David Perkins | 177 | 17.2 | −5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 129 | 12.6 | −24.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,030 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Sherrards :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Burnapp | 984 | 45.6 | −1.4 |
| | Labour | Anthony Crump | 861 | 39.9 | −2.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Louise Lotz | 311 | 14.4 | +3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 123 | 5.7 | +1.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,156 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Welwyn North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Julie Cragg | 664 | 62.2 | −1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Bartlett | 230 | 21.6 | +4.1 |
| | Labour | Jan Burnell | 173 | 16.2 | −2.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 434 | 40.6 | −3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,067 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Welwyn South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Richard Smith | 935 | 60.0 | −0.8 |
| | Labour | Julia Henderson | 315 | 20.2 | −6.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ian Skidmore | 309 | 19.8 | +7.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 620 | 39.8 | +5.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,559 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |