# 2003 Hertsmere Borough Council election

The 2003 Hertsmere Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Hertsmere Borough 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 25
* Labour 8
* Liberal Democrat 6

## Background

Before the Conservatives ran the council with 25 seats, compared to 9 for Labour and 5 Liberal Democrats. A total of 38 candidates contested the 13 seats that were up for election. Both the Conservative and Labour parties stood in all 13 seats, while there were also 10 Liberal Democrats, 1 Green Party and 1 Socialist Labour Party candidates.

## Election result

The Conservatives maintained an 8-seat majority with 25 councillors, Labour dropped 1 to 8 seats, while the Liberal Democrats gained 1 to 6 seats. The Conservatives gained a seat in Borehamwood Hillside by 98 votes, with Jean Heywood reclaiming a seat on the council after having lost her seat in Borehamwood Cowley Hill in 2002 standing as an independent. However the Liberal Democrats took a seat from the Conservatives in Bushey St James.
The count saw angry words from the Labour group leader Frank Ward, who had held his seat in Borehamwood Kenilworth by just 28 votes. Ward said "Conservative councillors have no place in Borehamwood" and "it was a campaign that was marred by vilification, smears and lies".
Hertsmere Local Election Result 2003 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 61.5 | 52.8 | 8,887 | +8.0% |
| Labour | 3 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 23.1 | 25.4 | 4,273 | -3.0% |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 15.4 | 20.5 | 3,458 | -1.5% |
| Socialist Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 | 184 | +0.7% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 41 | -0.3% |

## Ward results

Aldenham East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Nigel Gilmore | 925 | 79.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Silverman | 122 | 10.4 |
| | Labour | Raymond Edge | 121 | 10.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 803 | 68.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,168 | 34.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Aldenham West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Neil Payne | 728 | 69.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Bird | 165 | 15.6 |
| | Labour | Sandra Huff | 162 | 15.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 563 | 53.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,055 | 31.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Borehamwood Brookmeadow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Leon Reefe | 596 | 56.2 | −4.0 |
| | Conservative | David McKee | 338 | 31.9 | −7.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Audrey McCracken | 126 | 11.9 | +11.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 258 | 24.3 | +3.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,060 | 23.0 | −1.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Borehamwood Cowley Hill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Craig Adams | 826 | 66.9 | +14.0 |
| | Conservative | Simon Rubner | 224 | 18.2 | +18.2 |
| | Socialist Labour | James Dry | 184 | 14.9 | +9.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 602 | 48.8 | +37.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,234 | 21.7 | −8.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Borehamwood Hillside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jean Heywood | 838 | 47.9 | −3.9 |
| | Labour | Catherine Ward | 743 | 42.5 | −5.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Patrick Forsyth | 169 | 9.7 | +9.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 95 | 5.4 | +1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,750 | 33.5 | −1.7 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Borehamwood Kenilworth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frank Ward | 349 | 41.3 | |
| | Conservative | Hannah David | 321 | 38.0 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Zissis Kakoulakis | 175 | 20.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 28 | 3.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 845 | 20.6 | −1.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Bushey Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Michael O'Brien | 865 | 72.4 | +4.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Roger Kutchinski | 207 | 17.3 | −4.7 |
| | Labour | Dinah Hoeksma | 122 | 10.2 | −0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 658 | 55.1 | +9.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,194 | 23.0 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Bushey North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Colne | 899 | 68.8 |
| | Conservative | Koyes Choudhury | 276 | 21.1 |
| | Labour | Christine Sowerbutts | 90 | 6.9 |
| | Green | Ramiro Alvarado-Vega | 41 | 3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 623 | 47.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,306 | 28.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Bushey St James :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anita Gamble | 966 | 53.2 | −5.9 |
| | Conservative | Audrey Attwood | 717 | 39.5 | +5.8 |
| | Labour | James Sowerbutts | 134 | 7.4 | +0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 249 | 13.7 | −11.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,817 | 33.0 | −7.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Elstree :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Morris Bright | 662 | 71.6 | +3.0 |
| | Labour | Paula Gregory | 252 | 28.4 | +8.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 400 | 43.3 | −5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 924 | 26.1 | −4.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Potters Bar Furzefield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ronald Morris | 734 | 58.1 | +3.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Colin Dean | 280 | 22.2 | +3.5 |
| | Labour | James Fisher | 250 | 19.8 | −6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 454 | 35.9 | +7.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,264 | 26.0 | −6.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Potters Bar Oakmere :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Calcutt | 953 | 68.9 | +6.8 |
| | Labour | Ann Harrison | 431 | 31.1 | −6.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 522 | 37.7 | +13.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,384 | 24.9 | −7.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Potters Bar Parkfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Christopher Dawes | 1,306 | 70.5 | +0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Bonner | 349 | 18.8 | +6.5 |
| | Labour | Elizabeth Savage | 197 | 10.6 | −7.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 957 | 51.7 | −0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,852 | 32.0 | −5.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |