# 2003 Cherwell District Council election

The 2003 Cherwell District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Cherwell District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
Before the election the Conservatives were expected to lose seats after a recent large council tax rise. The results saw the Conservatives keep a majority but suffer a net loss of 3 seats after losing 2 seats each to Labour and the Liberal Democrats. The Labour winners included John Hanna who won by 44 votes after losing in the 2002 election by 8 votes. However the Conservatives did gain a seat in Banbury Grimsbury & Castle from Labour for the first in over 20 years. Meanwhile, the National Front stood a candidate for the first time to Cherwell Council and said that they would stand in all of the Bicester wards in the next election in 2004.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Conservative 34
* Labour 12
* Liberal Democrat 4

## Election result

Cherwell Local Election Result 2003 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 9 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 56.3 | 47.7 | 9,457 | -3.6% |
| Labour | 4 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 25.0 | 25.4 | 5,034 | -6.3% |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 18.8 | 23.8 | 4,719 | +7.8% |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 306 | +1.1% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 155 | +0.2% |
| National Front | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 | 142 | +0.7% |

## Ward results

Ambrosden & Chesterton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Andrew Fulljames | 517 | 73.6 | +8.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ralph Rookwood | 185 | 26.4 | +1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 332 | 47.2 | +7.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 702 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
The Astons & Heyfords :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Makepeace | 718 | 51.2 |
| | Conservative | Terence Miall | 684 | 48.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 34 | 2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,402 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | |
Banbury Easington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Nigel Morris | 870 | 47.9 |
| | Labour | David Bullock | 340 | 18.7 |
| | Independent | Gordon Gerry | 306 | 16.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Daphne Nash | 223 | 12.3 |
| | Green | Michael Cull-Dodd | 79 | 4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 530 | 29.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,818 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Banbury Grimsbury & Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Stephen Back | 704 | 50.7 |
| | Labour | Gordon Ross | 684 | 49.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20 | 1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,388 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | |
Banbury Hardwick :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Nicholas Turner | 504 | 60.4 |
| | Labour | Andrew Coles | 331 | 39.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 173 | 20.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 835 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Banbury Ruscote :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Janet Justice | 676 | 50.9 |
| | Conservative | Keith Strangwood | 652 | 49.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24 | 1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,328 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Bicester East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John Hanna | 542 | 46.6 |
| | Conservative | Anthony Kempton | 498 | 42.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Olatunde Afilaka | 124 | 10.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 44 | 3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,164 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | |
Bicester North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Eamonn Gilmore | 564 | 57.4 |
| | Labour | Wendy Spencer | 273 | 27.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Creed | 146 | 14.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 291 | 29.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 983 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Bicester South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Rose Stratford | 405 | 42.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nicholas Cotter | 387 | 40.7 |
| | Labour | Nicholas Cherry | 159 | 16.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18 | 1.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 951 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Bicester Town :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Diana Edwards | 564 | 52.3 |
| | Labour | John Broad | 341 | 31.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Neil Walton | 173 | 16.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 223 | 20.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,078 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Bicester West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Leslie Sibley | 774 | 43.3 |
| | Conservative | Russell Hurle | 690 | 38.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lorraine Read | 181 | 10.1 |
| | National Front | James Starkey | 142 | 7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 84 | 4.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,787 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | |
Cropredy :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Rosemarie Higham | 704 | 77.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Davis | 204 | 22.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 500 | 55.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 908 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Hook Norton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Derrick Gasson | 597 | 77.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martin Squires | 172 | 22.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 425 | 55.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 769 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Kidlington North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Wyse | 786 | 54.6 |
| | Conservative | Susan Goodgame | 408 | 28.4 |
| | Labour | Catharine Arakelian | 245 | 17.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 378 | 26.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,439 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Kidlington South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John Stansby | 669 | 37.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Devena Rae | 602 | 33.9 |
| | Conservative | Barry Carter | 507 | 28.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 67 | 3.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,778 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Yarnton, Gosford & Water Eaton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Evans | 818 | 55.2 |
| | Conservative | Maurice Billington | 589 | 39.7 |
| | Green | Nicholas Goodwin | 76 | 5.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 229 | 15.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,483 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | |