2003 Bristol City Council election

2003 Bristol City Council election
← 2002 1 May 2003 2005 →
← 1999 2007 →
24 of 70 seats (one third) to Bristol City Council; 36 seats needed for a majority
Registered	196,221
Turnout	34.19%
	2003 local election results in Bristol
Council Leader before election before election; Diane Bunyan; Labour	Council Leader after election ; Barbara Janke; Liberal Democrats

The 2003 Bristol City Council election took place on 1 May 2003, on the same day as other local elections in the UK. The Labour Party made a number of losses, mainly to the Liberal Democrats, and lost overall control of the council.^[3]^[4]

Loses included Council leader Diane Bunyan, who lost her Windmill Hill seat to the Liberal Democrats.^[5] This year also saw elections contested by the new Bristolian Party, founded by the local 'scandal sheet' The Bristolian, though they failed to win any seats.^[6]

Previous composition

2001 election

Party	Seats
	Labour	36
	Liberal Democrats	24
	Conservative	10
Total	70

Changes between elections

Summary

Election result

2003 Bristol City Council election
Party	Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	24	13	4	0	4	54.2	34.2	22,901	5.7
	Labour	24	8	0	5	5	33.3	28.3	18,942	11.6
	Conservative	24	3	1	0	1	12.5	23.0	15,414	0.9
	Green	23	0				0.0	6.9	4,631	0.0
	Bristolian	11	0				0.0	3.8	2,560	N/a
	BNP	4	0				0.0	1.7	1,128	N/a
	Independent	2	0				0.0	0.9	623	N/a
	Socialist Alliance	4	0				0.0	0.8	513	N/a
	Socialist Labour	2	0				0.0	0.2	109	0.9
	Socialist	1	0				0.0	0.1	60	1.2
Total	119	24			66,881

Popular vote

Liberal Democrats		34.24%
Labour		28.32%
Conservative		23.05%
Green		6.92%
Bristolian		3.83%
Other		3.64%

Council seats

Liberal Democrats		54.17%
Labour		33.33%
Conservative		12.50%

Bristol City Council composition following the 2003 election

Election of Group Leaders

Peter Hammond (Southmead) was elected leader of the Labour Group, Barbara Janke (Clifton) was re-elected leader of the Liberal Democrats group and Peter Abraham (Stoke Bishop) was re-elected leader of the Conservative group.

Government Formation

Following the loss of their majority,^[7] new labour leader Peter Hammond announced the party's intention to leave government, saying "Following a second year of failing to win the popular vote and finding ourselves without a majority on the council we feel the only principled and legitimate decision is to pass control to the other two parties. We feel this is a reflection of the desire of the voters of Bristol to have a change."^[8] However both opposition parties refused to take over unless Labour remained part of the government, with the Lib Dems proposing for an interim cabinet made up of representatives from all three parties and the Conservative suggesting a 5-member interim cabinet headed by their leader Peter Abraham. After failed meetings on 13 & 20 May and 5 June, on 9 June, following a fourth failed meeting the labour caretaker executive resigned.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]

However, by 17 June, Labour had backed down and agreed to the Lib Dem proposal of a cabinet of three Lib Dems, three Labour and two Conservative councillors, led by their leader Barbara Janke.^[13]^[14]

Ward results

Swings are compared to the 1999 election when these seats were last contested.

Ashley

Ashley
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Shirley Marshall	1,313	41.62
	Labour	Helga Benson *	746	23.65
	Bristolian	Darryl Wandless	343	10.87	N/a
	Green	David Simpson	335	10.62
	Socialist Alliance	Anne Lemon	202	6.40
	Conservative	Richard Manns	151	4.79
	Socialist Labour	Bernard Kennedy	65	2.06
Majority	567	17.97
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour	Swing

Bedminster

Bedminster
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Crispin *	1,001	31.70
	Independent	Stewart Parkman	508	16.09	N/a
	Conservative	Christian Simpson	436	13.81
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Elvin	386	12.22
	Bristolian	Julie Palmer	319	10.10	N/a
	BNP	Clive Courtney	310	9.82	N/a
	Green	Peter Andrews	198	6.27
Majority	493	15.61
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Labour hold	Swing

Bishopsworth

Bishopsworth
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Eddy *	2,119	63.63
	Labour	Julie Watts	735	22.07
	BNP	David Millard	195	5.86	N/a
	Liberal Democrats	Jean Lemin	190	5.71
	Green	Barrie Lewis	91	2.73
Majority	1,384	41.56
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Conservative hold	Swing

Brislington East

Brislington East
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Begley *	1,165	40.28
	Conservative	Vincent Mora	839	29.01
	Liberal Democrats	Jeffery Exon	448	15.49
	BNP	John Jarvis	293	10.13	N/a
	Green	David Coombes	103	3.56
	Socialist Labour	Brian Corbett	44	1.52
Majority	326	11.27
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Labour hold	Swing

Brislington West

Brislington West
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jackie Norman *	1,573	56.16
	Labour	Terry Cook	611	21.81
	Conservative	Colin Bretherton	442	15.78
	Green	Mary Wood	175	6.25
Majority	962	34.35
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold	Swing

Cabot

Cabot
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Anne White *	981	52.83
	Labour	Brian Mead	290	15.62
	Conservative	Ian Dennis	233	12.55
	Bristolian	Richard Higgs	178	9.59	N/a
	Green	Lela McTernan	175	9.42
Majority	691	37.21
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold	Swing

Clifton

Clifton
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Janke *	1,499	57.19
	Conservative	Ian Millard	538	20.53
	Labour	Andrew Butterly	304	11.60
	Green	Arjuna Krishna-Das	171	6.52
	Bristolian	Bear Hackenbush	109	4.16	N/a
Majority	961	36.66
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold	Swing

Clifton East

Clifton
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Geoffrey Jones *	996	45.07
	Conservative	Stephen O'Keefe	714	32.31
	Labour	Dave Sutton	257	11.63
	Green	John Hills	152	6.88
	Bristolian	Kevin Bainbridge	91	4.12	N/a
Majority	282	12.76
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold	Swing

Cotham

Cotham
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Evelyn Elworthy *	1,257	52.35
	Conservative	Alistair Watson	395	16.45
	Labour	Judith Sluglett	386	16.08
	Green	Geoff Collard	363	15.12
Majority	862	35.90
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold	Swing

Easton

Easton
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Kiely *	1,298	46.21
	Labour	Raja Khalid	603	21.47
	Bristolian	Jane Nicholl	427	15.20	N/a
	Green	Samantha Pullinger	264	9.40
	Conservative	Seva Singh	118	4.20
	Socialist Alliance	Houri Ghamian	99	3.52
Majority	695	24.74
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold	Swing

Eastville

Eastville
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Muriel Cole	1,145	40.35
	Labour	Malcolm Patterson	781	27.52
	Conservative	Jonathan Thorne	498	17.55
	Green	Martin Cottingham	299	10.54
	Independent	Robert Paterson	155	4.05	N/a
Majority	364	12.83
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold	Swing

Filwood

Filwood
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Cooper	1,293	57.16
	Labour	Mary Smith	614	27.14
	Bristolian	Andrew Cocks	167	7.38	N/a
	Conservative	Jonathan Hucker	127	5.61
	Green	Mary Thompson	61	2.70
Majority	679	30.02
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour	Swing

Frome Vale

Frome Vale
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lesley Alexander	1,602	47.03
	Labour	Edmund Bramall	1,175	34.50
	Liberal Democrats	Roland Potts	481	14.12
	Green	Tony Gosling	148	4.35
Majority	427	12.53
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Conservative gain from Labour	Swing

Hartcliffe

Hartcliffe
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mark Brain	996	42.49
	Conservative	Shirley Hodges	894	38.14
	Liberal Democrats	Joyce Cooper	366	15.61
	Green	Stephen Petter	88	3.75
Majority	102	4.35
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Labour hold	Swing

Hengrove

Hengrove
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jos Clark	1,600	51.83
	Conservative	Roy Pepworth	696	22.55
	Labour	Richard Hughes	695	22.51
	Green	Nicholas Thomas	96	3.11
Majority	904	29.28
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold	Swing

Hillfields

Hillfields
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Graham Robertson *	1,057	43.36
	Liberal Democrats	John Hassell	726	29.78
	Conservative	Lindsay Elliott	655	26.87
Majority	331	13.58
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Labour hold	Swing

Knowle

Knowle
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Davies	1,952	59.58
	Labour	Philip Gibby	717	21.89
	Conservative	Jennifer Rogers	315	9.62
	Green	Graham Davey	179	5.46
	Socialist Alliance	Clare Hall	113	3.45
Majority	1,235	37.69
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour	Swing

Lawrence Hill

Lawrence Hill
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Astley *	1,150	46.30
	Labour	Carrie Martin	873	35.14
	Bristolian	Julien Weston	215	8.66	N/a
	Conservative	Guy Dawe	149	6.00
	Green	Michael Crawford	97	3.90
Majority	277	11.16
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold	Swing

Southville

Southville
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Linda Slater	1,294	40.94
	Green	Charles Bolton	923	29.20
	Conservative	Anthony Smith	419	13.26
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Kybert	306	9.68
	Bristolian	Merv Woolford	159	5.03	N/a
	Socialist	Mark Baker	60	1.90
Majority	371	11.74
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Labour hold	Swing

St George East

St George East
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Shovelton *	1,030	38.66
	Conservative	Matthew Denyer	914	34.31
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Draper	469	17.61
	Bristolian	Andrew Way	144	5.41	N/a
	Green	Donald Brown	107	4.02
Majority	116	4.35
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Labour hold	Swing

St George West

St George West
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Deasy *	1,044	44.92
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Williams	525	22.59
	Conservative	Charles Alexander	438	18.85
	Bristolian	John Francom	182	7.83	N/a
	Green	David Mowat	135	5.81
Majority	519	22.33
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Labour hold	Swing

Stockwood

Stockwood
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jack Lopresti *	1,753	51.30
	Labour	Susan Milestone	741	21.69
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Johnston	511	14.95
	BNP	Dianne Carr	330	9.66	N/a
	Green	Royston Gallop	82	2.40
Majority	1,012	29.61
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Conservative hold	Swing

Whitchurch Park

Whitchurch Park
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Helen Holland *	910	35.15
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Doddrell	878	33.90
	Conservative	Kathryn Morris	740	28.57
	Green	Daniella Radice	62	2.39
Majority	32	1.24
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Labour hold	Swing

Windmill Hill

Windmill Hill
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Bailey	1,558	46.42
	Labour	Diane Bunyan *	917	27.32
	Green	Patrick Hulme	327	9.74
	Conservative	Graham Morris	229	6.82
	Bristolian	Roy Norris	226	6.73	N/a
	Socialist Alliance	Sharon Foley	99	2.95
Majority	641	19.10
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour	Swing

References

↑ "Lib Dems Choose New Leader". Bristol Evening Post. 15 May 1999. p. 29. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
↑ "Peter to lead the Tories". Bristol Evening Post. 14 January 1999. p. 5. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
↑ "Bristol City Council Election Results for 1 May 2003". Bristol City Council. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
↑ Colin Rallings; Michael Thrasher. "Bristol City Council Election Results 1995-2011" (PDF). electionscentre.co.uk. The Elections Centre Plymouth University. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
↑ "Council leader loses seat". BBC. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
↑ "Smaller parties bang drum for fishing, hospitals and more people power". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
↑ "Council leader loses seat". BBC News. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
↑ "Labour hands over control". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 3 May 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
↑ "Who will run Bristol council?". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
↑ "Deadlock over city leadership". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 21 May 2003. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
↑ "Council stuck in leadership limbo". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
↑ "Council in turmoil as cabinet quits". The Guardian. Press Association. 10 June 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
↑ "Labour agrees to help run Bristol". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 11 June 2003. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
↑ "Council crisis over as leader appointed". BBC News. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[1] "Lib Dems Choose New Leader". Bristol Evening Post. 15 May 1999. p. 29. Retrieved 30 July 2026.

[2] "Peter to lead the Tories". Bristol Evening Post. 14 January 1999. p. 5. Retrieved 30 July 2026.

[3] "Bristol City Council Election Results for 1 May 2003". Bristol City Council. Retrieved 17 April 2016.

[4] Colin Rallings; Michael Thrasher. "Bristol City Council Election Results 1995-2011" (PDF). electionscentre.co.uk. The Elections Centre Plymouth University. Retrieved 29 July 2026.

[5] "Council leader loses seat". BBC. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 9 March 2020.

[6] "Smaller parties bang drum for fishing, hospitals and more people power". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2016.

[7] "Council leader loses seat". BBC News. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[8] "Labour hands over control". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 3 May 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2026.

[9] "Who will run Bristol council?". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 2 August 2026.

[10] "Deadlock over city leadership". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 21 May 2003. Retrieved 2 August 2026.

[11] "Council stuck in leadership limbo". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 2 August 2026.

[12] "Council in turmoil as cabinet quits". The Guardian. Press Association. 10 June 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2026.

[13] "Labour agrees to help run Bristol". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 11 June 2003. Retrieved 2 August 2026.

[14] "Council crisis over as leader appointed". BBC News. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

v t e (2002 ←) 2003 United Kingdom local elections (→ 2004)
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
Unitary authorities	Bath and North East Somerset Blackburn with Darwen Blackpool Bournemouth Bracknell Forest Brighton & Hove Bristol Darlington Derby East Riding of Yorkshire Halton Hartlepool Herefordshire Kingston upon Hull Leicester Luton Medway Middlesbrough Milton Keynes North East Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire North Somerset Nottingham Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Reading Redcar and Cleveland Rutland Slough South Gloucestershire Southampton Southend-on-Sea Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Swindon Telford and Wrekin Torbay Warrington West Berkshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham York
District councils (England)	Adur Allerdale Alnwick Amber Valley Arun Ashfield Ashford Aylesbury Vale Babergh Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Bedford Berwick-upon-Tweed Blaby Blyth Valley Bolsover Boston Braintree Breckland Brentwood Bridgnorth Broadland Bromsgrove Broxbourne Broxtowe Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Canterbury Caradon Carlisle Carrick Castle Morpeth Castle Point Charnwood Chelmsford Cherwell Chester Chester-le-Street Chesterfield Chichester Chiltern Christchurch Chorley Colchester Congleton Copeland Corby Cotswold Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Dacorum Dartford Daventry Derbyshire Dales Derwentside Dover Durham Easington East Cambridgeshire East Devon East Dorset East Hampshire East Hertfordshire East Lindsey East Northamptonshire East Staffordshire Eastbourne Eastleigh Eden Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Epping Forest Epsom and Ewell Erewash Exeter Fenland Forest Heath Forest of Dean Fylde Gedling Gloucester Gravesham Great Yarmouth Guildford Hambleton Harborough Harlow Harrogate Hart Havant Hertsmere High Peak Hinckley and Bosworth Horsham Huntingdonshire Hyndburn Ipswich Kennet Kerrier Kettering King's Lynn and West Norfolk Lancaster Lewes Lichfield Macclesfield Maidstone Maldon Malvern Hills Mansfield Melton Mendip Mid Bedfordshire Mid Devon Mid Suffolk Mid Sussex Mole Valley New Forest Newark and Sherwood Newcastle-under-Lyme North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Derbyshire North Hertfordshire North Kesteven North Norfolk North Shropshire North Warwickshire North West Leicestershire North Wiltshire Northampton Norwich Nuneaton and Bedworth Oadby and Wigston Oswestry Pendle Penwith Preston Purbeck Redditch Reigate and Banstead Ribble Valley Richmondshire Rochford Rossendale Rother Rugby Runnymede Rushcliffe Rushmoor Salisbury Selby Sevenoaks Shepway Shrewsbury and Atcham South Bedfordshire South Bucks South Cambridgeshire South Derbyshire South Hams South Holland South Kesteven South Lakeland South Norfolk South Northamptonshire South Ribble South Shropshire South Somerset South Staffordshire Spelthorne St Albans St Edmundsbury Staffordshire Moorlands Stevenage Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Suffolk Coastal Surrey Heath Swale Tamworth Tandridge Taunton Deane Teesdale Teignbridge Tendring Test Valley Tewkesbury Thanet Three Rivers Tonbridge and Malling Torridge Tunbridge Wells Uttlesford Vale Royal Wansbeck Warwick Watford Waveney Waverley Wealden Wear Valley Wellingborough Welwyn Hatfield West Devon West Dorset West Lancashire West Lindsey West Oxfordshire West Somerset Weymouth and Portland Winchester Woking Worcester Worthing Wychavon Wycombe Wyre Wyre Forest
Scottish councils	Aberdeen Aberdeenshire Angus Argyll and Bute Clackmannanshire Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Dumfries and Galloway Dundee City East Ayrshire East Dunbartonshire East Lothian East Renfrewshire Edinburgh Falkirk Fife Glasgow Highland Inverclyde Midlothian Moray North Ayrshire North Lanarkshire Orkney Perth and Kinross Renfrewshire Scottish Borders Shetland South Ayrshire South Lanarkshire Stirling West Dunbartonshire West Lothian
National Assembly and Parliament elections	Scotland Wales Northern Ireland

v t e Council elections in Bristol
Bristol City Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 2013 2014 2015 2016 2021 2024
West of England Mayor	2017 2021 2025
Mayor of Bristol	2012 2016 2021 Abolished
Avon County Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 Abolished
See also: Wards Boundary changes