Sunderland Council election, 2003
Encyclopedia
The 2003 Sunderland Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Sunderland
Metropolitan Borough
Council in Tyne and Wear
, England
. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour
party stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was
and British National Party
contesting every seat. With the British National Party contesting every seat the issue of asylum seekers was important in the election, with the British National Party saying that Sunderland had seen a "palpable invasion of asylum-seekers". However Labour, who were defending 21 of the 25 seats, said that in the previous 2 years only 1,800 had been temporarily housed in the city of a population of 289,000. During the campaign a number of prominent people from the North East
including the Bishop of Durham Michael Turnbull
and the chairman of Sunderland Football Club
Bob Murray issued a statement calling on voters to reject the British National Party.
Labour defended their record pointing to an excellent rating in government league tables, having the second lowest council tax
in the north east despite a 7.7% rise and to regeneration projects. They targeted the Conservative wards of Hendon and St Peters, but the Conservatives attacked the management of the council for being bloated and said they could bring more efficiency. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats contested 13 seats and said there needed to be more opposition councillor
s to challenge Labour.
The election in Sunderland saw a trial of all postal voting
in an attempt to increase turnout
. This helped lead to turnout being over double that seen at the 2002 election
at 46%.
. However Labour did lose 1 seat in Eppleton to an independent
Colin Wakefield who had stood to represent a Residents Against Toxic Site campaign.
The British National Party failed to win any seats, but did win 13,652 votes, 13.75% of the total and came second in 5 wards. The failure of the British National Party was partly attributed to the increase in turnout due to the all-postal voting.
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
Metropolitan Borough
Metropolitan borough
A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...
Council in Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
party stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
63 - ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
9 - Liberal Democrat 2
- IndependentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
1
Campaign
25 seats were contested in the election by a total of 92 candidates, with the Labour party, Conservative partyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
contesting every seat. With the British National Party contesting every seat the issue of asylum seekers was important in the election, with the British National Party saying that Sunderland had seen a "palpable invasion of asylum-seekers". However Labour, who were defending 21 of the 25 seats, said that in the previous 2 years only 1,800 had been temporarily housed in the city of a population of 289,000. During the campaign a number of prominent people from the North East
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
including the Bishop of Durham Michael Turnbull
Michael Turnbull
Anthony Michael Arnold Turnbull was the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England from 1994 until 2003.Turnbull was born in Wombwell, South Yorkshire. He was a student at Keble College, Oxford, graduating in 1958. He prepared for ordained ministry at Cranmer Hall and St John's College, University...
and the chairman of Sunderland Football Club
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
Bob Murray issued a statement calling on voters to reject the British National Party.
Labour defended their record pointing to an excellent rating in government league tables, having the second lowest council tax
Council tax
Council Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
in the north east despite a 7.7% rise and to regeneration projects. They targeted the Conservative wards of Hendon and St Peters, but the Conservatives attacked the management of the council for being bloated and said they could bring more efficiency. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats contested 13 seats and said there needed to be more opposition councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s to challenge Labour.
The election in Sunderland saw a trial of all postal voting
Postal voting
Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
in an attempt to increase turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
. This helped lead to turnout being over double that seen at the 2002 election
Sunderland Council election, 2002
The 2002 Sunderland Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council in Tyne and Wear, England...
at 46%.
Election result
The results saw Labour hold control of the council with 63 seats after gaining 2 seats from the Conservatives who were reduced to 9 seats. One of the 2 gains saw the former leader of council, Bryn Sidaway, win Hendon by 39 votes after a recount, regaining the seat that he had lost in the 1999 electionSunderland Council election, 1999
The 1999 Sunderland Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council in Tyne and Wear, England...
. However Labour did lose 1 seat in Eppleton to an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
Colin Wakefield who had stood to represent a Residents Against Toxic Site campaign.
The British National Party failed to win any seats, but did win 13,652 votes, 13.75% of the total and came second in 5 wards. The failure of the British National Party was partly attributed to the increase in turnout due to the all-postal voting.