2003 North Ayrshire Council election
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1 May 2003
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All 30 seats to North Ayrshire Council 16 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 48.8% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by ward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections to North Ayrshire Council were held on 1 May 2003, the same day as the 31 other local government elections in Scotland and elections to the Scottish Parliament. This was the third election to the council following the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.
The election used the 30 wards created by the Third Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements in 1998. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.
Labour retained control of the council after winning 21 of the 30 seats – down by four from the previous election in 1999. The Conservatives were the second-largest party on the council after doubling their number to four while the Scottish National Party (SNP) won three seats – an increase of one.
Following the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, a unitary authority system of local government comprising 32 council areas was introduced the following year. The 2003 elections would be the third elections since their establishment.[1]
At the previous election in 1999, Labour retained control after taking 25 of the 30 seats. The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Conservatives both won two seats and one independent candidate was elected.[2]
Results
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 21 | 0 | 4 |  4 |
70.0 | 44.0 | 22,591 | 2.9 | |
| Conservative | 4 | 2 | 0 |  2 |
13.3 | 19.1 | 9,804 | 0.9 | |
| SNP | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10.0 | 28.2 | 14,465 | 3.0 | |
| Independent | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
6.7 | 5.5 | 2,837 | 3.6 | |
| Scottish Socialist | 0 | 0 | 0 |  |
0.0 | 2.4 | 1,220 | 1.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0.0 | 0.4 | 199 | New | |
| Firefighters Against Cuts | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0.0 | 0.2 | 132 | New | |
| Socialist Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0.0 | 0.2 | 129 | 1.1 | |
| Total | 30 | 51,377 | |||||||
Ward results
Irvine West
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | David O'Neill | 761 | 43.9 | 1.1 | |
| SNP | C. McKenzie | 485 | 28.0 | 7.7 | |
| Conservative | D. Belding | 227 | 13.1 | 0.5 | |
| Scottish Socialist | J. Gray | 191 | 11.0 | 6.1 | |
| Socialist Labour | R. Cochrane | 70 | 4.0 | | |
| Majority | 276 | 15.9 | 8.8 | ||
| Turnout | 1,562 | 44.9 | 12.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,860 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | 2.7 |
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Arran
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Margaret Currie | 1,105 | 46.3 | 17.1 | |
| Labour | John Sillars | 782 | 32.8 | 9.8 | |
| SNP | James Lees | 266 | 11.2 | 16.9 | |
| Scottish Socialist | Isla Blair | 232 | 9.7 | New | |
| Majority | 323 | 13.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,385 | 61.4 | 4.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,884 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | 13.4 |
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West Kilbride
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Elizabeth McLardy | 1,232 | 52.5 | 10.7 | |
| Conservative | Anne Wilkinson | 654 | 27.9 | 4.8 | |
| Labour | Michael McGuire | 220 | 9.4 | New | |
| SNP | John Willis | 171 | 7.3 | New | |
| Socialist Labour | James McDaid | 59 | 2.5 | New | |
| Majority | 578 | 24.6 | 15.5 | ||
| Turnout | 2,346 | 61.1 | 8.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,838 | ||||
| Independent hold | Swing | 10.7 |
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