“2003 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The 2003 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England.

One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.^[1]

Campaign

Before the election the Conservatives ran the council with 28 seats, compared to 13 for Labour and 10 for the Liberal Democrats, with 17 seats being contested in the election.^[2] The election came after a by-election in Shirley West ward in March 2003, which saw the Liberal Democrats gain the seat on a swing of 26%,^[2]^[3] making that ward a key seat in the election.^[4]

Issues in the election included broad opposition to windfall development, while Labour campaigned on a north-south divide they said was evident in the council.^[2] Proposals for the expansion of Birmingham Airport divided the parties, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats opposing expansion, while almost all Labour councillors supported it.^[4] A recent increase in council tax of 11% was another issue in the election, with the ruling Conservative group blaming the increase on the national Labour government due to a change in the grant,^[4] but the Labour Local Government Minister Nick Raynsford said the increase was double that of other local Labour controlled councils.^[5]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives keep a 5-seat majority on the council.^[6] The Conservatives gained one seat from the Liberal Democrats in Packwood ward, but lost another one back to the Liberal Democrats in Shirley West.^[7]

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections :^[9]

Party

Previous council

New council

Conservatives

Labour

Liberal Democrat

Total

Working majority

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Ward results

References

1. ^{{cite web| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/vote2003/locals/html/243.stm | title = Local elections | accessdate = 2010-12-12 | publisher = BBC News Online}}
2. ^¹²{{cite news | first = Anna | last = Watts | title = Solihull council nominations | publisher = Birmingham Mail | page = 13 | date = 2003-04-08 }}
3. ^{{cite news | title = Birmingham Elections: Conservatives view poll as start of gradual march back to power | publisher = Birmingham Post | page = 4 | date = 2003-04-15 }}
4. ^¹²{{cite news | first = Neil | last = Connor | title = Election 2003: Airport controversy acting as runway for election take-off ; In the run-up to the local council elections on May 1, The Birmingham Post will be looking at some of the region's key election battlegrounds. Neil Connor puts Solihull under the spotlight | publisher = Birmingham Post | page = 4 | date = 2003-04-24 }}
5. ^{{cite news | first = Jonathan | last = Walker | title = Labour and Tories cross swords as battle for Midlands begins | publisher = Birmingham Post | page = 1 | date = 2003-04-30 }}
6. ^{{cite news | title = Local elections 2003: Still true blue!; Solihull Tories maintain control after early blow | publisher = Birmingham Mail | page = 1 | date = 2003-05-02 }}
7. ^{{cite news | title = Elections 2003: Early scare but Tories stand fast; Solihull | publisher = Birmingham Mail | page = 14 | date = 2003-05-02 }}
8. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷{{cite web | url = http://www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/Election_Results_2003.pdf | title = Borough Council election | accessdate = 2010-12-12 | publisher = Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110516124613/http://www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/Election_Results_2003.pdf | archive-date = 16 May 2011 | dead-url = yes | df = dmy-all }}
9. ^{{cite news | title = Tories stay in control | publisher = Coventry Evening Telegraph | page = 5 | date = 2003-05-03 }}