2003 Wealden District Council election
The 2003 Wealden District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Wealden District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1999 reducing the number of seats by 3. The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council. Background At the last election in 1999 the Conservatives won 34 seats, compared to 22 for the Liberal Democrats and 2 independents. In November 2003 the Conservatives gained 2 seats from the Liberal Democrats in a by-election in Uckfield, but the Liberal Democrats took one seat back in the same ward in a June 2002 by-election. The Liberal Democrats also lost seats after 2 Hailsham councillors, Nick and Madeline Ellwood, were expelled from the party, and a further 2, John Glover and Ian Haffenden, resigned from the party in protest. The 4 councillors who resigned formed a Wealden Independents party, while the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, Allan Thurley, stepped down over the expulsions and was succeeded by Eddie Rice. A total of 133 candidates stood for the 55 seats in 35 wards being contested, after boundary changes reduced the