The main points of the 2003 elections for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and English local authorities are as follows:
Headlines The Tories gain 565 council seats and win control of a substantial number of councils. Tory MP Crispin Blunt grabs headlines by quitting his party's frontbench and calling for leadership challenge against Iain Duncan Smith Labour loses 839 seats and loses control of Birmingham for the first time in 20 years plus a raft of other councils The Lib Dems get an estimated 30% share of the vote in England - their best to date In Wales Labour wins half the 60 seats to get a working majority - but is likely to miss out on an overall majority in the assembly. Labour wins 30 seats, Plaid Cymru 12, Conservatives 11, Liberal Democrats six, and one independent Labour is the biggest party in the Scottish Parliament but without gaining a majority The winners in Scotland are the Greens with six gains and the Scottish Socialists with four Labour have 50 seats, the SNP 24, the Liberal Democrats 16, the Tories 16, the Greens seven, five seats were held by the Scottish Socialists and four by independents. Scottish National Party expected to lose eight seats as its share of the vote falls. Retired GP Jean Turner, campaigning on a platform of saving Stobhill hospital, wins Strathkelvin and Bearsden from Labour In England, the BNP wins seven seats to become second largest in Burnley but party leader Nick Griffin fails to win a seat in Oldham Wards with all-postal ballots see a significantly higher turnout Other highlights from Scotland Turnout was 49% Labour sees off a SNP challenge in Glasgow Govan Tory leader David McLetchie topples former Enterprise Minister Iain Gray in Edinburgh pentlands The Conservatives increased their number of first-past-the post seats from one to three. Tory Alex Fergusson defeats sitting Scottish National Party MSP Alasdair Morgan with a majority of 99 There were mixed results for the SNP, which failed to take key seats in Dundee West and Glasgow Govan but they captured Ochil, Dundee East and Aberdeen North. In Edinburgh South Liberal Democrat Mike Pringle secured a majority of 158 over Labour former finance minister Angus Mackay In Falkirk West, former Labour politician turned independent Dennis Canavan held onto the seat with a majority of 10,000 over the Scottish National Party. Other highlights from Wales Turnout is just 38% Labour won four seats from Plaid Cymru including Rhondda, in South Wales. Labour wins one of those seats, Islwyn Llanelli, with a majority of just 21. Labour's Denise Idris-Jones won the crucial north Wales seat of Conwy with a majority of 72 after three recounts. Plaid won 12 seats - down five on the last assembly The Tories won 11 seats The Liberal Democrats took six seats, the same as last time round Former Labour assembly member John Marek was returned as an independent for Wrexham Other highlights from England Labour loses Birmingham for the first time since 1983. It goes to no overall control Labour loses Coventry for the first time in 25 years Good news on an otherwise disappointing night when they regained power in Sheffield Conservatives lose to no overall control: Carlisle, Horsham, Malvern Hills, Gedling, and North Somerset Labour lose to no overall control: Allerdale, Ashfield, Birmingham, Bolton, Redcar and Cleveland, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Broxtowe, Cannock Chase, Coventry, Dartford, Derby, Dudley, Exeter, Forest of Dean, High Peak, Luton, North East Lincolnshire, North Warwickshire, Northampton, Rochdale, Rossendale, Trafford, Vale Royal Liberal Democrat lose to no overall control: Berwick-upon-Tweed, Brentwood, East Cambridgeshire, South Gloucestershire, West Wiltshire, Worthing, West Berkshire Independents lose to no overall control: Bridgnorth, East Lindsey and North Shropshire Tory gains from no overall control: Ashford, Aylesbury Vale, Basildon, Chelmsford, Tynedale, Congleton, Cotswold, Dacorum, Fylde, Guildford, Hinckley & Bosworth, King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Medway, Melton, Mendip, Mid Suffolk, Poole, Ribble Valley, Salisbury, Scarborough, Selby, South Holland, South Kesteven, South Oxfordshire, St Edmundsbury, Stafford, Stratford-on-Avon, Taunton Deane, Tonbridge & Malling, West Dorset and Worcester Tory gains from Labour: Castle Point, East Staffordshire, Erewash, Hyndburn, Kettering, Thanet and Wellingborough Tory gain from an Independent: Rutland Labour gains from no overall control: Barrow-in-Furness, Oldham and Sheffield Labour gain from Conservative: Plymouth Lib Dem gain from no overall control: Bournemouth, North Norfolk, Watford, Windsor & Maidenhead, Royal York, Uttlesford Lib Dem gain from Conservative: Shepway, Torbay and Waverley Lib Dem gain from Labour: Chesterfield and Durham City Independents gain Torridge from no overall control Independents gain Mansfield from Labour
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