2003 National Assembly for Wales election

The 2003 National Assembly for Wales election was the second general election to the National Assembly for Wales. It was held on 1 May 2003. The election was characterised by a resurgence for the Labour Party, whilst Plaid Cymru saw a reduction in support and the number of Assembly Members they returned. Having won thirty seats, one short of a majority, Labour chose to govern in minority without a coalition partner.^[1]

2003 National Assembly for Wales election

← 1999 1 May 2003 2007 →
All 60 seats to the National Assembly for Wales 31 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	38.2% 7.8%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Rhodri Morgan Ieuan Wyn Jones Nick Bourne Party Labour Plaid Cymru Conservative Leader's seat Cardiff West Ynys Môn Mid and West Wales Last election 28 seats 17 seats 9 seats Seats won 30 12 11 Seat change 2 5 2 Constituency Vote 340,515 180,185 169,832 % and swing 40.0% 2.4% 21.2% 7.2% 19.9% 4.1% Regional Vote 310,658 167,653 162,725 % and swing 36.6% 1.2% 19.7% 10.8% 19.2% 2.7%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Michael German John Marek Party Liberal Democrats JMIP Leader's seat South Wales East Wrexham Last election 6 seats Not established Seats won 6 1 Seat change New party Constituency Vote 120,250 8,749 % and swing 14.1% 0.6% 1.0% (N/A) Regional Vote 108,013 11,008 % and swing 12.7% 0.2% 1.3% (N/A)
First Minister before election Rhodri Morgan Labour First Minister after election Rhodri Morgan Labour

This election also saw the return of John Marek as an independent member of the Assembly. Of the 60 members elected, 30 were male and 30 were female.

It was held on the same day as the 2003 Scottish Parliament election and 2003 United Kingdom local elections.

Party leaders in 2003

• Welsh Labour – Rhodri Morgan
• Plaid Cymru – Ieuan Wyn Jones
• Welsh Conservatives – Nicholas Bourne
• Welsh Liberal Democrats – Michael James German
• UK Independence Party (UKIP) – Roger Knapman

National vote

• Overall turnout – 38.2%

Welsh Assembly election, 2003^[2]

Parties		Additional member system										Total seats
		Constituency					Region
		Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−	Total	+/−	%
	Labour	340,515	40.0	+2.4	30	+3	310,658	36.6	+1.2	0	−1	30	+2	50.0
	Plaid Cymru	180,185	21.2	−7.2	5	−4	167,653	19.7	−10.8	7	−1	12	−5	20.0
	Conservative	169,832	19.9	+4.1	1	0	162,725	19.2	+2.7	10	+2	11	+2	18.3
	Liberal Democrats	120,250	14.1	+0.6	3	0	108,013	12.7	+0.2	3	0	6	0	10.0
	Green	—	—	—	—	—	30,028	3.5	+1.0	0	0	0	0	—
	UKIP	19,795	2.3	N/A	0	0	29,427	3.5	N/A	0	0	0	0	—
	John Marek Independent Party	8,749	1.0	N/A	1	+1	11,008	1.3	N/A	0	0	1	+1	1.7
	Socialist Labour	410	0.0	N/A	0	0	10,358	1.2	+0.2	0	0	0	0	—
	Cymru Annibynnol	—	—	—	—	—	6,466	0.8	N/A	0	0	0	0	—
	Mid and West Wales Pensioners Party	—	—	—	—	—	3,968	0.5	N/A	0	0	0	0	—
	BNP	—	—	—	—	—	3,210	0.4	N/A	0	0	0	0	—
	ProLife Alliance	239	0.0	N/A	0	0	2,183	0.3	N/A	0	0	0	0	—
	Vote 2 Stop the War Party	—	—	—	—	—	1,729	0.2	N/A	0	0	0	0	—
	Communist	—	—	—	—	—	1,099	0.1	0.0	0	0	0	0	—
	New Millennium Bean Party	289	0.0	N/A	0	0	1,027	0.1	N/A	0	0	0	0	—
	Independent	5,215	0.6	-2.4	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—
	Tinker Against the Assembly Party	2,201	0.3	N/A	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—
	Socialist Alliance	1,554	0.2	N/A	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—
	Socialist Alternative	1,193	0.1	N/A	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—
	Caerphilly Constituency Independents	930	0.1	N/A	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—
	Total	851,357			40		849,552			20		60

Votes summary

Regional vote Labour   36.6% Plaid Cymru   19.7% Conservative   19.2% Liberal Democrats   12.7% Green   3.5% UKIP   3.5% JMIP   1.3% Others   3.5%

Parliament seats Labour   50.0% Plaid Cymru   20.0% Conservative   18.3% Liberal Democrats   10.0% JMIP   1.7%

Constituency and regional summary

Mid and West Wales

National Assembly for Wales election, 2003: Mid and West Wales

Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr	Rhodri Glyn Thomas	Plaid Cymru hold
	Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire	Christine Gwyther	Labour hold
	Ceredigion	Elin Jones	Plaid Cymru hold
	Llanelli	Catherine Thomas	Labour win
	Meirionnydd Nant Conwy	Dafydd Elis-Thomas	Plaid Cymru hold
	Montgomeryshire	Mick Bates	Liberal Democrats hold
	Preseli Pembrokeshire	Tamsin Dunwoody	Labour hold
	Brecon and Radnorshire	Kirsty Williams	Liberal Democrats hold

	Conservative Party	Cymru Annibynnol	Green Party of England and Wales	Labour Party	Liberal Democrats	Mid & West Wales Pensioners	Plaid Cymru	ProLife Alliance	UKIP	Vote No 2 Stop the War
1.	Nick Bourne	Mick Grail	Dorienne Robinson	Cherry Short	Kirsty Williams	Vera Jenner	Helen Mary Jones	Sara Jeremy	Mrs. Elizabeth F. Phillips	Adrienne Morgan
2.	Glyn Davies	Debra Tester	Molly Scott-Cato	Tamsin Dunwoody	Mick Bates	Andrew Jacob	Delyth Richards	Ruth Davies	Iain Sheldon	Nina Minnigan
3.	Lisa Francis		Timothy Foster	Christine Gwyther	Steffan John		David Senior	Dominica Roberts	Clive Easton	Robin Benson
4.	O.J. Williams		Reg Taylor	Catherine Thomas	John Davies		Siôn Jobbins	Thomas Robberts	David Rowlands	Jennifer Keal
5.	Paul Davies		Christopher Cato	Anthony Cooper	Ken Harris		Paul Sambrook			David Bellamy
6.	Harri Lloyd Davies			David Rees	Mary Megarry		Siân Thomas
7.	David Thomas			Rhianon Passmore
8.	Gareth Jones			Rina Clarke
9.				Eddie Woodward

North Wales

National Assembly for Wales election, 2003: North Wales

Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Alyn and Deeside	Carl Sargeant	Labour hold
	Caernarfon	Alun Ffred Jones	Plaid Cymru hold
	Clwyd South	Karen Sinclair	Labour hold
	Clwyd West	Alun Pugh	Labour hold
	Conwy	Denise Idris Jones	Labour win
	Delyn	Sandy Mewies	Labour hold
	Vale of Clwyd	Ann Jones	Labour hold
	Wrexham	John Marek	JMIP win
	Ynys Môn	Ieuan Wyn Jones	Plaid Cymru hold

	Communist Party of Britain	Conservative Party	Cymru Annibynnol	Green Party of England and Wales	John Marek Independent Party	Labour Party	Liberal Democrats	Plaid Cymru	UKIP
1.	Glyn Davies	Brynle Williams	Owain Williams	Klaus Armstrong-Braun	John Marek	Lesley Griffiths	Eleanor Burnham	Janet Ryder	Elwyn Williams
2.	David Morgan	Mark Isherwood	Dafydd Ifan	John Walker	Marc Jones	Carl Seargeant	Nick Bennett	Liz Saville	Edwina Theunissen
3.	Mike Green	Janet Finch-Saunders		Jeremy Hart	Colin Jones	Sandy Mewies	Bobby Feeley	Dyfed Edwards	John Walker
4.		Albie Fox		Wilfred Hastings		Karen Sinclair	Graham Rees	Eilian Williams	Francis Wykes
5.		Darren Miller		Gilly Boyd		Wycliffe Barrett	Carole O'Toole	Paul Rowlinson
6.		Guto Bebb		Jim Killock		Ann Jones	Thomas Rippeth	Richard Coombs
7.		Peter Rogers				Alun Pugh
8.		Matt Wright				Denise Idris Jones
9.		Goronwy Edwards				Gerwyn Jones
10.						Martin Eaglestone

South Wales Central

National Assembly for Wales election, 2003: South Wales Central

Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Cardiff South and Penarth	Lorraine Barrett	Labour hold
	Cardiff West	Rhodri Morgan	Labour hold
	Cynon Valley	Christine Chapman	Labour hold
	Pontypridd	Jane Davidson	Labour hold
	Rhondda	Leighton Andrews	Labour win
	Vale of Glamorgan	Jane Hutt	Labour hold
	Cardiff Central	Jenny Randerson	Liberal Democrats hold
	Cardiff North	Sue Essex	Labour hold

	Communist Party of Britain	Conservative Party	Cymru Annibynnol	Green Party of England and Wales	Labour Party	Liberal Democrats	New Millennium Bean Party	Plaid Cymru	ProLife Alliance	Socialist Labour Party	UKIP	Vote No 2 Stop the War
1.	Robert David Griffiths	Jonathan Morgan	Rev. Christopher Davies	John Matthews	Rhodri Morgan	Jenny Randerson	Captain Beany	Leanne Wood	Anne Savoury	Cerian Screen	Peter Gracia	Sura Altikriti
2.	Fran Rawlings	David Melding	Sophia Flouter	Lynn Farr	Lorraine Barrett	Rob Humphreys		Owen John Thomas	Madeleine Jeremy	Morfudd Marsden	Don Hulston	John Cox
3.	Dominic MacAskill	Dianne Rees	William Cross	Jan Tucker	Sikiru Fahm	Rodney Berman		Chris Franks	Josephine Quintaville	Kenneth Evans	Frank Hughes	John Palmer
4.	Gwen Griffiths	Jayne Cowan	Raymond Lloyd	Sylvia Latham	Sue Essex	John Dixon		Carole Willis	Anna Wilkins	Helen Walker	David Brown	Alastair Couper
5.		Daniel Thomas		Paul Beswick	Jane Davidson	Jacqui Gasson		Eluned Bush		Susan Deare		Phillip Kingston
6.		Craig Piper			Christine Chapman	Nilmini De Silva		Delme Bowen				George Crabbe
7.		Paul Williams			Jane Hutt
8.		Heather Douglas			Leighton Andrews
9.					Geoff Mungham

South Wales East

National Assembly for Wales election, 2003: South Wales East

Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Islwyn	Irene James	Labour win
	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney	Huw Lewis	Labour hold
	Monmouth	David Thomas Charles Davies	Conservative hold
	Blaeuau Gwent	Peter Law	Labour hold
	Newport East	John Griffiths	Labour hold
	Newport West	Rosemary Butler	Labour hold
	Torfaen	Lynne Neagle	Labour hold
	Caerphilly	Jeffrey Cuthbert	Labour hold

	British National Party	Conservative Party	Cymru Annibynnol	Green Party of England and Wales	Labour Party	Liberal Democrats	Plaid Cymru	ProLife Alliance	Socialist Labour Party	UKIP
1.	Pauline Gregory	David Thomas Charles Davies	Catherine Lloyd	Peter Varley	Peter Law	Michael James German	Jocelyn Davies	Joseph Anthony Biddulph	Arthur Scargill	David J Rowlands
2.		William Graham	Gareth Roberts	Anne Were	Neil McEvoy	Ed Townsend	Lindsay Whittle	Norman Plaisted	Paul Adam	Neal Reynolds
3.		Laura Anne Jones	Susan Price	Owen Clarke	John Griffiths	Alison Willott	Mohammed Asghar	Fiona Pinto	Hayley O'Rourke	Roger Thomas
4.		Nick Ramsay	Andrew Broad	Ernest Hamer	Lynne Neagle	Philip Hobson	Gill Jones	Thomas Flynn	Robert Morris	Hugh Moelwyn Hughes
5.		John Prosser		Geraldine Layton	Rosemary Butler	Rob Roffe	Joanne Daniels		Mary Millington
6.		Barrie O'Keefe		Teresa Telfer	Huw Lewis	Huw Price	Aneurin Preece		Reehana Sayeed
7.		Terri-Anne Matthews		Matt Wootton	Jeff Cuthbert
8.		Matthew Evans			Siân James

South Wales West

National Assembly for Wales election, 2003: South Wales West

Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Aberavon	Brian Gibbons	Labour hold
	Gower	Edwina Hart	Labour hold
	Neath	Gwenda Thomas	Labour hold
	Ogmore	Janice Gregory	Labour hold
	Swansea East	Val Lloyd	Labour hold
	Swansea West	Andrew Davies	Labour hold
	Bridgend	Carwyn Jones	Labour hold

	Conservative Party	Cymru Annibynnol	Green Party of England and Wales	Labour Party	Liberal Democrats	Plaid Cymru	ProLife Alliance	Socialist Labour Party	UKIP
1.	Alun Cairns	Rev. Christopher Davies	Martyn Shrewsbury	Brian Gibbons	Peter Black	Janet Davies	Gerardo Brienza	Christopher Herriott	Richard Lewis
2.	Gerald Rowbottom	Gwendolen MacKay	Jan Cliff	Janice Gregory	Cheryl Green	Dai Lloyd	Sean Haran	Liz Screen	Alan Robinson
3.	Chris Smart	Pedr Lewis	Rhodri Griffiths	Val Lloyd	Mike Day	Alun Llewelyn	Gillian Duval	Peter Greenslade	Tim Jenkins
4.	Myr Boult	Stephen Curry	Steve Clegg	Parvaiz Ali	Nick Tregoning	Siân Caiach	Karolina Stolarska	Gary Davies	David Evans
5.	Peter Morris		Deborah James	Carwyn Jones	Jackie Radford	Richard Williams
6.	Richard Hill		Tony Young	Edwina Hart		Eirian Arwyn
7.	Stephen James			Gwenda Thomas
8.				Andrew Thomas

See also

• 2003 Scottish Parliament election
• 2003 United Kingdom local elections