2003 South Lanarkshire Council election

2003 South Lanarkshire Council election

← 1999 1 May 2003 (2003-05-01) 2007 →
All 67 seats to South Lanarkshire Council 34 seats needed for a majority
Registered	232,466
Turnout	49.4%
First party Second party   Lab SNP Leader Edward McAvoy Party Labour SNP Last election 54 seats, 50.1% 10 seats, 33.1% Seats won 51 9 Seat change 3 1 Popular vote 55,173 33,555 Percentage 48.0% 29.2% Swing 2.0% 3.8%   Third party Fourth party   Ind Con Party Independent Conservative Last election 0 seats, 0.6% 2 seat, 10.3% Seats won 3 2 Seat change 3 Popular vote 3,604 14,371 Percentage 3.1% 12.5% Swing 2.5% 2.3%   Fifth party   LD Party Liberal Democrats Last election 1 seat, 5.7% Seats won 2 Seat change 1 Popular vote 5,336 Percentage 4.6% Swing 1.0%
Results by ward.
Council Leader before election Edward McAvoy Labour Council Leader after election Edward McAvoy Labour

Elections to South Lanarkshire 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 since the council's creation in 1995 and the last election to use first-past-the-post voting.

Labour maintained control of the council although their vote share reduced to 48.0%. The party won a majority of the seats despite their representation on the council decreasing by three. The Scottish National Party (SNP) remained as the largest opposition party on the council despite a net loss of one seat. The Conservatives remained on two seats while the Liberal Democrats gained one seat to hold two and three independent candidates were elected.

Following the introduction of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, local elections in Scotland would use the single transferable vote electoral system which meant this was the last election in which the 67 single-member wards created by the Third Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements would be contested.