Edward McAvoy Labour 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.

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.

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.