Wandsworth London Borough Council election, 1998

The 1998 Wandsworth Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Wandsworth London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.^[1]

At the same as the election Wandsworth saw 74.3% vote in favour of the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum and 25.7% against, on a 38.7% turnout.^[2]

Campaign

In the run up to the election a private Conservative poll was leaked which showed them 17% behind Labour and likely to only win in 4 wards as compared to 18 for Labour.^[3] However Labour and the Liberal Democrats accused the Conservatives of leaking the poll in order to lower expectations.^[4] The Conservatives would have lost control of the council on a 7% swing from the 1994 election,^[5][6] or if the 1997 general election results in the area were repeated.^[7] However Wandsworth had low council tax levels, the lowest in the country,^[6] and the Conservatives had recently cut the tax by 24%.^[8] This meant commentators expected the Conservatives to stay in control of what was described as their showpiece council.^[7][9]

For the election 9 of the 22 wards that made up the council were seen as being marginal.^[9]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives increase their control of the council gaining an extra 5 seats.^[10] This meant that with 50 seats the Conservatives had the most seats they had yet had on the council.^[11] Labour lost seats in St John and Roehampton wards, which was put down to the closure of the local Queen Mary's Hospital.^[12] Voter turnout at 40% was 10% down on the previous 1994 election.^[12]

Ward results

References

Council elections in Greater London
Barking and Dagenham	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Barnet	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Bexley	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Brent	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Bromley	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Camden	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Croydon	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Ealing	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Enfield	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Greenwich	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Hackney	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Hammersmith and Fulham	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Haringey	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Harrow	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Havering	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Hillingdon	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Hounslow	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Islington	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Kensington and Chelsea	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Kingston upon Thames	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Lambeth	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Lewisham	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Merton	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Newham	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Redbridge	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Richmond upon Thames	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Southwark	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Sutton	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Tower Hamlets	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Waltham Forest	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Wandsworth	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Westminster	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Greater London	1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 Abolished
See also: London-wide elections Wards Boundary changes

(1997 ←) United Kingdom local elections, 1998 (→ 1999)
London boroughs	London Borough councils Barking and Dagenham Barnet Bexley Brent Bromley Camden Croydon Ealing Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith and Fulham Haringey Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington and Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Lambeth Lewisham Merton Newham Redbridge Richmond upon Thames Southwark Sutton Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth Westminster
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
Unitary authorities	Bristol Derby Hartlepool Isle of Wight Kingston upon Hull Milton Keynes North East Lincolnshire Portsmouth Southampton Stoke-on-Trent Swindon
District councils (England)	Adur Amber Valley Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Bedford Brentwood Broadland Broxbourne Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Carlisle Cheltenham Cherwell Chester Chorley Colchester Congleton Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Daventry Eastbourne Eastleigh Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Epping Forest Exeter Fareham Gloucester Gosport Great Yarmouth Harlow Harrogate Hart Hastings Havant Hertsmere Huntingdonshire Hyndburn Ipswich Lincoln Macclesfield Maidstone Mole Valley Newcastle-under-Lyme North Hertfordshire Norwich Nuneaton and Bedworth Oxford Pendle Penwith Preston Purbeck Redditch Reigate and Banstead Rochford Rossendale Rugby Runnymede Rushmoor Shrewsbury and Atcham South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire South Lakeland St Albans Stevenage Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Swale Tamworth Tandridge Three Rivers Tunbridge Wells Watford Waveney Welwyn Hatfield West Lancashire West Lindsey West Oxfordshire Weymouth and Portland Winchester Woking Worcester Worthing Wyre Forest
National Assembly elections	Northern Ireland
Referendums	Greater London Authority Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement