1998 Bexley London Borough Council election

1998 Bexley London Borough Council election

←  1994 7 May 1998 (1998-05-07) 2002  →
All 62 seats up for election to Bexley London Borough Council 32 seats needed for a majority
Registered	166,311 [1]
Turnout	59,610, 35.84% ( 13.79) [1]
First party Second party   Leader Michael A. Slaughter Kathryn A. Smith Party Conservative Labour Leader since Unknown 1996 Leader's seat Sidcup East Upton [n 1] Last election 24 seats, 37.40% 24 seats, 36.92% Seats before 22 24 Seats won 32 24 Seat change 8 Popular vote 63,605 62,162 Percentage 40.89% 39.97% Swing 3.49 3.05   Third party Fourth party   Leader Unknown Unknown Party Liberal Democrats Independent Leader since Unknown Unknown Last election 14 seats, 24.61% 0 seats, 0.77% Seats before 14 1 Seats won 6 0 Seat change 8 Popular vote 29,060 76 Percentage 18.68% 0.05% Swing 5.93 0.72
Council control before election No Overall Control Council control after election Conservative

Elections to Bexley London Borough Council were held on 7 May 1998. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained control of the council from no overall control. ^{[2] [3]} The electoral system used was the "first past the post", meaning that each seat was given to the candidate with the most votes.

Background

In the intervening years between elections there were a total of 4 by-elections caused by the resignation and death of several councillors, however none of these by-elections resulted in seats changing parties. ^[4] In addition to this there was one change of allegiance from the Conservatives as well as one Conservative seat that was left vacant shortly before the election, meaning the composition of the council just prior to the election was as follows: ^[5]

↓

24	14	1	22	1
Labour	Lib Dem	Ind	Con	Vacant

Election Results

1998 Bexley London Borough Council elections ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	32	8	0	8	51.61	40.89	63,605	3.49
	Labour	24	3	3		38.71	39.97	62,162	3.05
	Liberal Democrats	6	0	8	8	9.68	18.68	29,060	5.93
	BNP	0	0	0		0.00	0.35	543	New
	Monster Raving Loony	0	0	0		0.00	0.06	94	New
	Independent	0	0	0		0.00	0.05	76	0.72
Total		62						155,540

After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:

↓

24	6	32
Labour	Lib Dem	Con

Ward results

(*) - Indicates an incumbent candidate

(†) - Indicates an incumbent candidate standing in a different ward

Barnehurst

Barnehurst (2) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard M. Gillespie*	977	52.94	7.47
	Conservative	Mark J. Brooks	971
	Labour	Matthew J. Murphy	706	37.23	2.74
	Labour	Leslie J. White	664
	Liberal Democrats	Ann C. Atkins	183	9.84	10.19
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Cooke	179
Registered electors			4,800		5
Turnout			1,979	41.23	10.11
Rejected ballots			8	0.40	0.24
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Barnehurst North

Barnehurst North (1) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elizabeth M. French† [n 2]	681	46.58	3.72
	Conservative	John V. Bowes	642	43.91	3.01
	Liberal Democrats	Michael H. Stanley	139	9.51	6.74
Registered electors			3,144		13
Turnout			1,463	46.53	16.50
Rejected ballots			1	0.07	0.03
	Labour hold

Belvedere

Belvedere (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Lucas*	1,325	52.65	5.19
	Labour	Peter Hollamby*	1,321
	Labour	Doreen A. Cameron	1,291
	Conservative	John Mankerty	842	32.99	3.76
	Conservative	Patricia A. Bowes	834
	Conservative	Shirley J. Vick	791
	Liberal Democrats	Philip G. Codd	385	14.36	1.43
	Liberal Democrats	William F. Shrimpton	349
	Liberal Democrats	Benjamin M. Hepworth	340
Registered electors			9,307		86
Turnout			2,727	29.30	18.44
Rejected ballots			10	0.37	0.21
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Blackfen

Blackfen (2) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Margaret P. Cammish	760	40.27	3.20
	Conservative	Christopher J. Garland	736
	Liberal Democrats	Paul W. Hurren*	615	32.03	8.43
	Liberal Democrats	Peter G. Scopes*	575
	Labour	Nina L. Justham	558	27.70	5.23
	Labour	John R. Pegg	471
Registered electors			5,156		11
Turnout			1,993	38.65	14.48
Rejected ballots			5	0.25	0.21
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats

Blendon and Penhill

Blendon and Penhill (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Beatrice J. Antenbring*	1,709	54.72	0.29
	Conservative	Neil G. Sayers	1,668
	Conservative	Ann Partington	1,658
	Labour	Catherine A. Deadman	957	30.40	4.26
	Labour	David A. Prior	933
	Labour	Gerda Slater	907
	Liberal Democrats	Peggy L.K. Wagstaff	393	12.40	6.45
	Liberal Democrats	Paul W. Hurren	383
	Liberal Democrats	Colin E. Wright	365
	BNP	Colin Smith	80	2.48	New
	BNP	Pauline Smith	75
	BNP	Susan Turner	73
Registered electors			7,320		59
Turnout			3,145	42.96	2.99
Rejected ballots			3	0.10	0.02
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Bostall

Bostall (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard A. Morgan	1,148	37.94	6.75
	Conservative	Ian S. Clement	1,123
	Conservative	John P. Wilkinson*	1,113
	Labour	Raymond C. Allen† [n 3]	978	31.88	0.18
	Liberal Democrats	Francoise J. Montford	933	30.18	6.93
	Labour	Patrick J. Gale	933
	Labour	Jean R. Robertson	932
	Liberal Democrats	Alan J. Bone	887
	Liberal Democrats	David C. Montford	863
Registered electors			7,367		3
Turnout			3,178	43.14	12.82
Rejected ballots			2	0.06	0.01
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Brampton

Brampton (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ronald H. French*	1,582	47.97	3.78
	Conservative	Teresa A.J. O'Neill	1,560
	Conservative	Cheryl Potter	1,475
	Labour	Ronald N. Brown	1,440	41.33	5.48
	Labour	Edna R. Cook	1,328
	Labour	Gabriel U. Muruako	1,210
	Liberal Democrats	Heather M. Arklie	361	10.70	9.26
	Liberal Democrats	John E. Brand	358
	Liberal Democrats	Betty M. Lockington	311
Registered electors			7,839		9
Turnout			3,451	44.02
Rejected ballots			11	0.32	0.08
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Christchurch

Christchurch (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Linda J. Bailey	1,310	44.19	8.80
	Conservative	Gareth A. Johnson	1,194
	Conservative	Sharon M. Massey	1,168
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret J. Davey*	830	28.21	14.00
	Labour	Patricia R. Ball	801	27.61	5.21
	Liberal Democrats	Peter L.W. Davey	767
	Labour	Alan Scutt	754
	Liberal Democrats	Peter B. Smith*	747
	Labour	Colin Dawes	739
Registered electors			7,855		33
Turnout			2,988	38.04	12.24
Rejected ballots			12	0.40	0.22
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats

Cray

Cray (2) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joel R. Briant*	858	58.30	6.69
	Labour	Richard J. Justham*	856
	Conservative	John N. Harrington	650	41.70	4.70
	Conservative	John R. Hanson	576
Registered electors			4,050		53
Turnout			1,616	39.90	15.52
Rejected ballots			14	0.87	0.61
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Crayford

Crayford (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John D. Shepheard*	1,475	55.07	0.56
	Labour	Tonya Kelsey	1,415
	Labour	Trevor V. Perrin† [n 4]	1,384
	Conservative	Robert S. Stead	809	29.74	0.10
	Conservative	Daisy E.L. Clement	753
	Conservative	Daisy E.L. Clement	746
	Liberal Democrats	John C. Cudmore	312	11.13	4.72
	Liberal Democrats	William J. Boyd	307
	Liberal Democrats	Agnes Rigby	245
	BNP	Colin Smith	112	4.06	New
	BNP	Pauline Smith	106
	BNP	Susan Turner	97
Registered electors			8,522		116
Turnout			2,775	32.56	14.58
Rejected ballots			12	0.43	0.28
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Danson

Danson (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Barry C. Standen*	1,155	49.84	7.31
	Liberal Democrats	Edward J. Shrimpton*	1,138
	Liberal Democrats	Sylvia D. Fortune	1,135
	Labour	Richard J. Downer	617	26.49	5.76
	Labour	Stephen E. Perfect	606
	Labour	John N. Shaw	599
	Conservative	Michael Crouch	582	23.67	1.55
	Conservative	John B. Raggett† [n 5]	535
	Conservative	Gerald E.R. Quieros	511
Registered electors			7,246		95
Turnout			2,454	33.87	16.58
Rejected ballots			5	0.20	0.20
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

East Wickham

East Wickham (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas O'Hare	1,143	38.06	4.56
	Labour	John Lawreson	1.098	37.81	3.52
	Liberal Democrats	Brian W. Oliver*	1,072
	Labour	Stuart R. Slater	1,068
	Labour	Maxine L. Pieri	1,060
	Liberal Democrats	Colin E. Wright*	1,033
	Conservative	Terence K. Connor	642	21.46	1.63
	Conservative	Peter E.M. Hadley† [n 6]	609
	Conservative	John Waters	580
	Independent	Derek Wrench	76	2.67	New
Registered electors			8,153		74
Turnout			2,977	36.51	14.50
Rejected ballots			12	0.40	0.23
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats
	Liberal Democrats hold

Erith

Erith (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ronald J. Browning*	1,183	61.03	7.50
	Labour	Teresa Pearce	1,114
	Labour	Margaret A. O'Neill*	1,110
	Conservative	Carol Wilkinson	539	28.35	4.71
	Conservative	Bernard E. Gillespie	529
	Conservative	Desmond J.J. Howe	515
	Liberal Democrats	Stanley W. Vince	221	10.62	2.78
	Liberal Democrats	Janette D. Codd† [n 7]	188
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret A. Shrimpton	184
Registered electors			8,207		167
Turnout			2,061	25.12	19.17
Rejected ballots			13	0.63	0.52
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Falconwood

Falconwood (1) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel P. Betts*	641	48.67	4.50
	Liberal Democrats	Eileen S. Wetheridge	405	30.75	11.53
	Labour	Patrizia Aston	271	20.58	7.03
Registered electors			2,940		35
Turnout			1,324	45.03	17.02
Rejected ballots			6	0.45	0.40
	Conservative hold

Lamorbey

Lamorbey (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham R. Holland*	1,796	58.68	4.96
	Conservative	Aileen M. Beckwith	1,644
	Conservative	Ronald J. Passey*	1,601
	Labour	Sarah J.S. King	953	30.75	4.35
	Labour	Robert C. Justham	876
	Labour	Graeme N. Kinnaird	812
	Liberal Democrats	Terry A. Brown	350	10.57	9.31
	Liberal Democrats	Doreen V. La Roche	297
	Liberal Democrats	John B. La Roche	261
Registered electors			8,134		207
Turnout			3,131	38.49	13.61
Rejected ballots			20	0.64	0.54
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

North End

North End (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John W. Eastaugh*	1,293	65.62	1.18
	Labour	David N. Ives*	1,282
	Labour	Colin F. Hargrave*	1,188
	Conservative	Peter R.M. Reader	509	24.82	1.94
	Conservative	Sylvia A.E. Casse;;s	463
	Conservative	Andrew Wicks	451
	Liberal Democrats	Kaye L. Cudmore	190	9.56	3.12
	Liberal Democrats	Roger K. Pryor	181
	Liberal Democrats	Lesley K. Burton	177
Registered electors			8,660		275
Turnout			2,160	24.94	19.70
Rejected ballots			13	0.60	0.41
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Northumberland Heath

Northumberland Heath (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoffrey Hacker	1,324	55.19	3.17
	Labour	Mary A. Lucas* [n 8]	1,296
	Labour	Kathryn A. Smith† [n 9]	1,224
	Conservative	Margaret J. Compton	834	34.00	0.13
	Conservative	Neil S. Cuthill	790
	Conservative	Juliet F. Mankerty	744
	Liberal Democrats	Florence M. Jamieson	290	10.81	3.30
	Liberal Democrats	David J. Nicolle	234
	Liberal Democrats	Wendy H. Wright	229
Registered electors			8,001		375
Turnout			2,502	31.27	18.55
Rejected ballots			9	0.36	0.23
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

St Mary's

St Mary's (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Colin E. Campbell*	2,027	62.09	4.76
	Conservative	Alfred W. Catterall*	1,990
	Conservative	Colin L. Tandy*	1,896
	Labour	Ian W. Rashbrook	837	25.73	4.26
	Labour	Bernard C. Justham	821
	Labour	Josephine E. Chodha	793
	Liberal Democrats	Ian R. Breed	406	12.18	9.02
	Liberal Democrats	Janet M. Standen	389
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher W. Eady	365
Registered electors			8,665		40
Turnout			3,390	39.12	8.89
Rejected ballots			10	0.29	0.19
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

St Michael's

St Michael's (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grant Blowers	1,194	41.25	6.85
	Labour	Wendy J. Perfect	1,132
	Liberal Democrats	Beryl Brand*	1,095	36.53	5.96
	Labour	Carol I. Pieri	1,062
	Liberal Democrats	Peter G.J. Weston*	964
	Liberal Democrats	Sharon B. Roberts	942
	Conservative	Valerie C. Clark	648	22.22	0.89
	Conservative	Daniel M. Mathews	598
	Conservative	Neil G. Sayers	579
Registered electors			7,663		57
Turnout			2,954	38.55	15.87
Rejected ballots			7	0.24	0.02
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats
	Liberal Democrats hold

Sidcup East

Sidcup East (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Flint*	1,617	49.77	5.84
	Conservative	June E. Slaughter*	1,559
	Conservative	Michael A. Slaughter*	1,505
	Labour	David A. Hinds	1.140	34.94	8.46
	Labour	Sean M. Reed	1,134
	Labour	Asadullah-Al Khalid	1,012
	Liberal Democrats	Janice D. Wiliams	409	12.29	1.87
	Liberal Democrats	Dennis W. Parks	384
	Liberal Democrats	John D. Williams	363
	Monster Raving Loony	Laurence Williams	94	3.00	New
Registered electors			8,557		201
Turnout			3,290	38.45	10.84
Rejected ballots			10	0.30	0.23
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Sidcup West

Sidcup West (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gareth A. Bacon	1,573	56.22	4.08
	Conservative	Malcolm Ketley*	1,551
	Conservative	Kenneth McAndrew*	1,489
	Labour	Carol Beckwith	820	28.56	4.08
	Labour	John R. Twelvetrees	790
	Labour	Elizabeth Rhodes	734
	Liberal Democrats	Robin P. Kelly	422	15.22	8.16
	Liberal Democrats	Gillian A. Eady	418
	Liberal Democrats	Peter J.R. Morris	409
Registered electors			7,862		31
Turnout			2,923	37.18	11.41
Rejected ballots			20	0.68	0.55
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Thamesmead East

Thamesmead East (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Donna Briant*	1,096	61.51	4.01
	Labour	Christopher Ball* [n 10]	1,065
	Labour	Michael H. French	946
	Conservative	Edgar D. Silvester	387	21.76	3.96
	Conservative	Paul J. Stephen	357
	Conservative	Malcolm T. Styles	355
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremy Cotton	348	16.73	0.05
	Liberal Democrats	Mark J. Curtis	309
	Liberal Democrats	Ramon F. Lee	188
Registered electors			9,147		132
Turnout			1,942	21.23	14.49
Rejected ballots			9	0.46	0.34
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Upton

Upton (3) ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roy F, Ashmole	1,436	47.32	11.09
	Conservative	David B. Cammish	1,412
	Conservative	Leonard S. Newton	1,314
	Labour	Sylvia Malt*	1,287	42.01	2.45
	Labour	Denis A. Daniels	1,269
	Labour	Garth H. Pilling-Lindsell	1,139
	Liberal Democrats	Diane M. Davey	367	10.67	13.54
	Liberal Democrats	Angela M. Thick	287
	Liberal Democrats	Hannah F. Williams	285
Registered electors			7,716		48
Turnout			3,187	41.30	12.11
Rejected ballots			11	0.35	0.35
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative gain from Labour

Notes

1. She didn't run in Upton this election, she instead ran for and won in the Northumberland Heath ward
2. French was a sitting councillor representing the Erith ward. She was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Valentine A.M. Morgan in 1996 ^[4]
3. Allen was a sitting councillor representing the Crayford
4. Perrin was a sitting councillor representing the Barnehurst North ward
5. Raggett was a sitting councillor representing the Brampton ward
6. Hadley was a sitting councillor representing the Sidcup West ward
7. Codd was a sitting councillor representing the East Wickham ward
8. Lucas was elected in a by-election triggered by the death of Cllr. Ann F. Wheelock in 1995 ^[4]
9. Smith was a sitting councillor representing the Upton ward
10. Ball was elected in a by-election triggered by the death of Cllr. Frank J. Barratt in 1995 ^[4]

References

1. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results - Ward Voting Statistics" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 190. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
2. "Policy and politics: Local Elections: Analysis: Council poll results". The Guardian. 9 May 1998. p. 16.
3. "Elections – London Datastore" . Retrieved 12 April 2025.
4. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results - By-elections" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 16. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
5. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results - Changes 1998-94" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 11. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
6. Minors, Michael; Grenahm, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
7. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "London Borough of Bexley Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Elections Centre. Plymouth University. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
8. "Local Elections results". The Times . 9 May 1998. p. 46.