1998 Bromley London Borough Council election

1998 Bromley London Borough Council election

←  1994 7 May 1998 (1998-05-07) 2002  →
All 60 seats up for election to Bromley London Borough Council 31 seats needed for a majority
Registered	223,835 [1]
Turnout	91,383, 40.83% ( 7.28) [1]
First party Second party Third party   Leader Michael Tickner Chris Maines Sue Polydorou Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Labour Leader since 1997 Unknown Unknown Leader's seat Kelsey Park Orpington Central St Mary Cray Last election 32 seats, 41.31% 21 seats, 36.75% 7 seats, 20.68% Seats won 28 25 7 Seat change 4 4 Popular vote 94,562 73,660 39,185 Percentage 45.28% 35.27% 18.76% Swing 3.97 1.48 1.92
Council Control before election Conservative Council Control after election No Overall Control

Elections to Bromley Council in England were held on 7 May 1998. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party lost overall control of the council to no overall control. ^[2]

Because the council fell into no overall control, for the first time in the London Borough of Bromley history it was taken over by a Liberal Democrat/Labour Coalition. This ended in 2001 when the Conservatives regained the council.

Background

Between the 1994 election and this election there were 2 by-elections to replace Councillors who resigned from their seats, one in Bickley and one in Kelsey Park. ^[3] Neither of these elections resulted in a seat changing parties with Conservatives retaining both clips.

There were no other defections or vacancies, so just before the election the composition of the council was as follows:

↓

7	21	32
Labour	Lib Dem	Con

Election result

Turnout across the borough dropped to 40.8%, the lowest in the history of the council.

1998 Bromley London Borough Council elections ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	28	0	4	4	46.67	45.28	94,562	3.97
	Liberal Democrats	25	5	1	4	41.67	35.27	73,660	1.48
	Labour	7	1	1		11.67	18.76	39,185	1.92
	Green	0	0	0		0.00	0.55	1,161	0.05
	UK Independent	0	0	0		0.00	0.14	285	New
Total		60						208,853

Despite the Conservatives increasing their share of the vote at the expense of both Labour and Liberal Democrats, they still lost seats to the Liberal Democrats and with it, control of the council. Labour, despite losing votes and seats found themselves as part of the administration. For the first time, the Liberal Democrats had managed to get the first past the post voting system to work in their favour by winning a higher share of seats than share of vote.

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

↓

7	25	28
Labour	Lib Dem	Con

Ward results

(*) - Indicates an incumbent candidate

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

Anerley

Anerley (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher R. Gaster*	1,362	56.29	0.70
	Liberal Democrats	William A.M. MacCormick*	1,289
	Labour	Clinton V. McCree	765	30.21	1.96
	Labour	Andrew J. Pharoah	658
	Conservative	Adrian G. Smith	328	13.50	1.26
	Conservative	John A. De'Giovanni	308
Registered electors			7,563		564
Turnout			2,584	34.17	12.39
Rejected ballots			13	0.50	0.32
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Bickley

Bickley (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ingrid A. Buckley*	2,507	59.81	1.62
	Conservative	Sheila A. Humphreys*	2,449
	Conservative	Gordon W. Jenkins* [n 1]	2,357
	Liberal Democrats	David M. Dear	1,027	24.59	0.64
	Liberal Democrats	Anne W. Chaplin	991
	Liberal Democrats	Susan A. Taylor	989
	Labour	Susan N. Cox	690	15.60	2.27
	Labour	Arthur H. Johnson	638
	Labour	Alfred E. Parish	579
Registered electors			10,575		214
Turnout			4,316	40.81	6.36
Rejected ballots			16	0.37	0.27
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Biggin Hill

Biggin Hill (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Geoffrey C. Gostt*	1,830	51.13	1.05
	Liberal Democrats	Walter R. Shekyls*	1,742
	Conservative	David R. Haslam	1,481	40.75	0.95
	Conservative	Christopher D. Wordingham	1,366
	Labour	Brendan French	284	8.12	0.11
	Labour	Leonard D. Hall	283
Registered electors			8,570		281
Turnout			3,691	43.07	6.16
Rejected ballots			8	0.22	0.10
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Bromley Common and Keston

Bromley Common and Keston (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul J.H. Booth*	2,284	50.39	12.50
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Carter	2,030
	Liberal Democrats	Alexa C.A. Michael*	2,027
	Conservative	Stephen L. Carr	1,670	37.33	11.18
	Conservative	Sharon C. Evans	1,533
	Conservative	Toby Sanders	1,495
	Labour	Christopher L.L. Bartram	531	12.28	1.32
	Labour	Simon T. Williams	520
	Labour	Julia M.A. Fogden	495
Registered electors			12,156		80
Turnout			4,469	36.76	12.07
Rejected ballots			9	0.20	0.06
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Chelsfield and Goddington

Chelsfield and Goddington (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Graem Peters*	2,477	49.01	9.26
	Liberal Democrats	Gillian M. Chamarette*	2,461
	Liberal Democrats	Michael J. Hall*	2,399
	Conservative	Adrian S. Marshall	2,146	41.97	9.40
	Conservative	Andre C. Madrell	2,105
	Conservative	Dean A. Saint	2,032
	Labour	Charles W. Hailes	479	9.02	0.14
	Labour	Carol A. Hannay	456
	Labour	Peter J. Tozer	415
Registered electors			11,641		23
Turnout			5,248	45.08	7.55
Rejected ballots			16	0.30	0.19
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Chislehurst

Chislehurst (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joan Bryant*	2,911	61.60	5.96
	Conservative	Kathleen A. Boughey*	2,886
	Conservative	Joan K. Wykes*	2,734
	Labour	Charles Phillips	988	20.10	0.48
	Labour	Andrew R. Amos	920
	Labour	Sharon Wheeler	876
	Liberal Democrats	Frances C. Borrowman	742	14.83	3.44
	Liberal Democrats	Ian M. Magrath	665
	Liberal Democrats	Olwen M. Wade-Jones	646
	Green	John W. Taylor	213	3.47	3.00
	Green	Glen A. Shipley-Younan	107
Registered electors			12,640		56
Turnout			4,849	38.36	7.44
Rejected ballots			21	0.43	0.15
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Clock House

Clock House (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David E.A. Crowe*	1,871	54.04	12.84
	Liberal Democrats	Martin A. Lockwood*	1,802
	Labour	John A. Dempster	836	23.66	7.97
	Conservative	David E. Burch	777	22.30	4.87
	Labour	Richard E. Hart	772
	Conservative	Simon H. Fawthorp	739
Registered electors			8,009		71
Turnout			3,639	45.44	11.67
Rejected ballots			3	0.08	0.14
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Copers Cope

Copers Cope (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony M. Wilkinson	1,351	61.55	6.11
	Conservative	Russell L. Mellor	1,327
	Liberal Democrats	George D. Denyer	486	22.16	5.27
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia B.M. Weal	478
	Labour	Richard M.R. O'Kelly	361	16.29	0.83
	Labour	Simon J. Dawe	348
Registered electors			6,299		10
Turnout			2,237	35.51	5.74
Rejected ballots			8	0.36	0.17
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Crofton

Crofton (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Helen C. Rabbatts*	2,007	51.14	5.23
	Liberal Democrats	Vivian C. Ross*	1,883
	Conservative	Judith E. Ellis	1,609	41.68	5.55
	Conservative	Richard M. Rayment	1,562
	Labour	Lynn A. Selwood	285	7.18	0.32
	Labour	Christopher W. Taylor	261
Registered electors			7,959		66
Turnout			3,968	49.86	8.33
Rejected ballots			10	0.25	0.14
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Darwin

Darwin (1) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter J. Bloomfield*	1,268	75.21	6.01
	Labour	John C.H. Lewis	210	12.45	0.92
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Sperling	208	12.34	5.09
Registered electors			3,367		115
Turnout			1,690	50.19	2.73
Rejected ballots			5	0.30	0.30
	Conservative hold

Eden Park

Eden Park (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jane E. Green	1,474	45.10	12.30
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony R. Phillips	1,338
	Conservative	Albert G. Miles*	1,237	39.20	8.49
	Conservative	Robert A. Herd	1,207
	Labour	Raymond G. Taylor	526	15.70	3.81
	Labour	Richard F. Watts	453
Registered electors			7,254		104
Turnout			3,323	45.81	0.48
Rejected ballots			11	0.33	0.14
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Farnborough

Farnborough (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jennifer M. Hillier*	1,855	62.04	1.30
	Conservative	Eric N. Goodman*	1,832
	Liberal Democrats	Terence F. Clark	612	19.01	9.20
	Liberal Democrats	Michael C. Chamarette	518
	Labour	Malcolm Barker	318	9.36	1.69
	UK Independent	James B. Carver	285	9.59	New
	Labour	Canh Linh	238
Registered electors			7,330		166
Turnout			3,019	41.19	6.21
Rejected ballots			7	0.23	0.14
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Hayes

Hayes (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thelma A. Manning	2,831	62.62	5.64
	Conservative	Graham L. Arthur	2,672
	Conservative	Neil R. Reddin	2,666
	Labour	Gary I. Boxall	882	19.29	0.08
	Labour	George F. Johnstone	824
	Liberal Democrats	Bob R. Skinner	820	18.09	5.72
	Labour	Michael T. King	811
	Liberal Democrats	Mark A. Gill	784
	Liberal Democrats	William H. Stott	756
Registered electors			11,114		193
Turnout			4,598	41.37	5.92
Rejected ballots			19	0.41	0.10
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Kelsey Park

Kelsey Park (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael J. Tickner*	1,938	64.98	4.82
	Conservative	Christopher J. Elgar† [n 2]	1,909
	Liberal Democrats	Reginald W. Adams	662	21.93	4.14
	Liberal Democrats	Edward H. Whitaker	636
	Labour	Catherine Boyle	400	13.09	0.68
	Labour	Stephen M. Hale	375
Registered electors			7,285		293
Turnout			3,344	45.90	5.34
Rejected ballots			21	0.63	0.46
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Lawrie Park and Kent House

Lawrie Park and Kent House (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John A. Lewis*	1,105	36.53	0.80
	Conservative	Philip G. Jones† [n 3]	1,044
	Labour	Catherine R. Newman	999	33.55	1.50
	Labour	Munir Malik	975
	Liberal Democrats	Brian J. Astell	901	29.92	18.78
	Liberal Democrats	Paul D. Nash	859
Registered electors			7,110
Turnout			3,135	44.09	6.38
Rejected ballots			13	0.41	0.19
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Martins Hill and Town

Martins Hill and Town (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter J. Ayres*	1,274	43.65	2.13
	Liberal Democrats	Raymond P. Warner*	1,144
	Conservative	Philip T. Hollobone	1,111	38.54	2.52
	Conservative	Paul L. Jemetta† [n 4]	1,024
	Labour	Iain P. Ambler	406	13.97	0.68
	Labour	Marcus S. Oliver	368
	Green	John R. Street	109	3.84	1.33
	Green	Gillian F. Windall	104
Registered electors			7,529		113
Turnout			2,920	38.78	7.28
Rejected ballots			10	0.34	0.25
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Mottingham

Mottingham (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ernest W. Dyer*	954	49.20	3.18
	Labour	Robert J. Yeldham*	826
	Conservative	Michael J. Hennessey	708	38.50	7.07
	Conservative	Dennis A. Boughey	685
	Liberal Democrats	Carmel B.A. Butler	235	12.30	3.89
	Liberal Democrats	Brian H. Taylor	210
Registered electors			6,207		207
Turnout			1,976	31.84	11.92
Rejected ballots			14	0.71	0.50
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Orpington Central

Orpington Central (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher S. Maines*	1,613	66.12	1.47
	Liberal Democrats	Michael J. Norris*	1,475
	Conservative	Paul M. Bonter	579	24.15	6.14
	Conservative	Julian P.G. Grainger	549
	Labour	Keith A. Galley	235	9.72	4.68
	Labour	Christopher A. Purnell	219
Registered electors			6,741		113
Turnout			2,498	37.06	12.33
Rejected ballots			11	0.44	0.35
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Penge

Penge (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter T. Fookes*	994	45.00	0.13
	Labour	Karen A. Roberts	958
	Liberal Democrats	Daniel Ward	813	36.88	0.36
	Liberal Democrats	Sonia M. Whitaker	787
	Conservative	June R. Briggs	413	18.12	0.23
	Conservative	Robert J. Erskine	373
Registered electors			6,830		93
Turnout			2,399	35.12	8.52
Rejected ballots			10	0.42	0.16
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Petts Wood and Knoll

Petts Wood and Knoll (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter C. Woods*	2,975	52.60	0.06
	Conservative	Tara A. Bowman	2,845
	Conservative	John R. Ince	2,791
	Liberal Democrats	Eileen G.D. Edwards	1,948	33.48	0.45
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret G. Ayres	1,827
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Gambell	1,706
	Labour	Joan Headington	606	9.82	4.61
	Labour	Amanda J. Williams	508
	Labour	Peter J. Lisle	493
	Green	Martin J. Childs	224	4.10	New
Registered electors			11,824		75
Turnout			5,549	46.93	3.30
Rejected ballots			18	0.32	0.22
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Plaistow and Sundridge

Plaistow and Sundridge (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	James Gillespie	1,865	42.50	18.30
	Conservative	Catherine A. Bustard	1,824	42.31	1.60
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen F. Gosling	1,818
	Conservative	Michael Turner	1,812
	Conservative	Dorothy J. Laird*	1,791
	Liberal Democrats	Lennard D. Woods	1,768
	Labour	Robert Armstrong	580	12.04	10.05
	Labour	Nicholas A. Wright	501
	Labour	Gordon T. Yates† [n 5]	464
	Green	Joyce L. Brown	147	3.15	6.65
	Green	Ann C. Garrett	133
	Green	Frances M. Speed	124
Registered electors			11,386		113
Turnout			4,543	39.90	4.35
Rejected ballots			19	0.42	0.38
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

St Mary Cray

St Mary Cray (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Susan A. Polydorou*	1,381	38.27	8.75
	Liberal Democrats	David McBride	1,332	37.44	11.65
	Labour	John R. Holbrook*	1,312
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Oldman	1,255
	Liberal Democrats	Brenda D. Thompson	1,246
	Labour	Christopher J. Price	1,225
	Conservative	Carole L. Bowman	885	24.29	2.90
	Conservative	Valerie A.C. Huntingdon-Thresher	802
	Conservative	Anne S. Barrow	800
Registered electors			10,409		203
Turnout			3,682	35.37	6.14
Rejected ballots			14	0.38	0.22
	Labour hold
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour
	Labour hold

St Paul's Cray

St Paul's Cray (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Colin Willetts	1,662	41.67	7.54
	Liberal Democrats	Thomas W. Hawthorne*	1,597	41.65	10.71
	Liberal Democrats	Martin A. Curry*	1,471
	Liberal Democrats	Duncan K. Borrowman*	1,443
	Labour	Kelly J. Galvin	1,440
	Labour	Elizabeth R. Johnstone	1,411
	Conservative	Mary W. Macpherson	612	16.68	3.17
	Conservative	Richard J. Wells	601
	Conservative	Christopher G. Hillier	593
Registered electors			11,324		136
Turnout			3,963	35.00	12.52
Rejected ballots			9	0.23	0.06
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Shortlands

Shortlands (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Malcolm P. Hyland*	1,979	63.55	5.72
	Conservative	George R. Taylor	1,960
	Liberal Democrats	Heather I. Donovan	690	22.01	3.01
	Liberal Democrats	Hilary E-A. Gaster	674
	Labour	Laurence R. Pocock	466	14.44	2.78
	Labour	Nicholas J. Reed	429
Registered electors			7,714		49
Turnout			3,266	42.34	4.86
Rejected ballots			15	0.46	0.40
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

West Wickham North

West Wickham North (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carole M. Hubbard*	1,756	59.99	6.65
	Conservative	Bryan C. Humphrys*	1,689
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer M. Fitch	673	22.11	14.43
	Liberal Democrats	Simon D. Wales	597
	Labour	Graham D. Blackwood	531	17.90	7.78
	Labour	Rebecca H. Pearson-Close	497
Registered electors			7,035		30
Turnout			3,012	42.81	7.21
Rejected ballots			11	0.37	0.11
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

West Wickham South

West Wickham South (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John F.I, Gray*	2,146	63.35	10.04
	Conservative	Leonard W. Tutt*	2,022
	Labour	Richard H. Redden	646	19.27	6.40
	Labour	Janet I. Ambrose	622
	Liberal Democrats	Graham F.K. Radford	593	17.38	8.49
	Liberal Democrats	John R. Maydwell	550
Registered electors			7,964		107
Turnout			3,465	43.51	5.12
Rejected ballots			15	0.43	0.27
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Notes

1. Jenkins was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr David M. Dear in 1996 ^[3]
2. Elgar was a sitting councillor representing the Copers Cope ward
3. Jones was a sitting councillor representing the Hayes ward
4. Jemetta was a sitting councillor representing the Plaistow and Sundridge ward
5. Yates was a sitting councillor representing the St Mary Cray ward

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. 192. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
2. "Local Elections results". The Times . 9 May 1998. p. 46.
3. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis (1998). "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results - By-elections" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
4. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. pp. 25–28, 192–193. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
5. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "London Borough of Camden Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Elections Centre. Plymouth University. pp. 11–12.