1998 Cheltenham Borough Council election

The 1998 Cheltenham Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Cheltenham Borough Council in Gloucestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats stayed in overall control of the council. ^[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was

• Liberal Democrat 27
• Conservative 9
• People Against Bureaucracy 4
• Vacant 1 ^[1]

Campaign

Before the election the Liberal Democrats held 32 of the 41 seats on the council and were guaranteed to remain in control of the council with only 13 seats being contested. ^[2] They were defending most of the seats up for election, while another 3 were held by the People Against Bureaucracy Action Group. ^[2] These 3 seats included 2 where Liberal Democrats councillors had defected to People Against Bureaucracy. ^[2] Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat leader of the council, Alistair Cameron, stood down at the election. ^[2]

The campaign saw the Conservatives attack the Liberal Democrats for the level of council tax in Cheltenham and for wasting money. ^[3]

Election result

Cheltenham local election result 1998 ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	6	6	0	+6	46.2	40.6	10,387	+8.3
	Liberal Democrats	5	0	7	-7	38.5	38.8	9,935	-8.8
	PAB	2	1	0	+1	15.4	10.1	2,578	+4.0
	Labour	0	0	0	0	0	10.2	2,611	-3.8
	Green	0			0	0	0.3	82	N/A

Ward results

All Saints ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Daphne Pennell	807	40.4	+4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Henry	619	31.0	−19.8
	PAB	Sally Stringer*	371	18.6	N/A
	Labour	Edward Hemmings	200	10.0	−3.3
Majority			188	9.4
Turnout			1,997	30.2
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Charlton Kings ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jennifer Moreton	1,439	55.5	+8.4
	Liberal Democrats	Claire Grainger	1,153	44.5	−1.5
Majority			286	11.0
Turnout			2,592	41.2
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

College ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Leslie Freeman	1,278	43.3	±0.0
	Liberal Democrats	Garth Barnes*	1,225	41.5	−8.0
	PAB	Alan Stone	321	10.9	N/A
	Labour	Thomas Wiffen	128	4.3	−2.9
Majority			53	1.8
Turnout			2,952	44.1
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Hatherley & the Reddings ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Diane Blackburn	1,076	43.2	−6.6
	Conservative	Paul Simons	1,036	41.6	+1.2
	Labour	Christopher Bailey	298	12.0	+2.2
	Green	Geoffrey Foster	82	3.3	N/A
Majority			40	1.6
Turnout			2,492	32.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Hesters Way ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Clive Lloyd	865	59.9	−9.4
	Conservative	Eric Baylis	305	21.1	+6.9
	Labour	William Fawcett	273	18.9	+2.3
Majority			560	38.8
Turnout			1,443	20.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Lansdown ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Susan Starling	882	51.6	+10.4
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Whalley*	644	37.7	−7.5
	Labour	Robert Irons	184	10.8	−3.4
Majority			238	13.9
Turnout			1,710	28.0
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Leckhampton with Up Hatherley ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robin Macdonald	1,449	57.9	+23.1
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Regan*	806	32.2	+1.9
	Labour	Martin Burford	249	9.9	+0.3
Majority			643	25.7
Turnout			2,504	38.1
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Park ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Duncan Smith	1,372	62.9	+13.8
	Liberal Democrats	Yvonne Nicholls	810	37.1	−7.2
Majority			562	25.8
Turnout			2,182	38.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Pittville ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAB	David Prince*	733	33.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Royston Hyett	590	26.9	−20.1
	Labour	David Addison	555	25.3	−12.6
	Conservative	Nigel Regnier	315	14.4	−0.7
Majority			143	6.5
Turnout			2,193	38.1
	PAB gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Prestbury ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAB	Leslie Godwin*	1,153	59.9	+10.1
	Conservative	John Walker	504	26.2	+3.3
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Jones	202	10.5	−8.4
	Labour	Philip Greening	66	3.4	−5.0
Majority			649	33.7
Turnout			1,925	31.8
	PAB hold		Swing

St Marks ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Cassin	650	62.2	−9.3
	Labour	Andre Curtis	205	19.6	+3.3
	Conservative	James Stevenson	190	18.2	+6.0
Majority			445	42.6
Turnout			1,045	21.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

St Pauls ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Heather McLain	640	47.9	−13.5
	Conservative	Susan Godwin	513	38.4	+18.8
	Labour	Tristan Wood	183	13.7	−5.3
Majority			127	9.5
Turnout			1,336	22.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

St Peters ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Pat Thornton*	655	53.6	−7.0
	Conservative	Rachel Murray	297	24.3	+10.0
	Labour	Clive Harriss	270	22.1	−3.0
Majority			358	29.3
Turnout			1,222	20.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

References

1. "Policy and politics: Local Elections: Analysis: Council poll results". The Guardian . 9 May 1998. p. 16.
2. Harrison, Stephen (30 April 1998). "Close contest as Labour battles to stay in control. Voters across the Midlands go to the polls next Thursday May 7. Today, Local Government Correspondent Stephen Harrison looks at the looming ballot battle in Gloucestershire". Birmingham Post . p. 4.
3. "Tories on warpath over Ashdown party's council tax record". Birmingham Post . 21 April 1998. p. 6.
4. "Local Elections results". The Times . 9 May 1998. p. 46.
5. "Borough council election 7th May, 1998" (PDF). Cheltenham Borough Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2010.