1998 Croydon London Borough Council election

1998 Croydon London Borough Council election

←  1994 7 May 1998 (1998-05-07) 2002  →
All 70 seats up for election to Croydon London Borough Council 36 seats needed for a majority
Registered	223,588 [1]
Turnout	84,507, 37.80% ( 8.68) [1]
First party Second party Third party   Leader Valerie Shawcross Unknown Unknown Party Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Leader since Unknown Unknown Unknown Leader's seat New Addington Unknown Unknown Last election 40 seats, 40.78% 30 seats, 42.80% 0 seats, 15.07% Seats won 38 31 1 Seat change 2 1 1 Popular vote 80,529 97,228 23,635 Percentage 39.79 48.04% 11.68% Swing 0.99 5.24 3.39
Map of the results of the 1998 Croydon Council election. Conservatives in blue and Labour in red.
Council control before election Labour Council control after election Labour

Elections to Croydon Council in London, England were held on 7 May 1998. The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council. ^[2] For the first time in a local election two polling stations were situated in supermarkets. ^[3]

Before the election the council had been seen as a top target for the Conservatives who only needed a small swing of 2 per cent to take control. ^[4] The Labour party had taken control of the council for the first time in the council's history in the previous election in 1994. ^[5] The removal of mounted patrols from parks and an increase in nursery places were seen as important issues in the election. ^[6] Both main parties concentrated on trying to get their vote out and were targeting several key wards. ^[5]

Background

In the intervening years between the 1994 and 1998 elections there were a total of 4 by-elections, none of which resulted in a seat changing hands between parties. ^[7]

In fact, this council was rare in that its composition hadn't changed in the 4 years between elections. ^[8] As such, the composition of the council just before the election was as follows:

↓

40	30
Labour	Con

Election result

Croydon local election result 1998 ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	38 [n 1]	0	2	2	54.29	39.79	80,529	0.99
	Conservative	31	2	1	1	44.29	48.04	97,228	5.24
	Liberal Democrats	1	1	0	1	1.41	11.68	23,635	3.39
	Independent Resident	0	0	0		0.00	0.30	600	New
	Independent Green	0	0	0		0.00	0.13	273	New
	Monster Raving Loony	0	0	0		0.00	0.06	114	New
Total		70						202,379

↓

38	1	31
Labour	LD	Con

Ward results

(*) - Indicates an incumbent candidate

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

Addiscombe

Addiscombe (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Jeremy Fitzpatrick*	1,943	45.01	3.09
	Labour Co-op	Amanda Campbell	1,703
	Labour Co-op	Sean Fitzsimons*	1,686
	Conservative	Richard Barwell	1,393	33.10	2.23
	Conservative	Richard Chatterjee	1,306
	Conservative	Hella El-Drouble	1,222
	Independent Resident	Stephen Collins	533	13.50	New
	Liberal Democrats	Melanie Barlow	391	8.39	3.57
	Liberal Democrats	George Schlich	314
	Liberal Democrats	Kay Schlich	289
Registered electors			9,411		804
Turnout			3,923	41.69	5.12
Rejected ballots			18	0.46	0.23
	Labour Co-op hold
	Labour Co-op hold
	Labour Co-op hold

Ashburton

Ashburton (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edwin Arram*	1,417	50.58	7.83
	Conservative	Avril Slipper*	1,355
	Labour	Michael Phelan	1,055	38.50	0.78
	Labour	Neva Sequeira	1,055
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Ashworth	343	10.91	8.62
	Liberal Democrats	Paul West	255
Registered electors			6,327		205
Turnout			2,925	46.23	4.20
Rejected ballots			6	0.21	0.15
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Bensham Manor

Bensham Manor (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alexander Burridge	1,766	62.25	5.29
	Labour	Paula Shaw* [n 2]	1,697
	Labour	Paul Mee*	1,668
	Conservative	Brenda Pullen	645	22.50	9.96
	Conservative	Sujata Bakrania	613
	Conservative	Maureen Whiting	596
	Liberal Democrats	John Fraser	336	10.70	New
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Facey	252
	UK Independent	James Feisenberger	125	4.55	New
Registered electors			9,161		461
Turnout			2,975	32.47	12.93
Rejected ballots			21	0.71	0.23
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Beulah

Beulah (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Roy Grantham*	1,368	50.00	3.83
	Labour	Hugh Malyan* [n 3]	1,330
	Conservative	Jonathan Bearman	1,131	41.10	0.77
	Conservative	Gloria Hutchens	1,087
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Cope	240	8.90	3.06
Registered electors			6,050		294
Turnout			2,849	47.09	5.50
Rejected ballots			4	0.14	0.07
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Broad Green

Broad Green (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rodney Matlock*	1,395	70.10	3.96
	Labour	Stuart Collins*	1,331
	Labour	Peter Spalding*	1,253
	Conservative	Ian Parker	612	29.90	3.96
	Conservative	Jill Thomas	553
	Conservative	Keith Pearson	532
Registered electors			8,754		36
Turnout			2,259	25.81	12.32
Rejected ballots			27	1.20	0.72
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Coulsdon East

Coulsdon East (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Wright*	2,234	47.13	2.71
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Atkins	2,122	43.27	7.96
	Conservative	Jason Perry*	2,112
	Conservative	Brian Udell	2,106
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Bishopp	1,935
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Goodrich	1,867
	Labour	Maggie Conway	474	9.60	5.25
	Labour	Charles King	431
	Labour	Michael Ryan	410
Registered electors			9,368		35
Turnout			4,788	51.11	2.71
Rejected ballots			11	0.23	0.19
	Conservative hold
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Croham

Croham (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Keable	2,223	55.03	3.25
	Conservative	Paul McCombie	2,206
	Conservative	Mark Stockwell	2,127
	Labour	Alison Butler	1,060	25.61	6.27
	Labour	Beatrice Pollard	1,011
	Labour	Peter Horah	980
	Liberal Democrats	Sylvia Bishopp	611	13.99	12.40
	Liberal Democrats	Joan Leck	530
	Liberal Democrats	Geoffrey Gauge	526
	Independent	Graham Johnson	129	3.25	New
	Independent	Mark Samuel	84	2.12	New
Registered electors			10,140		146
Turnout			4,052	39.96	10.62
Rejected ballots			13	0.32	0.24
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Fairfield

Fairfield (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Coatman*	2,189	52.20	3.05
	Conservative	Patricia Knight	2,120
	Conservative	Michael Wunn*	2,034
	Labour	Dominic O’Donnell	1,390	32.79	3.08
	Labour	Neil Jackson	1,335
	Labour	Paul Scott	1,260
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Moss	556	12.20	3.25
	Liberal Democrats	Mahetabel Hay-Davies	487
	Liberal Democrats	Carl Muller	439
	Monster Raving Loony	John Cartwright	114	2.81	New
Registered electors			11,470		196
Turnout			4,234	36.91	5.93
Rejected ballots			24	0.57	0.25
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Fieldway

Fieldway (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	James Walker*	851	74.39	1.65
	Labour Co-op	Mary Walker*	819
	Conservative	Madeleine Brundle	294	25.61	1.65
	Conservative	Richard Brundle	281
Registered electors			5,193		653
Turnout			1,243	23.94	12.19
Rejected ballots			11	0.88	0.55
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Heathfield

Heathfield (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Pelling*	2,328	65.07	12.66
	Conservative	Mary Horden*	2,284
	Conservative	Margaret Mead*	2,283
	Labour	Jeffrey Primm	880	22.78	2.34
	Labour	Lydia Sookias	776
	Labour	Mohammed Aslam	758
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Ladanyi	429	12.15	4.65
Registered electors			8,991		205
Turnout			3,653	40.63	6.96
Rejected ballots			11	0.30	0.21
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Kenley

Kenley (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Janice Buttinger	1,500	65.81	10.38
	Conservative	Steven Hollands	1,445
	Labour	Julie Candy	465	19.35	2.57
	Labour	Michael Rosenbloom	401
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremy Hargreaves	339	14.84	12.95
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Beadle	325
Registered electors			6,581		132
Turnout			2,388	36.29	7.98
Rejected ballots			4	0.17	0.12
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Monks Orchard

Monks Orchard (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Campbell*	2,132	65.92	5.99
	Conservative	Derek Loughborough*	2,116
	Labour	David Davies	880	24.16	2.28
	Labour	Joseph Assanah	677
	Liberal Democrats	David Golding	342	9.92	8.26
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia West	297
Registered electors			8,091		114
Turnout			3,450	42.64	8.46
Rejected ballots			9	0.26	0.01
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

New Addington

New Addington (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christopher Ward* [n 4]	1,076	61.66	8.82
	Labour	Trevor Laffin*	1,023
	Labour	Val Shawcross*	981
	Conservative	John Miller	669	38.34	8.82
	Conservative	Robin Sullivan	627
	Conservative	Roy Miller	619
Registered electors			7,934		612
Turnout			2,144	27.02	11.85
Rejected ballots			13	0.61	0.07
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Norbury

Norbury (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Mansell*	1,858	48.82	2.91
	Labour	Peter Hopson*	1,796
	Labour	Shafi Khan*	1,793
	Conservative	Bryan Kendall	1,651	42.26	1.03
	Conservative	Alan Mason	1,548
	Conservative	Madeleine Marvier	1,516
	Liberal Democrats	David Armer	397	8.92	1.88
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Scott	358
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Silver	241
Registered electors			8,711		335
Turnout			4,039	46.37	6.86
Rejected ballots			21	0.52	0.37
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Purley

Purley (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham Bass*	2,367	58.06	8.88
	Conservative	Derek Millard*	2,351
	Conservative	Phillip Thomas	2,170
	Labour	Ian Smith	811	19.82	3.93
	Labour	Douglas Mantell	782
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Newton	782	18.86	11.37
	Labour	Kandaswami Parameswaran	759
	Liberal Democrats	Pamela Randall	739
	Liberal Democrats	Jenefer Riley	716
	UK Independent	Kathleen Serter	129	3.26	New
Registered electors			10,968		17
Turnout			4,067	37.08	8.60
Rejected ballots			9	0.22	0.10
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Rylands

Rylands (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karen Jewitt*	1,323	65.91	3.87
	Labour	Louisa Woodley	1,115
	Conservative	Colin Gamage	656	34.09	3.87
	Conservative	Joan North	605
Registered electors			5,478		242
Turnout			2,031	37.08	13.69
Rejected ballots			19	0.94	0.25
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Sanderstead

Sanderstead (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Eric Shaw* [n 5]	2,183	67.92	14.16
	Conservative	Lynne Hale	2,130
	Labour	Ronald Fisher	628	16.69	0.07
	Liberal Democrats	Spencer Grady	470	14.33	12.02
	Liberal Democrats	Gavin Howard-Jones	440
	Labour	Paul Smith	432
	Independent Resident	Sheila Lee	41	1.06	New
	Independent Resident	David Lee	26
Registered electors			7,786		4
Turnout			3,431	44.06	6.71
Rejected ballots			7	0.20	0.02
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Selsdon

Selsdon (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Adamson*	2,277	69.96	19.42
	Conservative	Dudley Mead*	2,129
	Labour	Barry Buttigieg	559	16.94	4.94
	Labour	John Simkins	508
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Cook	420	13.10	22.18
	Liberal Democrats	John Jefkins	405
Registered electors			7,547		80
Turnout			3,338	44.23	10.60
Rejected ballots			9	0.27	0.22
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

South Norwood

South Norwood (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jane Avis	1,587	52.65	2.35
	Labour	Clive Fraser*	1,519
	Labour	Michael Jewitt*	1,484
	Conservative	George Filbey	1,078	35.43	2.62
	Conservative	Pauline Miles	1,054
	Conservative	John Tooze	957
	Liberal Democrats	Julie Hardy-McBride	357	11.92	0.27
	Liberal Democrats	Jan Perry	336
Registered electors			8,157		651
Turnout			3,087	37.84	8.99
Rejected ballots			15	0.49	0.05
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Spring Park

Spring Park (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Janet Marshall*	2,051	60.15	2.62
	Conservative	Michael Fisher	1,916
	Labour	Sarah Jones	1,089	31.57	2.69
	Labour	Mary Whitby	993
	Independent Green	Karl Williams	273	8.28	New
Registered electors			7,590		68
Turnout			3,369	44.39	9.70
Rejected ballots			17	0.50	0.25
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Thornton Heath

Thornton Heath (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Patricia Clouder	1,682	62.43	4.42
	Labour	Adrian Dennis*	1,595
	Labour	Wallace Garratt*	1,571
	Conservative	Peter Davis	694	25.37	7.78
	Conservative	Andrew Millard	638
	Conservative	Jane Parker	638
	Liberal Democrats	John Cornell	331	12.20	New
	Liberal Democrats	Geoffrey Morley	309
	Liberal Democrats	Beryl Pocock	307
Registered electors			8,952		245
Turnout			2,866	32.02	10.50
Rejected ballots			22	0.77	0.10
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Upper Norwood

Upper Norwood (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Patrick Ryan*	1,440	50.83	2.70
	Labour Co-op	Ian Payne*	1,187
	Conservative	Phillip Kenny	1,047	39.61	6.86
	Conservative	Martin Shaw	1,000
	Liberal Democrats	Leo Held	247	9.56	New
Registered electors			5,859		193
Turnout			2,698	46.05	6.30
Rejected ballots			22	0.82	0.47
	Labour Co-op hold
	Labour Co-op hold

Waddon

Waddon (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rex Calvert	1,610	47.75	16.66
	Conservative	Graham Dare	1,556
	Labour	Charles Pelling*	1,528	41.99	0.96
	Conservative	Philip Gamble	1,490
	Labour	Timothy Godfrey	1,298
	Labour	Bernardette Khan† [n 6]	1,268
	Liberal Democrats	Steven Gauge	363	10.26	6.06
	Liberal Democrats	Henry Norton	338
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Hadjicharalambous	299
Registered electors			9,451		542
Turnout			3,567	37.74	9.09
Rejected ballots			13	0.36	0.08
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Labour hold

West Thornton

West Thornton (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clarence McKenzie*	1,449	61.91	4.21
	Labour	Gwendolyn Bernard*	1,408
	Labour	Raj Chandarana† [n 7]	1,363
	Conservative	Roger Taylor	913	38.09	10.01
	Conservative	Parshotam Bhagat	868
	Conservative	Vinita Bearman	815
Registered electors			9,374		434
Turnout			2,775	29.60	14.39
Rejected ballots			35	1.26	0.95
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Whitehorse Manor

Whitehorse Manor (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Toni Letts*	1,400	66.59	3.33
	Labour	Gerry Ryan	1,284
	Labour	Martin Tiedemann	1,266
	Conservative	Quentin Hawkins	709	33.41	8.69
	Conservative	Barbara Colliver	677
	Conservative	Sheila Willis	596
Registered electors			8,703		702
Turnout			2,274	26.13	11.47
Rejected ballots			21	0.92	0.61
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Woodcote and Coulsdon West

Woodcote and Coulsdon West (3) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Osland*	2,163	52.52	2.67
	Conservative	Anna Hawkins*	2,161
	Conservative	Gavin Barwell	2,009
	Labour	James Darville	807	18.76	3.95
	Liberal Democrats	John Callen	777	17.75	17.59
	Labour	Ronald Rowland	768
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Gauge	697
	Labour	Aslam Hoda	687
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Jacobs	666
	Independent	Owen Kelly	441	10.97	New
Registered electors			11,028		184
Turnout			3,963	35.94	7.99
Rejected ballots			16	0.40	0.38
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Woodside

Woodside (2) ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Brian Finegan*	1,183	52.53	1.81
	Labour Co-op	Anthony Newman*	1,121
	Conservative	Benjamin Grainger	637	28.55	4.77
	Conservative	Derek Dorey	615
	Liberal Democrats	Hilary Waterhouse	415	18.92	2.96
Registered electors			6,513		71
Turnout			2,119	32.53	12.13
Rejected ballots			6	0.28	0.18
	Labour Co-op hold
	Labour Co-op hold

Notes

1. The number of seats and number of votes includes results from candidates standing under the Labour and Co-operative party
2. Shaw was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr Alison Roberts in 1996 ^[7]
3. Maylan was elected in a by-electing triggered by the resignation of Cllr Sherwan Chowdbury in 1994 ^[7]
4. Ward was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr Geraint Davies in 1997. ^[7]
5. Shaw was elected in a by-election triggered by the death of Cllr Bruce Marshall in 1995 ^[7]
6. Khan was a sitting councillor representing the Addiscombe ward
7. Chandarana was a sitting councillor representing the Thornton Heath ward

References

1. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 194. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
2. Riddell, Peter (9 May 1998). "Apathy the winner in struggle between new and old Labour". The Times . p. 46.
3. Travis, Alan (8 May 1998). "London leans to independent mayor improving life in the capital". The Guardian . Retrieved 26 April 2009.
4. "Labour's first big test approaches". BBC Online . 3 May 1998. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
5. Ward, Lucy (4 May 1998). "When sofa apathy is party enemy No.1, it's all down to swinging the key wards Local elections: In Croydon both sides are concentrating on where they hope it will do most good. Lucy Ward reports". The Guardian . p. 4.
6. "Councils of war: the 12 key town halls they're fighting for". Evening Standard . 6 May 1998. p. 19.
7. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis (July 1998). "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 40. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
8. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. July 1998. p. 35. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
9. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis (July 1998). "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. pp. 37–40, 194–195. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
10. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "London Borough of Croydon Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Elections Centre. Plymouth University. pp. 11–12. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
11. "Local Elections results". The Times . 9 May 1998. p. 46.