The 1998 Hackney London Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1998. All 60 members of Hackney London Borough Council were up for election. The elections took place as part of the 1998 London local elections.
The Labour Party retained overall control of the council but saw a significant reduction in seats, losing 16 seats. The Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives made gains, with the Liberal Democrats increasing their seat count by 10 and the Conservatives by six.
Simultaneously, a referendum was held on whether there was support for establishing a Greater London Authority
The 1998 Hackney London Borough Council elections initially left the Labour Party without a working majority, holding 29 of the 60 available seats. Following a series of by-elections, Labour gained three additional seats, securing victories from both the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, and thus achieving a working majority with 32 seats. The Liberal Democrats saw a reduction from 17 to 15 seats, while the Conservative Party increased their seats from 12 to 13, and the Green Party's representation decreased from 2 to 1 seat. This shift in council composition allowed Labour to establish stronger control over council decisions, including budgetary matters.
Background
Prior to the 1998 election, Labour had effectively lost control of Hackney Council, with no single party holding a majority. The election was part of a broader set of local elections across London and the UK, where several councils experienced shifts in control.
Electoral fraud
On 9 March 2001, two Hackney Borough Council councillors, Isaac Leibowitz, Conservative, and Zev Lieberman, Liberal Democrat were convicted of a major vote-rigging conspiracy related to the May 1998 local elections. They were found guilty of fraudulently adding names to the electoral roll to influence the election outcome in Hackney's Northwold ward.
The fraud involved registering fake voters, including using disused properties and misrepresenting addresses. It also included manipulating proxy votes. This led to a significant increase in proxy voting from 12 in 1994 to 241 in 1998, with a majority of the proxies voting for the Liberal Democrats.
Leibowitz and Lieberman were convicted of forgery and conspiracy to defraud. The scale of the fraud raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and the accuracy of the election results.[3]
Election result
In the 1998 Hackney Council election, no single party gained overall control of the council. The result reflected a broader trend observed in other boroughs during the same election cycle, where several councils transitioned to no overall control. The outcome was consistent with changes observed in other boroughs, where Labour gained control of Harrow, Brent, Lambeth, and Waltham Forest from a state of no overall control. Labour lost control of Hillingdon, Islington, and Hackney, where they had previously held a majority or significant influence.
1998 Hackney London Borough Council local elections[4][5]
↑ Bentley was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Helen A. Cooper[6]
↑ Pearson was initially elected as a Labour Councillor but later joined the Liberal Democrats
↑ Ece was a sitting councillor representing the Clissold ward. They were originally elected as a Labour councillor but defected to the Liberal Democrats at some point before this election
↑ O'Leary was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. John T.T. Richards in 1994[6]
↑ Snell was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Madeleine M. Spanswick in 1996[6]
↑ Hibberd was originally elected as a Labour councillor but defected to the Liberal Democrats at some point before this election
↑ Hanson was a sitting councillor representing the Homerton ward who was originally elected as a Labour councillor but defected to the Liberal Democrats at some point before this election
↑ Goodchild was elected as a Labour councillor but at sometime before this election they defected to the Liberal Democrats
↑ Maxted was a sitting councillor representing the Victoria ward
↑ Miah was a sitting councillor representing the Chatham ward. Miah was originally elected as a Labour councillor but defected to the Conservatives at some point before this election.
↑ Shaikh was a sitting councillor representing the Eastdown ward who was originally elected as a Labour councillor but later defected to the Conservatives
↑ Shenker was a sitting councillor representing the Chatham ward. Shenker was originally elected as a Labour councillor but eventually defected to the Conservative Party
↑ Candlin was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Alison J. Rothwell in 1995[6]
↑ Fahey was elected in a by-election triggered by the death of Cllr. Iain D.F. Pigg in 1997[6]
↑ Phillips was originally elected as a Labour councillor but later defected to the Conservatives
↑ Grosskopf was a sitting councillor representing the Leabridge ward who was originallt elected as a Labour councillor but later defected to the Conservatives
↑ McCafferty was a sitting councillor representing the Rectory ward
↑ Peretz was a sitting councillor representing the New River ward who was originally elected as a Labour councilor and who later defected to the Conservatives
↑ Share was initially elected as a member of the Labour Party but at sometime after the 1994 election he defected to the Liberal Democrats
↑ Peters was originally elected as a Labour councillor but later defected to the Liberal Democrats
↑ Oleforo was a sitting councillor representing the Eastdown ward
↑ Lamb was initially elected as a Labour councillor but at some time before this election they defected to the Liberal Democrats
↑ Pipe was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Anne St Clair Miller in 1996[6]
↑ Leibowitz was a sitting councillor representing the Northwold ward who was originally elected as a Labour councillor but later defected to the Conservatives
↑ O'Connor was a sitting councillor representing the Clissold ward
↑ Minors, Grenham, Michael, Dennis (1998). London Borough Council Elections 7 May 1998 including the Greater London Authority Referendum results (1sted.). London: London Research Centre. pp.Hackney. ISBN1 85261 2762.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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