1998 Lewisham London Borough Council election

1998 Lewisham London Borough Council election

←  1994 7 May 1998 (1998-05-07) 2002  →
All 67 seats up for election to Lewisham London Borough Council 34 seats needed for a majority
Registered	175,022 [1]
Turnout	51,905, 29.66% ( 11.32) [1]
First party Second party Third party   Leader James Mallory Unknown Unknown Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative Leader since 1995 Unknown Unknown Leader's seat Grinling Gibbons Unknown Unknown Last election 63 seats, 64.51% 3 seats, 10.71% 1 seat, 23.70% Seats before 60 4 1 Seats won 61 4 2 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 74,820 11,223 28,364 Percentage 61.60% 9.24% 23.35% Swing 2.91 1.46 0.35
Council control before election Labour Council control after election Labour

Elections to Lewisham London Borough Council were held on 7 May 1998. The whole council was up for election for the first time since the 1994 election.

Background

In between the 1994 election and this election there were a total of 6 by-elections to replace councillors who either resigned from their seat or died in office, however only 1 of them resulted in a seat changing parties by going from Liberal Democrats to the Labour Party. ^[2] In addition to this change there were 3 defections from the Labour party, 2 to the Socialist Party ^[3] and 1 to the Socialist Labour Party, as well as one Labour seat that became vacant without enough time to hold a by-election. This meant the composition of the council just before the election was as follows: ^[4]

↓

2	1	60	2	1	1
Socialist	Soc. Lab	Labour	Lib Dem	Conservative	Vacant

Election result

Lewisham Local Election Result 1998 ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	61	1	3	2	91.04	61.60	74,820	2.91
	Liberal Democrats	4	0	0	1	5.97	9.24	11,223	1.46
	Conservative	2	2	1	1	2.99	23.35	28,364	0.35
	Green	0	0	0		0.00	3.53	4,281	2.63
	Socialist Labour	0	0	0		0.00	0.70	855	New
	Socialist (GB)	0	0	0		0.00	0.69	836	New
	Ind. Residents	0	0	0		0.00	0.46	561	New
	Ind. Labour Party	0	0	0		0.00	0.27	328	New
	Socialist Alliance	0	0	0		0.00	0.16	188	New
Total		67						121,456

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

↓

61	4	2
Labour	Lib Dem	Conservative

Ward results

(*) - Indicates an incumbent candidate

(†) - Indicates an incumbent candidate standing in a different ward than the one they were elected to

Bellingham

Bellingham (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John A. O'Shea*	959	62.23	16.24
	Labour	Ronald J. Stockbridge*	855
	Conservative	Rosemary A. Pratt	323	21.44	0.09
	Conservative	Margaret R. Smith	302
	Liberal Democrats	Michael L.P. Joyce	238	16.33	New
Registered electors			5,845		50
Turnout			1,527	26.12	12.08
Rejected ballots			8	0.52	0.34
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Blackheath

Blackheath (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gavin F. Moore*	957	60.18	0.63
	Labour	Andrew K. Brown* [n 1]	937
	Conservative	Sally Baden-Hellard	357	21.77	3.64
	Conservative	Margaret R. Smith	302
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Stocklley	284	18.05	4.27
Registered electors			5,340		161
Turnout			1,579	29.57	14.59
Rejected ballots			14	0.89	0.54
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Blythe Hill

Blythe Hill (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James L.H. Eytle*	1,168	75.88	20.16
	Labour	Sylvia E. Scott*	1,144
	Conservative	Bernard Anghelides	383	24.12	4.43
	Conservative	Richard C. Wilson	352
Registered electors			5,213		140
Turnout			1,645	31.56	10.62
Rejected ballots			16	0.97	0.64
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Catford

Catford (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Martin Taylor	1,052	51.00	3.57
	Labour	Joseph G.D. Burns	956
	Conservative	Derek A. Stone	693	33.76	7.80
	Conservative	Nicole O. Barakat	636
	Liberal Democrats	Owen T. Griffiths	300	15.24	4.23
Registered electors			5,820		33
Turnout			2,012	34.57	10.67
Rejected ballots			21	1.04	0.58
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Churchdown

Churchdown (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David D. Bodimeade* [n 2]	1,112	46.67	11.19
	Labour	Kelly A.M. Conway† [n 3]	1,099
	Labour	Kathleen A. McGarrigle* [n 2]	1,037
	Liberal Democrats	Joanne S. Prater	776	32.64	13.14
	Liberal Democrats	Tim Prater	748
	Liberal Democrats	Cathy Priddey	747
	Conservative	Andrew J. Lee	503	20.69	1.95
	Conservative	Ghislaine P. Greensitt	475
	Conservative	Ronald E. Lee	462
Registered electors			7,004		105
Turnout			2,479	35.39	9.27
Rejected ballots			5	0.20	0.04
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Crofton Park

Crofton Park (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Fiona J. Crichlow	1,576	58.58	7.43
	Labour	Gurbakhsh S. Garcha*	1,390
	Labour	Ruth M. Watt† [n 4]	1,380
	Green	Neil S. Cole-Fennel	530	21.43	New
	Conservative	Amanda T. Graham	523	19.99	1.49
	Conservative	Matthew L. Sutcliffe	493
	Conservative	Derek A. Turner	467
Registered electors			7,800		72
Turnout			2,438	31.26	11.52
Rejected ballots			8	0.33	0.03
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Downham

Downham (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew M. Huntbach*	1,215	60.97	3.10
	Liberal Democrats	Roy T. Stevens* [n 5]	1,212
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Walton	1,097
	Labour	Judith C. Page	633	31.19	3.59
	Labour	Mazhar Awan	587
	Labour	Ashtaq Arain† [n 6]	583
	Conservative	Eglantine M. Draper	170	7.84	1.50
	Conservative	Peter Vickers	147
	Conservative	Marguerite B.A. Westgate	136
Registered electors			6,364		201
Turnout			2,109	33.14	17.74
Rejected ballots			12	0.57	0.33
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Drake

Drake (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Obajimi Adefiranye*	1,081	57.22	0.97
	Labour	Terence C. Scott*	1,001
	Labour	Jarman S. Parmar*	1,000
	Green	Darren P. Johnson	731	32.27	14.63
	Green	Hayley Trueman	550
	Green	Dean M. Walton	457
	Conservative	Lars G.U. Almqvist	214	10.51	0.89
	Conservative	Miriam A. Makepeace	197
	Conservative	Norah M. Whetstone	155
Registered electors			8,045		213
Turnout			2,003	24.90	8.72
Rejected ballots			17	0.85	0.47
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Evelyn

Evelyn (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mark E. Nottingham*	1,227	79.75	10.21
	Labour	Mee L. Ng*	1,084
	Labour	Crada N. Onuegbu	965
	Conservative	Derek W. Harris	297	20.25	8.58
	Conservative	Catherine Eaton	288
	Conservative	Joyce B. Ockendon	247
Registered electors			7,596		266
Turnout			1,628	21.43	9.07
Rejected ballots			28	1.72	1.45
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Forest Hill

Forest Hill (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jacqueline A. Addison*	1,029	73.49	0.91
	Labour	John Paschoud*	956
	Conservative	Gaenor A. Elliott	360	26.51	0.91
	Conservative	Frederick J. Porter	356
Registered electors			4,964		25
Turnout			1,489	30.00	10.89
Rejected ballots			21	1.41	0.77
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Grinling Gibbons

Grinling Gibbons (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Brown*	1,248	66.86	3.18
	Labour	Man Mohan*	1,140
	Labour	James Mallory*	1,135
	Green	Sharon L. Mattey	394	22.43	7.30
	Conservative	Colin C. Kendon	195	10.71	1.04
	Conservative	Ian F. Mackey	189
	Conservative	Vera A. Hallett	180
Registered electors			7,387		94
Turnout			1,701	23.03	8.01
Rejected ballots			23	1.35	0.95
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Grove Park

Grove Park (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Donovan A. Green* [n 7]	764	52.19	2.11
	Labour	Paul G. Morris	534
	Conservative	Victor N. Atkinson	398	31.81	0.23
	Conservative	Sally B. Gander	393
	Liberal Democrats	Alan V. Marshall	227	16.00	1.88
	Liberal Democrats	Adebayo Adetona	171
Registered electors			5,232		221
Turnout			1,418	27.10	16.01
Rejected ballots			8	0.56	0.42
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Hither Green

Hither Green (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew Davies	1,381	58.43	13.36
	Labour	Paul Fallon	1,244
	Labour	David C. Wilson*	1,188
	Conservative	John P. Glen	409	17.77	10.44
	Conservative	Barry J. Oiley	382
	Conservative	Hilda Newland	369
	Ind. Residents	Susan C. Hodge	293	12.90	New
	Ind. Residents	Audrey J. Thurman	268
	Socialist Labour	Anthony F. Link* [n 8]	237	10.90	New
Registered electors			8,253		69
Turnout			2,280	27.63	10.66
Rejected ballots			19	0.83	0.06
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Horniman

Horniman (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David J. Whiting† [n 9]	1,314	46.66	0.76
	Labour	Kristine A.C. Taylor	1,288
	Labour	Susan M. Wise	1,239
	Conservative	Maureen P. Marriott	960	33.91	3.51
	Conservative	Charles R. Cramp	950
	Conservative	Paul J. Oakley	881
	Liberal Democrats	Brenda W. Pooley	533	19.43	4.27
Registered electors			7,617		160
Turnout			2,709	35.57	9.98
Rejected ballots			18	0.66	0.51
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Ladywell

Ladywell (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Miriam A. Iloghalu*	1,470	54.04	14.73
	Labour	Pauline S. Morrison	1,292
	Labour	Paul Newing*	1,192
	Green	Janet Lawrence	357	14.64	New
	Liberal Democrats	John E. James	307	12.59	5.13
	Conservative	Carolyn R. Freeman	274	10.28	3.23
	Conservative	Nicholas H. Kent	261
	Socialist Labour	John A. Mulregan	235	8.45	New
	Conservative	Eve J.M. Jagusiewicz	217
	Socialist Labour	David E. Barber	201
	Socialist Labour	Terry Dunn	182
Registered electors			7,743		444
Turnout			2,369	30.60	6.24
Rejected ballots			10	0.42	0.20
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Manor Lee

Manor Lee (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Madeliene M. Long*	1,236	53.43	16.57
	Labour	David P. Sullivan*	1,055
	Liberal Democrats	Patrick A. McKee	350	16.32	5.15
	Conservative	William L. Bellers	334	15.28	0.54
	Conservative	Beryl A.B. Rice	321
	Green	Roebrt G. Borruso	273	12.73	New
	Socialist Alliance	Danny C. Hammill	48	2.24	New
Registered electors			5,685		7
Turnout			1,999	35.16	10.97
Rejected ballots			13	0.65	0.38
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Marlowe

Marlowe (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Padmore*	1,253	57.38	10.14
	Labour	Annette L. Gordon	1,152
	Labour	Paul J. Maslin	1,092
	Ind. Labour Party	O'Caul G. Edwards-Capone	328	16.15	New
	Liberal Democrats	Kate Newman	318	15.65	0.01
	Conservative	Frank G. Ward	169	7.56	0.85
	Conservative	Colin S. Ockendon	150
	Conservative	Iris B. Ward	142
	Socialist Alliance	Tobias Abse	66	3.25	New
Registered electors			7,984		489
Turnout			1,794	22.47	12.45
Rejected ballots			13	0.72	0.49
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Pepys

Pepys (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sandra Margaret	1,334	45.35	39.22
	Labour	Alan D. Hall* [n 10]	1,204
	Labour	Nicholas J.W. Taylor† [n 11]	1,096
	Socialist (GB)	Ian G. Page* [n 12]	836	31.30	New
	Green	Leandrina D. Cole-Fennel	441	16.51	New
	Conservative	Hilda M. Wright	189	6.84	8.59
	Conservative	Anthony W. Shead	187
	Conservative	James M. Wright	172
Registered electors			7,741		290
Turnout			2,181	28.17	8.68
Rejected ballots			22	1.01	0.43
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Perry Hill

Perry Hill (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan R. Till*	1,641	71.19	14.15
	Labour	Colin S. Hastie*	1,604
	Labour	Michael V. Holder† [n 13]	1,604
	Conservative	Margaret D. Ball	679	28.81	2.75
	Conservative	Huw L. Shooter	640
	Conservative	Timothy J. Batterham	628
Registered electors			8,188		154
Turnout			2,522	30.80	13.66
Rejected ballots			42	1.67	1.39
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Rushey Green

Rushey Green (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peggy M. Fitzsimmons	1,087	78.08	5.44
	Labour	Helen Klier	1,065
	Conservative	Charles R. Bradshaw	251	16.55	0.37
	Conservative	Roger G. Pawley	205
	Socialist Alliance	Nicholas R. Long	74	5.37	New
Registered electors			5,839		64
Turnout			1,488	25.48	11.92
Rejected ballots			29	1.95	1.76
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

St Andrew

St Andrew (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Carl R. Handley† [n 14]	1,069	59.76	13.88
	Labour	Abdeslam Amrani	1,056
	Conservative	Pamela B.B. Shooter	463	25.73	2.22
	Conservative	Robert S. Light	452
	Liberal Democrats	Roy S. Robinson	258	14.51	11.74
Registered electors			5,836		303
Turnout			1,827	31.31	16.28
Rejected ballots			13	0.71	0.41
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

St Margaret

St Margaret (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kathryn C. Donnelly	1,108	56.06	4.66
	Labour	Jane F. Hastie	931
	Conservative	Caroline P.F. Barnett	464	25.13	0.83
	Conservative	Esther Finlay	450
	Liberal Democrats	Joan Labrom	342	18.81	3.83
Registered electors			5,229		37
Turnout			1,812	34.65	12.98
Rejected ballots			15	0.83	0.71
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

St Mildred

St Mildred (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Barrie P. Anderson	1,516	44.17	2.24
	Conservative	David S. Britton	1,485
	Labour	William M. Carlisle† [n 15]	1,335	38.58	5.38
	Conservative	David J. McInnes	1,324
	Labour	Ruffo Bravette	1,278
	Labour	Mahmuda Kabir	1,164
	Liberal Democrats	Linda F. Hawkins	563	17.25	3.15
Registered electors			8,785		4
Turnout			3,233	36.80	12.27
Rejected ballots			14	0.43	0.22
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Labour gain from Conservative

Sydenham East

Sydenham East (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris Best*	1,321	64.02	0.16
	Labour	Liam K. Curran† [n 16]	1,211
	Labour	Alan E. Pegg*	1,159
	Conservative	Henriette L. Dodd	458	21.72	0.65
	Conservative	Raymond Squires	410
	Conservative	Gwynfor Tippett	384
	Green	Ronald P. Wilson	274	14.26	0.50
Registered electors			7,195		24
Turnout			1,980	27.52	10.21
Rejected ballots			16	0.81	0.48
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Sydenham West

Sydenham West (3) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip J. Mills	1,232	47.66	10.15
	Labour	Roger G. Harris	1,204
	Labour	Eva A. Stamirowski	963
	Conservative	Iona K. Gillis	570	22.47	0.05
	Conservative	Angela Bradshaw	554
	Conservative	Douglas Pratt	478
	Liberal Democrats	Mark A. Bennett	436	18.34	1.33
	Green	Regina E. Purrmann	274	11.53
Registered electors			7,436		241
Turnout			2,131	28.66	11.75
Rejected ballots			8	0.38	0.06
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Whitefoot

Whitefoot (2) ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Smith	592	40.59	12.43
	Liberal Democrats	Carl Kisicki* [n 17]	581	38.23	24.62
	Labour	Vanessa Large	577
	Liberal Democrats	David C. Buxton	520
	Conservative	Lloyd S. Richardson	309	21.18	12.19
	Conservative	Josie O. Martin	301
Registered electors			4,881		16
Turnout			1,552	31.80	9.89
Rejected ballots			6	0.39	0.24
	Labour hold
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour

Notes

1. Brown was elected in a by-election trigerred by the resignation of Cllr. Heidi A. Nash in 1997 ^[7]
2. Bodimeade and McGarrigle were both elected in by-elections triggered by the resignations of Cllr. Cliver R. Jordan and Cllr. Margaret Moran respectively in 1997 ^[7]
3. Conway was a sitting councillor representing the St Mildred ward
4. Watt was a sitting councillor representing the Marlowe ward
5. Stevens was originally elected as a Labour politician in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Marc O. Morgan-Huws in 1995 ^[7]
6. Arain was a sitting councillor representing the Grove Park ward
7. Donovan replaced sitting councillor Joh Macdonald after his resignation in 1995 ^[7]
8. Link was originally elected in 1`994 as a member of the Labour Party, before eventually splitting and joining the more left-wing Socialist Labour Party
9. Whiting was a sitting councillor representing the St Margaret ward
10. Hall was elected in a by-election triggered by the death of Cllr. John C. Rudd in 1996 ^[7]
11. Taylor was a sitting councillor representing the Crofton Park ward
12. Page was originally elected to represent the ward as a Labour councillor but subsequently joined the Socialist Party
13. Holder was a sitting councillor representing the St Andrew ward
14. Handley was a sitting councillor representing the Catford ward
15. Carlisle was a sitting councillor representing the Whitefoot ward
16. Curran was a sitting councillor representing the Sydenham West ward
17. Kisicki was originally elected as a Labour councillor but later defected to the Liberal Democrats

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. 210. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
2. 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. 128. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
3. "London Boroughs Political Almanac: London Borough of Lewisham". London Councils. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
4. Minors, Michael. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results - Changes 1998-94" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 123. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
5. 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. 125–128, 208–211. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
6. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "London Borough of Lewisham Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Elections Centre. Plymouth University. pp. 11–12. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
7. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authoirty referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 128. Retrieved 15 May 2025.