1998 Merton London Borough Council election

1998 Merton London Borough Council election

←  1994 7 May 1998 2002  →
All 57 seats up for election to Merton London Borough Council 29 seats needed for a majority
Registered	130,656 [1] [2]
Turnout	49,633, 37.99% ( 11.52%) [1] [2]
First party Second party   Leader Michael A. Brunt Unknown Party Labour Conservative Leader since 1997 Unknown Leader's seat Dundonald Unknown Last election 40 seats, 48.52% 10 seats, 30.16% Seats won 39 12 Seat change 1 2 Popular vote 57,753 43,021 Percentage 44.16% 32.89% Swing 4.36% 2.73%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Unknown Unknown Party Liberal Democrats Merton Park Residents Leader since Unknown Unknown Leader's seat Unknown Unknown Last election 3 seats, 12.11% 3 seats, 3.46% Seats won 3 3 Seat change Popular vote 18,881 4,415 Percentage 14.44% 3.38% Swing 2.32% 0.08%
Council control before election Labour Council control after election Labour

Elections for the London Borough of Merton were held on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Merton London Borough Council in London, England. This was on the same day as other local elections in England and a referendum on the Greater London Authority; in the latter, Merton voted in favour of creating the Greater London Authority by 72.2% on a 37.6% turnout. ^[3]

The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council, despite losing one seat. ^[4]

There were some minor ward boundary changes which came into effect in December 1994; these affected Merton's boundaries with Sutton and Croydon. ^[5] However, the number of council seats remained at fifty-seven. This would be the last election under these boundaries: in 2002, the number of seats was increased by 3 and all ward boundaries were redrawn. ^[6]

Background

In between the 1994 election and this election there were a total of 2 by-elections to replace councillors who died in office, however these did not result in the seats changing parties. ^[7] In addition to these a Labour councillor defected to a third party, which meant the composition of the council just before the election was as follows:

↓

39	3	3	10	2
Labour	Lib Dem	Merton Park	Conservative	Other

Election Results

The incumbent Labour majority administration lost two seats to the Consergainves and gained one seat from Longthornton and Tamworth Residents Association, whose last councillor was elected in 1994 and no longer sat for the party; the party did not contest the election. ^{[6] [8]}

Merton Park Ward Residents Association and the Liberal Democrats maintained their three seats each in Merton Park and West Barnes respectively. ^[6]

Merton Local Election Result 1998 ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	39	1	2	1	68.42	44.16	57,753	4.36
	Conservative	12	2	0	2	21.06	32.89	43,021	2.73
	Liberal Democrats	3	0	0		5.26	14.44	18,881	2.32
	Merton Park Residents	3	0	0		5.26	3.38	4,415	0.08
	Green	0	0	0		0.00	4.82	6,301	2.36
	BNP	0	0	0		0.00	0.17	216	New
	Independent	0	0	0		0.00	0.16	205	0.38
	Longthornton and Tamworth Residents	0	0	1	1	0.00	0.00	0 [n 1]	2.54
Total		57						130,792

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

↓

39	3	3	12
Labour	Lib Dem	Merton Park	Conservative

Ward results

(*) - Indicates an incumbent candidate

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

Abbey

Abbey (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Susan Assinen*	1,162	49.82	5.45
	Labour	John K. Carter	1,138
	Labour	Mohammad A. Karim	1,101
	Conservative	Margaret A. Connon	578	23.96	2.62
	Conservative	Andrew M.A. Leek	535
	Conservative	James D.R. Holmes† [n 2]	523
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth J. Barker	478	16.79	8.09
	Liberal Democrats	Michael C. Roe	349
	Liberal Democrats	John P. Houlihan	319
	Green	Jacqueline L. Barrow	265	9.43	6.44
	Green	Mark A. Coxon	223
	Green	Syed A.A. Naqvi	156
Registered electors			7,317		373
Turnout			2,505	34.24	12.81
Rejected ballots			11	0.44	0.32
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Cannon Hill

Cannon Hill (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael J. Mannion*	1,354	44.64	1.71
	Labour	Brian White*	1,308
	Labour	Charles Lucas*	1,269
	Conservative	Michael A. Grundy	1,090	36.77	3.61
	Conservative	David W. Gillmor	1,088
	Conservative	Joan Pethen	1,060
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Larkin	459	12.94	2.25
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher A. Oxford	352
	Liberal Democrats	Mark C. Surey	329
	Green	John R. Barker	166	5.65	0.35
Registered electors			6,669		39
Turnout			3,047	45.69	7.81
Rejected ballots			4	0.13	0.05
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Colliers Wood

Colliers Wood (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sheila Knight*	1,298	49.56	2.60
	Labour	George D. Reynolds	1,293
	Labour	Adrian P. Holt† [n 3]	1,099
	Green	Thomas J. Walsh	960	28.53	5.35
	Green	Jacqueline L. Ward	597
	Green	Lois Walters	567
	Conservative	Margaret K. Ali	324	12.87	1.00
	Conservative	Andrea J. Graham	319
	Conservative	Kenneth M. Butt	315
	Liberal Democrats	Laura A. Kirwan	288	9.05	1.74
	Liberal Democrats	Marek Siemaszko	161
Registered electors			7,399		185
Turnout			2,723	36.80	8.48
Rejected ballots			16	0.59	0.36
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Dundonald

Dundonald (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Barbara M. Bampton	1,233	45.98	3.62
	Labour	Michael A. Brunt*	1,128
	Labour	John S. Pickover*	1,000
	Conservative	John A. Elvidge	661	25.40	3.00
	Conservative	David T.P. Daly	609
	Conservative	Andrew W. Hall	587
	Green	David T. Bezkorowajny	446	13.28	3.15
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer C. Taylor	388	15.34	3.47
	Liberal Democrats	Blaise C. Eglington	369
	Liberal Democrats	Rosamund A. Packer	364
	Green	Jennifer H. Barrow	285
	Green	Christina Langley	240
Registered electors			6,302		167
Turnout			2,593	41.15	14.87
Rejected ballots			15	0.58	0.43
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Durnsford

Durnsford (2) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joyce G. Paton* [n 4]	813	44.55	0.48
	Labour	Mark A. Thompson	805
	Conservative	Elisabeth I. Mitchell	668	35.88	0.24
	Conservative	Tariq M. Ahmad	635
	Liberal Democrats	Sally A. Harlow	280	13.02	0.43
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen K. Harbron	193
	Green	John a. Garrett	119	6.55	0.67
Registered electors			4,361		78
Turnout			1,890	43.34	11.50
Rejected ballots			13	0.69	0.52
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Figge's March

Figge's Marsh (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geraldine P. Stanford*	1,396	56.17	0.94
	Labour	Daniel F. Connellan*	1,298
	Labour	Andrew J. Judge* [n 5]	1,285
	Conservative	Richard Aitken-Davies	596	22.19	7.04
	Conservative	Kathleen A. Lewis	526
	Conservative	Mohammed Y. Qureshi	450
	Liberal Democrats	Malcolm T. Geldart	339	14.36	4.86
	Green	Francis E.R. Cluer	172	7.28	1.24
Registered electors			7,598		251
Turnout			2,359	31.05	17.61
Rejected ballots			18	0.76	0.56
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Graveney

Graveney (2) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Linda C. Kirby*	908	65.84	1.18
	Labour	Joseph B. Abrams*	898
	Conservative	Maureen G. Jewson	240	17.10	3.74
	Conservative	Anton I. Nadarajah	229
	Liberal Democrats	James J. McKenna	194	11.45	0.73
	Liberal Democrats	Marc J-Y. Plessier	120
	Green	Emma-Ruth Crowhurst	77	5.61	1.82
Registered electors			4,356		111
Turnout			1,468	33.70	16.22
Rejected ballots			9	0.61	0.19
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Hillside

Hillside (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard J. Harwood	1,254	46.60	0.89
	Conservative	David T. Williams*	1,222
	Conservative	Christopher S. Grayling	1,194
	Labour	Christine M. Bickerstaff	804	27.12	1.51
	Labour	Brian A. Luff	683
	Labour	Laurence G. North	649
	Liberal Democrats	Carmel A. Fowler	521	17.48	0.75
	Liberal Democrats	Joan W. Pyke-Lees	479
	Liberal Democrats	Kamaljit S. Sood	377
	Green	Margaret A. Garrett	231	8.80	1.37
Registered electors			7,202		519
Turnout			2,655	36.86	7.07
Rejected ballots			27	1.02	0.85
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Lavender

Lavender (2) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edith J.C. Macauley	971	57.99	10.89
	Labour	Malcolm R. Searle*	862
	Conservative	John E. Jewson	302	17.91	0.92
	Conservative	Michael G. Miles† [n 6]	264
	Liberal Democrats	Bernard W. Conway	242	15.31	3.02
	Green	Sarah J. Miskin	139	8.79	New
Registered electors			5,450		383
Turnout			1,569	28.79	17.11
Rejected ballots			10	0.64	0.34
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Longthornton

Longthornton (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John D. Cairns	1,371	53.42	14.18
	Labour	Abdus S. Chaudhry	1,314
	Labour	Karen F. Livingstone	1,279
	Conservative	David P. Jeffreys	910	34.27	19.84
	Conservative	Geraldine V.M. Kirby	843
	Conservative	Ramdehol Dookhie	790
	Liberal Democrats	Tariq Ahmad	318	12.30	5.74
	Liberal Democrats	Dean R. Juster	298
	Liberal Democrats	Heather M. Hurst	297
Registered electors			7,320		68
Turnout			2,737	37.39	13.75
Rejected ballots			15	0.55	0.42
	Labour hold
	Labour gain from Longthornton and Tamworth Residents
	Labour hold

Lower Morden

Lower Morden (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Terence J. Daniels	1,424	48.26	10.82
	Conservative	Janet Jones*	1,397
	Conservative	Peter J. Morss	1,310
	Labour	Cyril I. Gallant*	1,051	35.47	3.66
	Labour	Nicholas G. Draper*	1,012
	Labour	Anna M. Monks	973
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia E. Pearce	357	11.47	3.70
	Liberal Democrats	David M. Holloway	357
	Liberal Democrats	Graham L. Stacey	268
	Green	Stephen C. Boulding	137	4.80	3.46
Registered electors			6,712		50
Turnout			3,020	44.99	4.78
Rejected ballots			7	0.23	0.17
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative hold

Merton Park

Merton Park (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Merton Park Residents	Desmonde E.T. Child*	1,506	50.07	7.35
	Merton Park Residents	Bridget G. Smith*	1,496
	Merton Park Residents	John A. Nelson-Jones	1,413
	Conservative	Mark S. Coote	811	26.37	7.46
	Conservative	Ronald Cox	775
	Conservative	Gavin J. Muncey	739
	Labour	Michael A. Fitzgerald	531	16.69	2.33
	Labour	Aejaz A. Khan-Zada	473
	Labour	Roger A. Stephens	468
	Liberal Democrats	John A. O'Boyle	202	6.87	2.22
Registered electors			6,819		341
Turnout			2,929	42.95	9.89
Rejected ballots			8	0.27	0.15
	Merton Park Residents hold
	Merton Park Residents hold
	Merton Park Residents hold

Phipps Bridge

Phipps Bridge (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas I. Munn*	1,386	53.14	6.47
	Labour	Paul Harper*	1,362
	Labour	Judith C. Saunders*	1,176
	Conservative	Sally Lundie	598	23.06	2.22
	Conservative	Barbara J. Mansfield	584
	Conservative	Roger A. Farrance† [n 7]	521
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Pizey	328	13.32	3.65
	Green	Robin Bannister	258	10.48	New
Registered electors			7,682		49
Turnout			2,433	31.67	12.99
Rejected ballots			15	0.62	0.48
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Pollards Hill

Pollards Hill (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John H. Cole*	1,248	59.54	1.01
	Labour	Russell J. Makin	1,065
	Labour	Mohammad A. Syed	1,026
	Conservative	Pauline Blythe	552	22.95	0.20
	Conservative	Jason R. Garbutt† [n 8]	418
	Conservative	Harris Y. Chong	317
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas R.G. Wren	204	10.56	5.74
	Liberal Democrats	Paul M. Whitehead	191
	Green	Keith R. O'Neill	130	6.95	New
Registered electors			6,074		129
Turnout			2,047	33.70	15.16
Rejected ballots			12	0.59	0.29
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Ravensbury

Ravensbury (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip M. Jones*	1,294	49.29	10.75
	Labour	Peter J. Smith*	1,229
	Labour	Peter J. McCabe*	1,215
	Conservative	Thelma T. Earnshaw	560	20.40	3.01
	Conservative	Roderick W. McLeod	508
	Conservative	Cyril J. Mitchell	479
	Liberal Democrats	Violet Jennings	330	13.06	1.30
	Independent	Terence J. Sullivan	205	8.11	5.48
	Green	Nicholas F.G. Miskin	143	5.66	0.63
	BNP	Ian B. Dell	88	3.48	New
Registered electors			6,517		19
Turnout			2,360	36.21	12.55
Rejected ballots			8	0.34	0.15
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Raynes Park

Raynes Park (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Margaret A. Brierly*	1,375	42.92	0.21
	Conservative	Robert S.K. Bell*	1,310
	Conservative	Neville E. Beddoe† [n 9]	1,272
	Liberal Democrats	David P. Hurst	965	30.40	10.73
	Liberal Democrats	Gail Moss	922
	Liberal Democrats	Louise N. Pugh	915
	Labour	Shoshana Foster	725	21.34	8.74
	Labour	Anne E. Taulbut	662
	Labour	Haribhai C. Patel	580
	Green	Brian Parkin	164	5.34	1.77
Registered electors			7,207		77
Turnout			3,130	43.43	2.91
Rejected ballots			10	0.32	0.14
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

St. Helier

St. Helier (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Pearce	1,178	45.42	15.93
	Labour	Eunice M. Martin	1,083
	Labour	Michael A. Spacey*	1,025
	Conservative	Keith W.A. Guy	696	25.26	2.34
	Conservative	Gordon H. Raymond	566
	Conservative	Anne M. Williams	565
	Liberal Democrats	Caroline A. Plessier	346	14.35	4.19
	Green	Susan Boulding	233	9.66	4.09
	BNP	Robert Andrews	128	5.31	New
Registered electors			6,351		30
Turnout			2,259	35.57	14.61
Rejected ballots			7	0.31	0.25
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Trinity

Trinity (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Vivien R. Guy	1,082	44.66	0.93
	Labour	Kingsley J. Abrams*	1,061
	Labour	Paul Barasi*	981
	Conservative	Dorothy R.Kilsby	696	29.19	0.59
	Conservative	Nicholas E. Brewer	689
	Conservative	Alan R. Hogg	657
	Liberal Democrats	Peter J. Hutchison	411	16.28	0.43
	Liberal Democrats	Neil R. Rennie	368
	Liberal Democrats	Bonita Ralph	360
	Green	Stephen P. Gardiner	230	9.87	3.10
Registered electors			6,249		561
Turnout			2,361	37.78	19.16
Rejected ballots			7	0.30	0.21
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Village

Village (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Allan H. Jones*	1,337	57.25	0.59
	Conservative	Samantha L. George	1,330
	Conservative	Christopher G. Housden	1,328
	Labour	Martin M.D. Holman	534	21.42	3.85
	Labour	Denise M. Leggett	494
	Labour	Kenneth J. Wilshire	467
	Liberal Democrats	Philip C. Rumney	317	13.11	6.34
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony A.W. Dix	300
	Liberal Democrats	Richard K. Tibbetts	298
	Green	Ernest D. Dennis	191	8.21	1.89
Registered electors			6,058		129
Turnout			2,325	38.38	6.53
Rejected ballots			12	0.52	0.48
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

West Barnes

West Barnes (3) ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer N. Willott	1,360	41.74	7.98
	Liberal Democrats	Iain D. StC. Dysart*	1,317
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas P. Harris*	1,251
	Labour	Barry L.T. Edwards	916	28.19	0.96
	Labour	Stephen K. Nixon	882
	Labour	Patrick J. Loughran	855
	Conservative	Linda Batchelor	816	25.45	1.15
	Conservative	David Jessop	799
	Conservative	Roderick F. Scott	780
	Green	Julian Davidson	145	4.62	0.53
Registered electors			7,013		37
Turnout			3,223	45.96	8.57
Rejected ballots			15	0.47	0.36
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Notes

1. The party ran in the previous election but fielded no candidates in this election
2. Holmes was a sitting councillor representing the Hillside ward
3. Holt was a sitting councillor representing the Abbey ward
4. Paton was elected in a by-election triggered by the death of Cllr. Arthur M. Kennedy in 1995 ^[7]
5. Judge replaced Cllr. David B. Proctor in a by-election triggered by his death in 1995 ^[7]
6. Miles was a sitting councillor representing the Raynes Park ward
7. Farrance was a sitting councillor representing the Village ward
8. Garbutt was a sitting councillor representing the Hillside ward
9. Beddoe was a sitting councillor representing the Merton Park ward for the Merton Park Residents Association before at some point defecting to Labour

References

1. "London Borough of Merton Election Results – May 1998" (PDF). Merton Council. May 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
2. 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. 210. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
3. "Policy and politics: Local elections: How London voted for a mayor". The Guardian . 9 May 1998. p. 16.
4. "Policy and politics: Local Elections: Analysis: Council poll results". The Guardian . 9 May 1998. p. 16.
5. "The Croydon, Merton and Sutton (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
6. "London Borough of Merton Election Results – May 2002" (PDF). Merton Council. May 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
7. 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. 133. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
8. "London Borough of Merton Election Results – May 1998" (PDF). Merton Council. May 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
9. "Local Elections results". The Times . 9 May 1998. p. 46.
10. 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. 131–133, 210–211. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
11. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "London Borough of Merton Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Elections Centre. Plymouth University. pp. 9–10. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
12. "Borough council election" (PDF). London Borough of Merton. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2009.