1998 Newham London Borough Council election

1998 Newham London Borough Council elections

←  1994 7 May 1998 2002  →
All 60 council seats to Newham London Borough Council 31 seats needed for a majority
Registered	139,273 [1]
Turnout	39,550, 28.40% ( 9.20) [1]
First party Second party Third party   Leader Robert A. Wales Unknown Unknown Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative Leader since 1995 Unknown Unknown Leader's seat Canning Town and Grange Unknown Unknown Last election 59 seats, 59.02% 1 seat, 11.76% 0 seats, 20.51% Seats before 60 0 0 Seats won 60 0 0 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 59,146 2,745 10,767 Percentage 74.29% 3.45% 13.52% Swing 15.27 8.31 6.99
Council control before election Labour Council control after election Labour

The 1998 Newham London Borough election for the Newham London Borough Council was held on 7 May 1998. The whole council was up for election. Turnout was 28.4%. Labour won every seat for the second time since the councils formation.

Background

In between the 1994 election and this election there were a total of 7 by-elections to replace councillors who resigned from their seat, however none of these by-elections resulted in the seat changing parties. ^[2] As well as these by-elections there was 1 defection of the only Lib Dem councillor to the Labour Party, which meant the composition of the council just before the election was as follows: ^[3]

↓

60

Labour

A total of 138 candidates stood in the election for the 60 seats being contested across 24 wards. Candidates included a full slate from the Labour Party, whilst the Conservative Party ran 31 candidates and the Liberal Democrats ran 11 candidates. In both cases this was a lot less than 4 years before. Other candidates running were 8 Socialist Labour, 2 National Democrats, 11 BNP, 1 Monster Raving Looney and 14 Independents. ^[4]

Election Results

Newham Local Election Result 1998 ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	60	1	0	1	100.00	74.29	59,146	15.27
	Conservative	0	0	0		0.00	13.52	10,767	6.99
	Liberal Democrats	0	0	1	1	0.00	3.45	2,745	8.31
	Newham Independents	0	0	0		0.00	3.13	2,490	New
	BNP	0	0	0		0.00	2.60	2,073	0.18
	Independent	0	0	0		0.00	1.53	1,220	1.07
	Residents	0	0	0		0.00	1.38	1,099	New
	Monster Raving Loony	0	0	0		0.00	0.10	76	New
Total		60						79,616

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

↓

60

Labour

Ward Results

(*) - Indicates an incumbent candidate

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

Beckton

Beckton (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Maureen Knight*	688	63.10	23.11
	Labour	Sarah J. Ruiz† [n 1]	461
	BNP	Peter Hart	168	18.45	12.85
	Conservative	Nigel Lucker	168	18.45	0.55
Registered electors			3,796		124
Turnout			955	25.16	14.79
Rejected ballots			3	0.31	0.26
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Bemersyde

Bemersyde (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Victor F. Turner*	898	71.94	23.20
	Labour	Gregory J. Vincent	815
	Newham Independent	Donald Freeman	334	28.06	New
Registered electors			4,015		218
Turnout			1,270	31.63	12.19
Rejected ballots			23	1.81	1.06
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Canning Town and Grange

Canning Town and Grange (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clive W. Furness* [n 2]	797	57.57	5.64
	Labour	Robert A. Wales † [n 3]	617
	Conservative	Brendan M. Morley	191	13.68	34.39
	BNP	Michael Davidson	186	15.15	New
	Liberal Democrats	Kathleen A. Chater	167	13.60	New
	Conservative	Simon N. C. Pearce	145
Registered electors			5,483		225
Turnout			1,250	22.80	11.29
Rejected ballots			11	0.88	0.73
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Castle

Castle (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David P. McGladdery*	1,096	69.31	8.66
	Labour	Mahmood Ahmad*	914
	Conservative	Karen Ullger	445	30.69	14.55
Registered electors			5,002		306
Turnout			1,552	31.03	7.08
Rejected ballots			19	1.22	0.87
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Central

Central (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	June E.D. Leitch	992	54.80	18.81
	Labour	Mary M.A. Skyers	945
	Socialist Labour	Imran Khan	478	27.04	New
	Conservative	Leslie A. Smith	321	18.16	5.55
Registered electors			5,086		222
Turnout			1,687	33.17	4.94
Rejected ballots			9	0.53	0.18
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Custom House & Silvertown

Custom House and Silvertown (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William A. Chapman*	1,022	46.74	3.69
	Labour	Lyn C. Brown*	1,012
	Labour	Christopher T. Rackley† [n 4]	916
	Conservative	David C. Gladstone	524	22.87	3.37
	Conservative	Christopher P. Boden	479
	Conservative	Ann L. Lewis	440
	BNP	John Kitchener	254	11.19	10.39
	BNP	Mathew Marion	232
	BNP	Brian Reeves	220
	Newham Independents	Colin J. Brown	202	9.60	6.28
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Laird	202	9.60	New
Registered electors			8,537		119
Turnout			1,980	23.19	16.05
Rejected ballots			15	0.76	0.50
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Forest Gate

Forest Gate (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul M. Brickell	1,260	44.57	11.36
	Labour	Conor M. McAuley*	1,051
	Labour	Shama Ahmad*	1,045
	Socialist Labour	Anne E. J. Brook	553	22.04	New
	Liberal Democrats	John Gray	469	18.69	4.49
	Conservative	Armyn Hennesy	369	14.70
Registered electors			6,740		525
Turnout			1,988	29.50	8.59
Rejected ballots			22	1.11	0.86
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Greatfield

Greatfield (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kevin J. Jenkins*	1,274	51.40	12.30
	Labour	Ian K. Corbett*	1,138
	Labour	Valerie M. J. Fone*	1,046
	Newham Independents	Frederick C. Jones	408	17.21	New
	Newham Independents	Lilian A. Hopes	380
	Conservative	Caroline Costantino	372	16.59	6.42
	Newham Independents	Terence C. Macdonald	370
	Liberal Democrats	Kathleen V. King	332	14.80	8.06
Registered electors			7,296		585
Turnout			2,108	28.89	16.83
Rejected ballots			7	0.33	0.02
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Hudsons

Hudsons (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bryan A. Collier*	1,130	62.63	9.21
	Labour	Graham J. Lane*	1,015
	Labour	Neil J. Wilson*	997
	Conservative	Jeffrey Spencer	322	19.25	27.33
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen J. Hunt	303	18.12	New
Registered electors			6,209		602
Turnout			1,618	26.06	12.83
Rejected ballots			12	0.74	0.59
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Kensington

Kensington (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sukhdev S. Marway	1,288	80.14	21.63
	Labour	Sardar Ali† [n 5]	1,189
	Conservative	Barbara M. Postles	307	19.86	11.91
Registered electors			5,121		116
Turnout			1,731	33.80	12.12
Rejected ballots			19	1.10	0.60
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Little Ilford

Little Ilford (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew R. E. Baikie*	1,106	44.42	26.64
	Labour	Richard J. Crawford	1,098
	Labour	Joseph Ejiofor* [n 6]	946
	Independent	Brian W. Berry	453	19.16	New
	Socialist Labour	Malkjit S. Natt	387	16.37	New
	Conservative	Kenneth J. Ready	246	10.41	3.20
	Newham Independents	Josephine Phillips	228	9.64	New
Registered electors			6,866		576
Turnout			1,824	26.57	9.87
Rejected ballots			18	0.99	0.58
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Manor Park

Manor Park (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Gilles	1,220	40.42	29.25
	Labour	Amarjit Singh*	1,119
	Labour	Qaisra E. Khan† [n 7]	1,047
	Socialist Labour	Tawfique A. Choudhury	758	27.14	New
	Conservative	Susan M. Craig	469	16.79	1.19
	Liberal Democrats	William A. Robinson	437	15.65	New
Registered electors			7,324		628
Turnout			2,063	28.17	11.08
Rejected ballots			13	0.63	0.31
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Monega

Monega (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William H. Brown*	1,415	66.40	1.02
	Labour	Lester T. Hudson† [n 8]	1,036
	Conservative	Graham E. Postles	219	11.87	2.20
	Liberal Democrats	Jean M. Tee	211	11.43	New
	Socialist Labour	Theresa J. Gerald	190	10.30	New
Registered electors			5,220		68
Turnout			1,845	35.34	6.47
Rejected ballots			12	0.65	0.24
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

New Town

New Town (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anthony B. McAlmont	715	61.41	5.91
	Labour	Winston Vaughan	660
	Conservative	Elizabeth Gibb	263	18.04	1.48
	Newham Independents	Stewart Ligaya	230	20.54	New
	Conservative	Danuta A. Gradosielska	141
Registered electors			4,523		593
Turnout			1,138	25.16	7.03
Rejected ballots			19	1.67	1.18
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Ordnance

Ordnance (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Marie S. Collier	475	33.27	0.19
	Labour	Megan Harris*† [n 9]	407
	Independent	Alan Craig	311	23.46	New
	Independent	Benjamin Stafford	225	16.97	New
	Liberal Democrats	Peter R. W. Guest	175	13.20	1.12
	BNP	Kenneth F. Francis	101	7.62	New
	Conservative	Geraldine M. Alden	78	5.47	10.09
	Conservative	Richard J. Arnopp	67
Registered electors			3,493		416
Turnout			1,058	30.29	2.79
Rejected ballots			3	0.28	0.65
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Park

Park (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Griffiths*	1,193	59.06	20.97
	Labour	Akbar A. Chaudhary*	1,171
	Labour	John E. Saunders*	1,072
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Fox-Davies	449	23.15	New
	Conservative	Brian I. Maze	345	17.79	2.18
Registered electors			6,422		290
Turnout			1,797	27.98	5.87
Rejected ballots			29	1.61	1.26
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Plaistow

Plaistow (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frederick Warwick*	1,083	69.72	15.00
	Labour	Riaz Ahmed*	1,011
	Labour	Joy Laguda	1,008
	Conservative	Eva Blint	449	30.28	10.96
Registered electors			6,158		50
Turnout			1,619	26.29	8.01
Rejected ballots			30	1.85	1.56
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Plashet

Plashet (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John P. Thorne*	1,231	60.15	1.32
	Labour	Rupinder Nandra	1,192
	Labour	Harbans S. Jabbal	1,175
	Conservative	Nafis Rafiq	600	24.81	4.52
	Conservative	Josephine M. Child	482
	Conservative	Barry W. Roberts	402
	Socialist Labour	Paul S. J. Sandford	300	15.05	New
Registered electors			7,219		378
Turnout			2,185	30.27	5.10
Rejected ballots			27	1.24	0.94
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

St Stephens

St Stephens (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Unmesh Desai	1,038	57.61	20.70
	Labour	Abdul Shakoor	933
	Socialist Labour	Yasmin A. Ali	302	17.66	New
	Independent	Balakrishnan S. Balakrishnan	231	13.51	New
	Conservative	Stewart Lindsay	192	11.22	10.47
Registered electors			4,822		172
Turnout			1,676	34.76	1.62
Rejected ballots			19	1.13	0.41
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

South

South (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alec J. Kellaway* [n 10]	1,930	53.01	17.68
	Labour	Quintin Peppiatt* [n 11]	1,763
	Labour	Christopher J. Seddan	1,703
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen T. Bell	595	17.53	12.40
	Conservative	Glyn A. Weare	570	16.34	3.81
	Conservative	Antony M. Costantino	539
	BNP	Caroline E. Lee	283	7.34	New
	BNP	Colin Smith	240
	BNP	Jay Lee	224
	National Democrats	Ian H. M. Anderson	196	5.78	New
Registered electors			12,446		946
Turnout			3,047	24.48	12.88
Rejected ballots			14	0.46	0.34
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats

Stratford

Stratford (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James C. Riley*	770	65.49	6.17
	Labour	James G. Newstead*	699
	Newham Independents	Alan H. Stewart	192	15.07	New
	Newham Independent	Conor J. Loughran	146
	Conservative	Nigel R. Nadolski	142	12.66	1.16
	Monster Raving Loony	Lord T. Jug	76	6.78	New
Registered electors			4,449		119
Turnout			1,211	27.22	7.26
Rejected ballots			20	1.65	1.14
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Upton

Upton (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nurul H. Ali	Unopposed
	Labour	Abdul K. Sheikh† [n 12]	Unopposed
	Labour	Harvinder S. Virdee	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,832		9
Turnout			0	N/A	N/A
Rejected ballots			0	N/A	N/A
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Wall End

Wall End (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward H. Sparrowhawk*	1,267	47.46	1.30
	Labour	Paul D. Sathianesan	1,252
	Labour	Kulwant S. Mangat*	1,081
	Conservative	Jeannette A. Worth	633	22.66	9.11
	Residents	Terence J. Aird	594	21.73	New
	Conservative	Zubaida N. Hashmi	513
	Residents	Bashir-UI Hafeez	505
	Socialist Labour	Carolyn M. Sikorski	206	8.15	New
Registered electors			7,779		309
Turnout			2,658	34.17	2.97
Rejected ballots			16	0.60	0.33
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

West Ham

West Ham (2) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ronald N. Manley*	949	72.19	2.99
	Labour	Graeme M. Cambage† [n 13]	775
	Conservative	Charles R.P.G. Neaby	222	13.99	10.83
	BNP	Paul Borg	165	13.82	New
	Conservative	Khatija S. B. Meaby	112
Registered electors			5,267		330
Turnout			1,290	24.49	4.70
Rejected ballots			3	0.23	0.63
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Notes

1. Ruiz was originally a councillor representing the South ward. She was elected in a by-election triggered by the death of Cllr. Thomas A. Jenkinson in 1995 ^[2]
2. Furness was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Dennis R. Horwood in 1997 ^[2]
3. Wales was a sitting councillor representing the Manor Park ward
4. Rackley was a sitting councillor representing the Bemersyde ward
5. Ali was a sitting councillor representing the Central ward. He was elected in a by-election following the resignation of Cllr. Christopher B. Allen in 1996 ^[2]
6. Ejiofor was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Stephen C. Timms in 1997 ^[2]
7. Khan was a sitting councillor representing the Plashet ward
8. Hudson was a sitting councillor representing the Kensington ward
9. Harris was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Judith A. Jorsling in 1997 ^[2]
10. Kellaway was originally elected as a Liberal Democrat but changed party sometime between 1994 and 1998
11. Peppiatt was elected in a by-election triggered by the death of councillor in Cllr. Theodore L. Etherden in 1997 ^[2]
12. Sheikh was a sitting councillor representing the St Stephens ward
13. Cambage was a sitting councillor representing the Forest Gate ward. They were elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Glynis A. Carpenter in 1996 ^[2]

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 11 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. pp. 138–139. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
3. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority referendum results - Changes 1994-98" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 134. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
4. "London Borough Council Elections 7 May 1998" (PDF). London Datastore. London County Council. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
5. "London Borough of Newham Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Elections Centre. Plymouth University. Retrieved 12 October 2019.