1998 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election

Main article: 1998 United Kingdom local elections

1998 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election

←  1996 7 May 1998 (1998-05-07) 1999  →
24 of 66 seats (One Third and two by-elections) to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council 34 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	28.1% (6.9%) [1]
First party Second party Third party   Lab Leader Dave Jackson John Hale Phil Gilchrist Party Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Leader's seat Bromborough Hoylake Eastham Last election 13 seats, 48.9% 6 seats, 30.2% 3 seats, 20.1% Seats before 41 16 8 Seats won 13 7 4 Seats after 41 16 8 Seat change Popular vote 29,075 22,856 14,740 Percentage 42.1% 33.1% 21.4% Swing 6.8% 2.9% 1.3%
Map of results of 1998 election
Leader of the Council before election Dave Jackson Labour Leader of the Council after election Dave Jackson Labour

The 1998 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council in England. ^[2] This election was held on the same day as other local elections.

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Party		Seats	±
	Labour	41
	Conservative	16
	Liberal Democrats	8
	Ind. Liberal Democrat	1

^[3]

Election results

Overall election result

Overall result compared with 1996.

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election results, 1998
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Labour	24	13	0	0		59.1	42.1	29,075	6.8
	Conservative	20	7	0	0		27.3	33.1	22,856	2.9
	Liberal Democrats	24	4	0	0		13.6	21.4	14,740	1.3
	Green	18	0	0	0		0.0	2.8	1,925	2.1
	Socialist Labour	3	0	0	0		0.0	0.6	435	N/A

^{[1] [2] [n 1]}

Ward results

Bebington

Bebington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kathryn Shaughnessy	1,933	46.8	0.9
	Conservative	H. Gow	1,757	42.6
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Dyer	333	8.1	0.1
	Green	Ann Jones	104	2.5	0.8
Majority			176	4.3	0.8
Registered electors			10,693
Turnout				38.7	4.4
	Labour hold		Swing	0.5

^[2]

Bidston

Bidston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Nock	1,009	72.5	15.9
	Socialist Labour	Alec McFadden	183	13.1	New
	Liberal Democrats	John Tomlinson	155	11.1	0.5
	Green	Robert Mitchell	45	3.2	New
Majority			826	59.3	17.6
Registered electors			7,994
Turnout				17.4	6.2
	Labour hold		Swing	8.7

^[2]

Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Christian	1,351	79.1	8.9
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Williams	357	20.9	8.9
Majority			994	58.2	17.9
Registered electors			9,892
Turnout				17.3	7.5
	Labour hold		Swing	8.9

^[2]

Bromborough

Bromborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Witter	1,742	59.8	5.3
	Conservative	Jacqueline Hall	640	22.0	4.1
	Liberal Democrats	M. Bolton	412	14.1	3.7
	Green	J. Jones	120	4.1	1.9
Majority			1,102	37.8	9.5
Registered electors			10,662
Turnout				27.4	6.9
	Labour hold		Swing	4.7

^[2]

Clatterbridge

Clatterbridge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Cummings	2,344	48.5	3.4
	Labour	C. Riley	1,578	32.7	4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Isabel Moon	792	16.4	0.8
	Green	Michael Harper	115	2.4	New
Majority			766	15.9	8.4
Registered electors			13,814
Turnout				35.0	5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.2

^[2]

Claughton

Claughton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Foulkes	1,600	55.8	4.1
	Liberal Democrats	A. Molyneux	637	22.2	9.6
	Conservative	K. Wise	455	15.9	1.5
	Socialist Labour	Michael Cullen	99	3.5	New
	Green	S. Johnson	76	2.7	0.6
Majority			963	33.6	13.8
Registered electors			10,644
Turnout				26.9	10.6
	Labour hold		Swing	6.9

^{[2] [4]}

Eastham

Eastham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Thomas Harney	2,419	62.2	2.9
	Labour	Jean Stapleton	937	24.1	0.5
	Conservative	M. Hunt	462	11.9	1.6
	Green	Brian Gibbs	72	1.9	New
Majority			1,482	38.1	2.4
Registered electors			11,083
Turnout				35.1	3.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	1.2

^{[2] [5] [6]}

Egerton

Egerton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Barney Gilfoyle	1,293	58.6	16.7
	Conservative	Cyrus Ferguson	351	15.9	2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Lloyd	250	11.3	3.5
	Green	Catherine Page	161	7.3	3.8
	Socialist Labour	Nicholas Kearns	153	6.9	New
Majority			942	42.7	19.2
Registered electors			10,461
Turnout				21.1	7.7
	Labour hold		Swing	9.6

^[2]

Heswall

Heswall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Hodson [n 2]	2,850	61.6	1.3
	Conservative	Stephen Rowlands [n 3]	2,647	–	–
	Labour	L. Flanaghan	1,016	22.0	4.5
	Labour	A. Terry	900	–	–
	Liberal Democrats	Edward Norton	610	13.2	9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Wilkins	556	–	–
	Green	Garnette Bowler	151	3.3	New
Majority			1,834	39.6	1.6
Registered electors			13,214
Turnout				33.7	2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	–

^{[2] [7] [8] [9]}

Hoylake

Hoylake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Ellis	2,536	63.6	8.1
	Labour	E. Harrison	817	20.5	7.3
	Liberal Democrats	A. Richards	472	11.8	4.9
	Green	Allen Burton	160	4.0	New
Majority			1,719	43.1	15.4
Registered electors			12,130
Turnout				32.4	3.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.7

^{[2] [10]}

Leasowe

Leasowe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Iris Coates	1,347	71.2	5.9
	Conservative	G. Beattie	296	15.7	0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Susanne Uriel	248	13.1	5.0
Majority			1,051	55.6	6.6
Registered electors			9,072
Turnout				20.8	9.3
	Labour hold		Swing	3.4

^[2]

Liscard

Liscard

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Paterson	1,334	57.8	6.8
	Conservative	J. Tooke	569	24.7	1.1
	Liberal Democrats	M. Wright	404	17.5	5.7
Majority			765	33.2	7.8
Registered electors			10,939
Turnout				21.1	12.7
	Labour hold		Swing	4.0

^[2]

Moreton

Moreton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Groves	1,449	53.8	6.7
	Conservative	Ian Lewis	977	36.3	3.2
	Liberal Democrats	C. Robertson	267	9.9	3.5
Majority			472	17.5	9.8
Registered electors			9,653
Turnout				27.9	9.2
	Labour hold		Swing	5.0

^{[2] [11]}

New Brighton

New Brighton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Patrick Hackett	1,729	55.7	3.6
	Conservative	Anthony Pritchard	965	31.1	2.2
	Liberal Democrats	John Codling	310	10.0	1.8
	Green	George Bowler	102	3.3	New
Majority			764	24.6	5.8
Registered electors			11,306
Turnout				27.5	4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	2.9

^{[2] [12] [13]}

Oxton

Oxton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Stuart Kelly [n 2]	1,913	54.7	1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Freda Anderson [n 3]	1,856	–	–
	Labour	Anna McLaughlin	804	23.0	5.5
	Labour	Denise Roberts	771	–	–
	Conservative	Leonard Moore	587	16.8	3.5
	Green	Pamela Mitchell	193	5.5	3.6
Majority			1,109	31.7	3.9
Registered electors			11,282
Turnout				27.1	7.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	–

^{[2] [14] [15]}

Prenton

Prenton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Thornton	2,343	56.8	9.0
	Labour	Ray Pullen	1,042	25.2	8.0
	Conservative	David Elderton	679	16.5	2.5
	Green	Perle Sheldricks	63	1.5	New
Majority			1,301	31.5	16.8
Registered electors			11,320
Turnout				36.5	5.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	8.5

^{[2] [16]}

Royden

Royden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Laurence Jones	1,746	44.7	5.4
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Reisdorf	1,158	29.7	8.5
	Labour	R. Pennington	909	23.3	5.4
	Green	Barbara Burton	89	2.3	New
Majority			588	15.1	6.3
Registered electors			12,501
Turnout				31.2	10.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.2

^{[2] [17]}

Seacombe

Seacombe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Janet Jackson	1,525	73.1	9.6
	Conservative	L. May	280	13.4	5.7
	Liberal Democrats	R. Ellett	225	10.8	1.2
	Green	P. Exley	56	2.7	New
Majority			1,245	59.7	13.4
Registered electors			10,743
Turnout				19.4	8.9
	Labour hold		Swing	6.7

^[2]

Thurstaston

Thurstaston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jacqueline McKelvie	2,163	53.2	2.1
	Labour	A. Beer	1,417	34.9	3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Wall	388	9.5	0.8
	Green	Percy Hogg	96	2.4	New
Majority			746	18.4	5.8
Registered electors			12,363
Turnout				32.9	6.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.9

^[2]

Tranmere

Tranmere

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Davies	1,328	81.1	1.2
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Blaylock	211	12.9	6.3
	Green	Angela Upton	98	6.0	0.1
Majority			1,117	68.2	4.1
Registered electors			9,380
Turnout				17.5	6.5
	Labour hold		Swing	2.1

^{[2] [18]}

Upton

Upton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Lloyd	1,790	53.6	4.7
	Conservative	John Laing	1,034	31.0	0.5
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Redfern	421	12.6	1.5
	Green	Joyce Hogg	94	2.8	New
Majority			756	22.6	5.2
Registered electors			12,375
Turnout				27.0	8.5
	Labour hold		Swing	2.6

^[2]

Wallasey

Wallasey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lesley Rennie	2,165	56.5	6.1
	Labour	P. Carrington	1,125	29.3	8.9
	Liberal Democrats	John Uriel	415	10.8	0.6
	Green	George Bowler	130	3.4	New
Majority			1,040	27.1	14.9
Turnout				32.9	8.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.5

^{[2] [19]}

Changes between 1998 and 1999

Date	Ward	Name	Previous affiliation		New affiliation		Circumstance
June 1998	Prenton	Ed Cunniffe		Ind. Liberal Democrat		Labour	Defected. [20]

Notes

• italics denote the sitting councillor • bold denotes the winning candidate

1. % of total refers to % of wards won.
2. Elected to serve a 4-year term.
3. Elected to serve a 2-year term.

References

1. "Local Election Summaries 1998". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
2. "Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Election Results 1973-2012 (Pg. 14 and 15)" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
3. "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
4. "Councillor Steve Foulkes". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. 2 August 2023.
5. "Councillor Tom Harney". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
6. "Councillor Jean Stapleton". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
7. "Councillor Andrew Hodson". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. 2 August 2023.
8. "Councillor Les Rowlands". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
9. "Councillor Bob Wilkins". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
10. "Councillor Gerry Ellis". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
11. "Councillor Ian Lewis". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. 2 August 2023.
12. "Councillor Pat Hackett". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
13. "Councillor Tony Pritchard". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
14. "Councillor Stuart Kelly". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. 2 August 2023.
15. "Councillor Denise Roberts". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
16. "Councillor David M Elderton". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
17. "Councillor Peter Reisdorf". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
18. "Councillor Bill Davies". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
19. "Councillor Lesley Rennie". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. 2 August 2023.
20. "Lib Dem councillor switches sides". Wirral Globe. 17 June 1998. Retrieved 28 December 2018.

"Socialist Labour candidates". Wirral Globe. 23 April 1998. Retrieved 30 December 2018.