Wandsworth London Borough Council election, 1998

Last updated April 22, 2019

The 1998 Wandsworth Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Wandsworth London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.^[1]

Wandsworth is a London borough in England, and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Wandsworth London Borough Council.

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north-northwest. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom. The governing party since 2010, it is the largest in the House of Commons, with 313 Members of Parliament, and also has 249 members of the House of Lords, 18 members of the European Parliament, 31 Members of the Scottish Parliament, 12 members of the Welsh Assembly, eight members of the London Assembly and 8,916 local councillors.

Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. Eligibility varies by country, and the voting-eligible population should not be confused with the total adult population. Age and citizenship status are often among the criteria used to determine eligibility, but some countries further restrict eligibility based on sex, race, or religion.

Campaign

In the run up to the election a private Conservative poll was leaked which showed them 17% behind Labour and likely to only win in 4 wards as compared to 18 for Labour.^[3] However Labour and the Liberal Democrats accused the Conservatives of leaking the poll in order to lower expectations.^[4] The Conservatives would have lost control of the council on a 7% swing from the 1994 election,^[5]^[6] or if the 1997 general election results in the area were repeated.^[7] However Wandsworth had low council tax levels, the lowest in the country,^[6] and the Conservatives had recently cut the tax by 24%.^[8] This meant commentators expected the Conservatives to stay in control of what was described as their showpiece council.^[7]^[9]

An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a poll or a survey, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence intervals.

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom which has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights.

The Liberal Democrats are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. They have 11 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, 96 members of the House of Lords, one member of the European Parliament, five Members of the Scottish Parliament and one member in the Welsh Assembly and London Assembly. At the height of its influence, the party formed a coalition government with the Conservative Party from 2010 to 2015 with its leader Nick Clegg serving as Deputy Prime Minister. It is currently led by Sir Vince Cable.

For the election 9 of the 22 wards that made up the council were seen as being marginal.^[9]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives increase their control of the council gaining an extra 5 seats.^[10] This meant that with 50 seats the Conservatives had the most seats they had yet had on the council.^[11] Labour lost seats in St John and Roehampton wards, which was put down to the closure of the local Queen Mary's Hospital.^[12] Voter turnout at 40% was 10% down on the previous 1994 election.^[12]

Queen Mary's Hospital is a community hospital in Roehampton in south-west London. It is run by St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Wandsworth Local Election Result 1998^[13]
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	50	5	0	+5	82.0
	Labour	11	0	5	-5	18.0

Ward results

Balham (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Bedford (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Earlsfield (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

East Putney (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Fairfield (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Furzedown (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Graveney (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Latchmere (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Nightingale (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Northcote (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Parkside (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Queenstown (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Roehampton (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

St John (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

St Mary's Park (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Shaftesbury (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Southfield (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Springfield (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Thamesfield (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

Tooting (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

West Hill (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

West Putney (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±

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References

↑ "Policy and politics: Local Elections: Analysis: Council poll results". The Guardian. 1998-05-09. p. 16.
↑ "Policy and politics: Local elections: How London voted for a mayor". The Guardian. 1998-05-09. p. 16.
↑ Pierce, Andrew (1998-04-14). "Tories face big losses in local elections". The Times. p. 2.
↑ Reiss, Charles (1998-04-14). "Tories accused of bogus leak in London poll war". Evening Standard. p. 17.
↑ "Tories fear for Wandsworth". Local Government Chronicle . 1998-05-05. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
1 2 "Tory flagship borough may go to Labour". The Mail on Sunday. 1998-05-03. p. 2.
1 2 Kellner, Peter (1998-04-15). "First test for new parties". Evening Standard. p. 22.
↑ "Councils of war: the 12 key town halls they're fighting for". Evening Standard. 1998-05-06. p. 19.
1 2 Frean, Alexandra (1998-04-17). "Tories rally round showpiece council in election countdown". The Times. p. 12.
↑ Abrams, Fran (1998-05-08). "A day from which all parties took comfort". The Independent. p. 11.
↑ "Voters leave parties guessing". BBC News Online . 1998-05-08. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
1 2 Comerford, Cathy (1998-05-08). "Tories score flagship victory with low taxes: Wandsworth". Evening Standard. p. 4.
↑ "Local Elections results". The Times. 1998-05-09. p. 46.

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[policy-1] "Policy and politics: Local Elections: Analysis: Council poll results". The Guardian. 1998-05-09. p. 16.

[mayor-2] "Policy and politics: Local elections: How London voted for a mayor". The Guardian. 1998-05-09. p. 16.

[losses-3] Pierce, Andrew (1998-04-14). "Tories face big losses in local elections". The Times. p. 2.

[bogus-4] Reiss, Charles (1998-04-14). "Tories accused of bogus leak in London poll war". Evening Standard. p. 17.

[fear-5] "Tories fear for Wandsworth". Local Government Chronicle . 1998-05-05. Retrieved 2009-08-31.

[flagship-6] 1 2 "Tory flagship borough may go to Labour". The Mail on Sunday. 1998-05-03. p. 2.

[test-7] 1 2 Kellner, Peter (1998-04-15). "First test for new parties". Evening Standard. p. 22.

[war-8] "Councils of war: the 12 key town halls they're fighting for". Evening Standard. 1998-05-06. p. 19.

[showpiece-9] 1 2 Frean, Alexandra (1998-04-17). "Tories rally round showpiece council in election countdown". The Times. p. 12.

[comfort-10] Abrams, Fran (1998-05-08). "A day from which all parties took comfort". The Independent. p. 11.

[guessing-11] "Voters leave parties guessing". BBC News Online . 1998-05-08. Retrieved 2009-08-31.

[score-12] 1 2 Comerford, Cathy (1998-05-08). "Tories score flagship victory with low taxes: Wandsworth". Evening Standard. p. 4.

[results-13] "Local Elections results". The Times. 1998-05-09. p. 46.

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See also Elections in London Boroughs Middlesex County Council elections

v t e Council elections in Greater London
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Westminster	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018
Greater London	1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 Abolished
See also: London-wide elections Wards Boundary changes

v t e (1997 ←) United Kingdom local elections, 1998 (→ 1999)
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