Wyre Forest District Council election, 1998

The 1998 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council. ^[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was

• Labour 28
• Liberal Democrats 6
• Conservative 4
• Liberal 3
• Independent 1 ^[1]

Background

14 seats were contested at the election with Labour defending 7, the Liberal Democrats 4 and the Conservatives, Liberals and independents 1 seat each. ^[2] Labour were confident of defending the majority of 10 they held over the other parties before the election. ^[2]

Election result

The results saw Labour increase their majority on the council after gaining two seats, one each from an independent and Liberal Democrat. ^[3] The other change in the election saw the Conservatives gain a seat in Bewdley ward from the Liberal Democrats. ^[3] Labour attributed their performance to the capable candidates they had stood but were disappointed by the turnout. ^[4]

Wyre Forest local election result 1998 ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	9	2	0	+2	64.3
	Liberal Democrat	2	0	2	-2	14.3
	Conservative	2	1	0	+1	14.3
	Liberal	1	0	0	0	7.1
	Independent	0	0	1	-1	0

By-elections between 1998 and 1999

Oldington and Foley Park

A by-election was held in Oldington and Foley Park after the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Adrian Beavis after he was found guilty of false accounting. ^[6] The seat was gained for Labour by Barry McFarland with a majority of 27 votes over Conservative Justin Tomlinson. ^{[6] [7]}

Oldington and Foley Park by-election 3 December 1998 ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Barry McFarland	354	35.8	-6.7
	Conservative	Justin Tomlinson	327	33.0	+27.3
	Liberal Democrat	Paul Kendall	309	31.2	-17.5
Majority			27	2.7
Turnout			990	23.3
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing

Chaddesley

A by-election was held in Chaddesley after the death of Conservative councillor Harry Purcell. ^[8]

Chaddesley by-election 18 February 1999 ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative		490	89.3	+6.4
	Labour		59	10.7	-6.4
Majority			431	78.5
Turnout			549	30.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "Policy and politics: Local Elections: Analysis: Council poll results". The Guardian. 1998-05-09. p. 16. 
2. Smith, Sue (1998-04-07). "Labour confident of retaining majority". Birmingham Mail. p. 25. 
3. Probert, Andy (1998-05-08). "Tight grip maintained by Labour". Birmingham Mail. p. 5. 
4. Howarth, Jayne (1998-05-08). "Midlands gives Blair thumbs-up". Birmingham Post. p. 3. 
5. "Local Elections results". The Times. 1998-05-09. p. 46. 
6. "Labour Gain In Wyre By-election". Birmingham Post . NewsBank. 4 December 1998. 
7. "Local Authority Byelection Results - December 1998". Local Authority Byelection Results. Retrieved 15 April 2015. 
8. "Tributes as leading Tory dies". Birmingham Mail . NewsBank. 11 December 1998. p. 4. 
9. "Local Authority Byelection Results - February 1999". Local Authority Byelection Results. Retrieved 15 April 2015.