1998 Bromley London Borough Council election

Elections to Bromley Council in England were held on 7 May 1998. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party lost overall control of the council to no overall control.^[1]

Because the council fell into no overall control, for the first time in the London Borough of Bromley history it was taken over by a Liberal Democrat/Labour Coalition. This ended in 2001 when the Conservatives regained the council.

Election result

Turn out across the borough dropped to 40.8%, the lowest in the history of the council.

Bromley Local Election Result 1998
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	+/−
Conservative	28	0	4	-4	46.7	45.3	+4.4
Liberal Democrats	25	5	1	+4	41.7	35.0	-1.6
Labour	7	1	1	0	11.7	18.7	-1.5

Despite the Conservatives increasing their share of the vote at the expense of both Labour and Liberal Democrats, they still lost seats to the Liberal Democrats and with it, control of the council. Labour, despite losing votes and seats found themselves as part of the administration. For the first time, the Liberal Democrats had managed to get the first past the post voting system to work in their favour by winning a higher share of seats than share of vote.

Ward results

Beckenham

Anerley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Richard Gaster*	1,362	55.5	−0.1
	Liberal Democrats	William Alan Macdonald MacCormick*	1,289
	Labour	Clinton Valvis McCree	765	31.2	−1.0
	Labour	Andrew Jonathan Pharoah	658
	Conservative	Adrian Grantham Smith	328	13.4	+1.1
	Conservative	John Anthony De'Giovanni	308
Majority				24.3	−0.9
Turnout				34.2	−12.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	-0.4

Clock House (2)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Edward Aubrey Crowe*	1,871	53.7	+12.6
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Arthur Lockwood*	1,802
	Labour	John Alec Dempster		24.0	−7.3
	Conservative	David Eric Burch		22.3	−5.3
	Labour	Richard Ernest Hart
	Conservative	Simon Henry Fawthorp
Majority				29.7	+20.0
Turnout				45.4	−11.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+10.0

Copers Cope (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony Millar Wilkinson
	Conservative	Russell Lawrence Mellor	1,327
	Liberal Democrats	George Douglas Denyer	486
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Bianca Mary Weal	478
	Labour	Richard Michael Rory O'Kelly	361
	Labour	Simon John Dawe
Majority				39.4	+12.1
Turnout				35.1	−6.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.0

Eden Park (2)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jane Elizabeth Green	1,474	45.5	+12.7
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Robert Phillips	1,338
	Conservative	Albert George Miles*	1,237	38.2	−8.4
	Conservative	Robert Alistair Herd	1,207
	Labour	Raymond Grenville Taylor	526	16.2	−4.4
	Labour	Richard Frederick Watts	453
Majority				7.3	21.1
Turnout				45.8	−0.5
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.5

Kelsey Park (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael John Tickner*
	Conservative	Christopher John Elgar*	1,909
	Liberal Democrats	Reginald William Adams	662
	Liberal Democrats	Edward Hilary Whitaker	636
	Labour	Catherine Boyle	400
	Labour	Stephen Maynard Hale
Majority				42.5	+9.1
Turnout				45.9	+5.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.5

Lawrie Park & Kent House (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Arthur Lewis*	1,105	36.8	+1.8
	Conservative	Philip Geoffrey Jones*	1,044
	Labour	Catherine Rose Newman	999	33.2	+1.6
	Labour	Munir Malik	975
	Liberal Democrats	Brian James Astell	901	30.0	+8.5
	Liberal Democrats	Paul David Nash	859
Majority				3.5	+0.1
Turnout				44.9	−5.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.0

Penge (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Timothy Fookes*
	Labour	Karen Anne Roberts	958
	Liberal Democrats	Daniel Ward	813
	Liberal Democrats	Sonia Mary Whitaker	787
	Conservative	June Rose Briggs	413
	Conservative	Robert James Erskine
Majority				8.2	−0.8
Turnout				35.1	−8.5
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.4

Shortlands (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Malcolm Peter Hyland*
	Conservative	George Roger Taylor	1,960
	Liberal Democrats	Heather Isabel Donovan	690
	Liberal Democrats	Hilary Elizabeth-Anne Gaster	674
	Labour	Laurence Ronald Pocock	466
	Labour	Nicholas James Reed
Majority				41.1	+7.4
Turnout				42.3	−4.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.7

West Wickham North (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carole Mary Hubbard*
	Conservative	Bryan Charles Humphrys*	1,689
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Margaret Fitch	673
	Liberal Democrats	Simon David Wales	597
	Labour	Graham David Blackwood	531
	Labour	Rebecca Helen Pearson-Close
Majority				36.6	+21.1
Turnout				42.8	−7.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+10.5

West Wickham South (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Frederick Ivan Gray*
	Conservative	Leonard Walter Tutt	2,022
	Labour	Richard Henry Redden	646
	Labour	Janet Ilma Ambrose	622
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Frederick Keith Radford	593
	Liberal Democrats	John Raymond Maydwell
Majority				44.3	+17.1
Turnout				43.5	−5.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.5

Bromley & Chislehurst

Bickley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Ingrid Alexandra Buckley*	2,507	20.5
	Conservative	Sheila Ann Humphreys*	2,449	20.0
	Conservative	Gordon William Jenkins*	2,357	19.3
	Liberal Democrats	David Malcolm Dear	1,027	8.4
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Wendy Chaplin	991	8.1
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Anne Taylor	989	8.1
	Labour	Susan Noelle Cox	690	5.6
	Labour	Arthur Harold Johnson	638	5.2
	Labour	Alfred Ernest Parish	579	4.7
Majority
Turnout				40.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bromley Common & Keston (3)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Jeremy Hudson Booth*	2,284
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Carter	2,030
	Liberal Democrats	Alexa Christine Anne Michael*	2,027
	Conservative	Stephen Leslie Carr	1,670
	Conservative	Sharon Claire Evans	1,533
	Conservative	Toby Sanders	1,495
	Labour	Christopher Lee Leonard Bartram	531
	Labour	Simon Timothy Williams
	Labour	Julia Margaret Ann Fogden
Majority
Turnout				36.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Chislehurst (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Joan Bryant*
	Conservative	Kathleen Ann Boughey*
	Conservative	Joan Kathleen Wykes*	2,734
	Labour	Charles Phillips	988
	Labour	Andrew Robert Amos
	Labour	Sharon Wheeler	876
	Liberal Democrats	Frances Catherine Borrowman	742
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Malcolm Magrath
	Liberal Democrats	Olwen Michele Wade-Jones	646
	Green	John William Taylor	213
	Green	Glen Adrian Shipley-Younan
Majority
Turnout				38.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hayes (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Thelma Ann Manning
	Conservative	Graham Leslie Arthur
	Conservative	Neil Richard Reddin	2,666
	Labour	Gary Ian Boxall	882
	Labour	George Fryer Johnstone	824
	Liberal Democrats	Bob Reginald Skinner	820
	Labour	Michael Thomas King	811
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Andrew Gill	784
	Liberal Democrats	William Harold Stott
Majority
Turnout				41.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Martins Hill & Town (2)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter John Ayres*	1,274
	Liberal Democrats	Raymond Philip Warner*	1,144
	Conservative	Philip Thomas Hollobone	1,111
	Conservative	Paul Louis Jemetta*	1,024
	Labour	Iain Philip Ambler	406
	Labour	Marcus Sherrard Oliver
	Green	John Robert Street	109
	Green	Gillian Frances Windall
Majority
Turnout				38.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Mottingham (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Ernest William Dyer*
	Labour	Robert Justin Yeldham*	826
	Conservative	Michael John Hennessey	708
	Conservative	Dennis Arthur Boughey	685
	Liberal Democrats	Carmel Bernadette Anne Butler	235
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Harry Taylor
Majority
Turnout				31.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Plaistow & Sundridge (3)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	James Gillespie	1,865	42.2	+18.7
	Conservative	Catherine Ann Bustard	1,824	41.3	−2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Frank Gosling	1,818
	Conservative	Michael Turner	1,812
	Conservative	Dorothy Joan Laird*	1,791
	Liberal Democrats	Lennard Douglas Woods	1,768
	Labour	Robert Armstrong	580	13.1	−9.9
	Labour	Nicholas Anthony Wright	501
	Labour	Gordon Thomas Yates*	464
	Green	Joyce Linda Brown	147	3.3	−6.2
	Green	Ann Christine Garrett	133
	Green	Frances Mary Speed	124
Majority
Turnout				39.9
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.7

Orpington

Biggin Hill^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Geoffrey Colin Gostt*	1,830	50.9
	Liberal Democrats	Walter Robert Shekyls*	1,742
	Conservative	David Robert Haslam	1,481	41.2
	Conservative	Christopher Douglas Wordingham	1,366
	Labour	Brendan French	284	7.9
	Labour	Leonard David Hall	283
Majority				9.7
Turnout				43.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Chelsfield & Goddington (3)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Graem Peters*	2,477	48.5
	Liberal Democrats	Gillian Margaret Chamarette*	2,461
	Liberal Democrats	Michael James Hall*	2,399
	Conservative	Adrian Stuart Marshall	2,146	42.1
	Conservative	Andre Clive Madrell
	Conservative	Dean Alastair Saint
	Labour	Charles Walter Hailes		9.4
	Labour	Carol Anne Hannay
	Labour	Peter John Tozer
Majority				6.5
Turnout				45.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Crofton (2)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Cecilia Rabbatts*	2,007	51.4
	Liberal Democrats	Vivian Charles Ross*	1,883
	Conservative	Judith Elizabeth Ellis		41.2
	Conservative	Richard Michael Rayment
	Labour	Lynn Ann Selwood		7.3
	Labour	Christopher William Taylor
Majority				10.2
Turnout				49.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Darwin (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Peter John Bloomfield*	1,268
	Labour	John Charles Henry Lewis	210
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Sperling	208
Majority				62.8
Turnout				50.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Farnborough (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Jennifer Mary Hillier*
	Conservative	Eric Norman Goodman*	1,832
	Liberal Democrats	Terence Frank Clark	612
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Curtis Chamarette	518
	Labour	Malcolm Barker	318
	UKIP	James Bruce Carver	285
	Labour	Canh Linh	238
Majority				40.5
Turnout				41.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Orpington Central (2)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Stewart Maines		66.5
	Liberal Democrats	Michael John Morris	1,475
	Conservative	Paul Martin Bonter	579	23.9
	Conservative	Julian Patrick Greville Grainger	549
	Labour	Keith Aubrey Galley	235	9.7
	Labour	Christopher Arthur Purnell
Majority				42.6
Turnout				37.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Petts Wood & Knoll (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Peter Charles Woods*
	Conservative	Tara Anne Bowman
	Conservative	John Richard Ince	2,791
	Liberal Democrats	Eileen G D Edwards	1,948
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Georgina Ayres
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Gambell	1,706
	Labour	Joan Headington	606
	Labour	Amanda Jayne Williams
	Labour	Peter John Lisle	493
	Green	Martin James Childs	295
Majority				17.6
Turnout				46.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

St Mary Cray (3)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Susan Ann Polydorou*	1,381	38.4	−9.9
	Liberal Democrats	David McBride	1,332	37.0	+12.2
	Labour	John Richard Holbrook*	1,312
	Labour	Christopher John Price	1,225
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Oldman	1,255
	Liberal Democrats	Brenda Denise Thompson	1,246
	Conservative	Carole Linda Bowman		24.6	−2.3
	Conservative	Valerie Anita Cosette Huntingdon-Thresher
	Conservative	Anne Susan Barrow
Majority				1.4
Turnout				35.4
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	+11.0

St Paul's Cray (3)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Colin Willetts	1,662	42.9
	Liberal Democrats	Thomas William Hawthorne*	1,597	41.3
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Alan Curry*	1,471
	Liberal Democrats	Duncan Keith Borrowman*	1,443
	Labour	Kelly Jane Galvin	1,440
	Labour	Elizabeth Ruth Johnstone	1,411
	Conservative	Mary Winifred Macpherson		15.8
	Conservative	Richard John Wells
	Conservative	Christopher George Hillier
Majority				1.7
Turnout				35.0
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

References

^ "Local Elections results". The Times. 9 May 1998. p. 46.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m London Borough of Bromley

[results-1] "Local Elections results". The Times. 9 May 1998. p. 46.

[lms-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m London Borough of Bromley

[1]

[2]