1998 Wandsworth London Borough Council election

1998 Wandsworth London Borough Council election
61 seats up for election to Wandsworth London Borough Council; 31 seats needed for a majority
Registered	198,318
Turnout	78,099, 39.38% ( 10.62)
Council control before election; ; Conservative	Council control before election ; ; Conservative

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.^[2]

At the same as the election Wandsworth saw 74.3% vote in favour of the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum and 25.7% against, on a 38.7% turnout.^[3]

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.^[4] However Labour and the Liberal Democrats accused the Conservatives of leaking the poll in order to lower expectations.^[5] The Conservatives would have lost control of the council on a 7% swing from the 1994 election,^[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, 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]

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]

1998 Wandsworth London Borough Council local elections results^[13]^[14]
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	50	6	1	5	81.97	53.42	109,351	3.39
	Labour	11	1	6	5	18.03	36.55	74,827	3.27
	Liberal Democrats	0	0	0		0.00	8.55	17,495	0.56
	Green	0	0	0		0.00	1.48	3,037	0.61
Total		61						204,710

Ward results

Balham

Balham (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Guy J. D. Hurley	2,101	54.82	0.87
	Conservative	Bernadina I. T. Ayonrinde*	2,049
	Conservative	Rev. Andrew P. B. White	2,049
	Labour	Mark A. Grindrod	1,254	31.92	6.15
	Labour	Martin C. Tupper	1,187
	Labour	Vera Thompson	1,168
	Liberal Democrats	Simon E. M. Brown	259	6.86	1.12
	Liberal Democrats	David I. Cooke-Yarborough	259
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew G. Green	258
	Green	Lauren T. Paterson	241	6.39	New
Registered electors			9,260		221
Turnout			3,825	41.31	9.78
Rejected ballots			12	0.31	0.14
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Bedford

Bedford (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Colin F. Dawe*	1,884	48.01	3.27
	Conservative	Stewart P. A. Finn	1,823
	Conservative	Sheldon A. Wilkie	1,675
	Labour	Neville Daniels	1,551	38.46	1.91
	Labour	Leonie A. R. G. Cooper	1,444
	Labour	Phillip J. S. Gibby	1,316
	Green	John M. Rattray	391	7.51	1.14
	Liberal Democrats	Amanda J. Weils	272	6.03	0.13
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher A. Reilly	207
	Liberal Democrats	Richard R. Williams	197
	Green	Albert R. Vickery	170
Registered electors			9,642
Turnout			3,902	40.47	8.47
Rejected ballots			22	0.56	0.41
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Earlsfield

Earlsfield (2)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angela Graham*	1,642	54.55	2.97
	Conservative	Charles McNaught-Davis	1,413
	Labour	Annabel C. Arndt	1,019	35.88	4.64
	Labour	Martin J. Leigh	990
	Liberal Democrats	Julie Benson	146	4.64	0.57
	Green	Tracey Thorn	138	4.93	New
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony J. Fennelly	114
Registered electors			6,731		140
Turnout			2,942	43.71	9.44
Rejected ballots			10	0.34	0.03
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

East Putney

East Putney (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Leslie F. McDonnell	2,191	61.88	3.10
	Conservative	Diana M. Whittingham*	2,102
	Conservative	Brian N. C. Prichard*	2,076
	Labour	Elizabeth McNeil	1,023	27.35	3.99
	Labour	Edward Kenny	998
	Labour	Samuel E. Uwadiae	794
	Liberal Democrats	Russell D. Pyne	398	10.77	0.89
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Shocket	377
	Liberal Democrats	Nasser M. Butt	334
Registered electors			10,303		264
Turnout			3,681	35.73	9.52
Rejected ballots			13	0.35	0.26
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Fairfield

Fairfield (2)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Vanessa C. L. C. Graham*	1,658	63.69	9.15
	Conservative	Tessa M. E. Strickland	1,502
	Labour	Suzanne L'Estrange	767	30.75	9.03
	Labour	Stuart Bean	759
	Liberal Democrats	Patrick M. Warren	170	5.56	0.12
	Liberal Democrats	Julius Maaten	106
Registered electors			5,995		17
Turnout			2,666	44.47	13.93
Rejected ballots			10	0.38	0.29
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Furzedown

Furzedown (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John F. Farebrother	1,963	45.57	1.14
	Labour	Jane R. Briginshaw	1,949
	Conservative	Ian P. Hart*	1,896	43.62	2.57
	Labour	Margaret G. Hepburn	1,835
	Conservative	Ian M. Cheshire	1,812
	Conservative	Oliver A. Lodge	1,794
	Liberal Democrats	Catherine L. Hill	301	5.53	0.18
	Liberal Democrats	Timothy J. Knight	231
	Green	Richard D. Ekhsigian	222	5.28	1.60
	Liberal Democrats	David Patterson	166
Registered electors			10,356		304
Turnout			4,421	42.69	8.86
Rejected ballots			35	0.79	0.72
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Labour hold
	Conservative hold

Graveney

Graveney (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew R. A. Gibbons*	1,732	45.87	2.34
	Labour	Pamela Tatlow	1,524
	Labour	Thakur D. Hosain	1,481
	Liberal Democrats	Mark A. Green	1,150	30.69	2.87
	Liberal Democrats	Simon A. James	1,068
	Liberal Democrats	Ulrica P. Zetterlund	952
	Conservative	Ian P. Chandler	673	16.64	2.54
	Conservative	David R. P. de Winton	528
	Conservative	Sarah A. Whitehouse	518
	Green	Martin D. Williams	234	6.80	2.01
Registered electors			10,533		428
Turnout			3,644	34.60	13.67
Rejected ballots			9	0.25	0.11
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Latchmere

Latchmere (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anthony J. Belton*	1,233	50.33	1.72
	Labour	Maurice Johnson*	1,160
	Labour	Samantha L. Heath*	1,153
	Conservative	Alistair J. Crellin	1,104	44.13	2.29
	Conservative	Robert T. R. Mackay	1,046
	Conservative	Charles A. R. Walker	959
	Liberal Democrats	Henrietta Norman	144	5.54	0.57
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Elsley	128
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Folkard	118
Registered electors			8,243		27
Turnout			2,615	31.72	14.04
Rejected ballots			9	0.34	0.18
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Nightingale

Nightingale (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Evelyn G. McDermott	1,978	51.12	2.58
	Conservative	Maurice A. S. Heaster*	1,951
	Conservative	Ravindra P. Govindia*	1,913
	Labour	Michael J. Bell	1,469	36.81	0.07
	Labour	Annamarie M. Critchard	1,426
	Labour	Lisa Wrigley	1,311
	Liberal Democrats	Christine A. Green	281	6.11	3.31
	Green	Kerry Gormley	240	5.96	New
	Liberal Democrats	Karin Joachim	215
	Green	Bruce W. D. Mackenzie	214
	Liberal Democrats	Ivor W. Strong	202
Registered electors			9,544		133
Turnout			3,958	41.47	6.73
Rejected ballots			18	0.45	0.32
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Northcote

Northcote (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Clive Dixon*	2,288	61.83	5.18
	Conservative	Gordon S. Passmore*	2,217
	Conservative	Martin D. Johnson*	2,211
	Labour	Tracey L. van Tongeren	948	24.55	1.28
	Labour	Eric W. Joseph	883
	Labour	Michael J. Lowhing	835
	Liberal Democrats	Charles H. Cronin	335	7.90	0.03
	Liberal Democrats	Siobhan Vitelli	286
	Liberal Democrats	Richard C. H. Allen	237
	Green	Richmond A. Crowhurst	207	5.72	3.87
Registered electors			9,100		120
Turnout			3,683	40.47	9.61
Rejected ballots			7	0.19	0.12
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Parkside

Parkside (2)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elizabeth Howlett*	1,580	59.49	4.53
	Conservative	Jeremy Swan	1,425
	Labour	Michael J. Tuer	876	32.57	3.09
	Labour	Robert P. Unsworth	769
	Liberal Democrats	Catherine S. Devons	205	7.94	1.44
	Liberal Democrats	David A. Berryman	196
Registered electors			5,931		27
Turnout			2,689	45.34	10.83
Rejected ballots			18	0.67	0.46
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Queenstown

Queenstown (2)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carol Humphries*	1,489	57.33	3.18
	Conservative	Richard A. H. Vivian*	1,325
	Labour	David R. Arnos	997	37.39	2.85
	Labour	Hywel Lloyd	838
	Liberal Democrats	Joanna L. Martin-Kaye	145	5.28	0.33
	Liberal Democrats	Ashley Jones	114
Registered electors			7,099		183
Turnout			2,683	37.79	8.97
Rejected ballots			8	0.30	0.18
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Roehampton

Roehampton (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas O. C. Harris	1,570	49.56	11.37
	Conservative	Michael R. E. Simpson^†^{[n 1]}	1,495
	Conservative	Hugh M. R. Lumby	1,491
	Labour	Peter J. Ackhurst	1,346	42.23	8.41
	Labour	Denis E. Meehan	1,282
	Labour	Maureen D. Walsh	1,254
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas W. M. Leggett	293	8.21	2.96
	Liberal Democrats	Valerie Shelmerdine	258
	Liberal Democrats	Patrick J. Wallace	204
Registered electors			8,844		85
Turnout			3,338	37.74	13.32
Rejected ballots			4	0.12	0.12
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative gain from Labour

St John

St John (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Toby Beresford	1,729	53.95	10.41
	Conservative	Ronald D. Smith	1,637
	Conservative	Piers C. McCausland	1,603
	Labour	Aiden Grimes*	1,275	38.77	10.11
	Labour	Derek R. Sutton*	1,200
	Labour	Anthony E. Tuck*	1,096
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Crick	248	7.28	0.30
	Liberal Democrats	Lily W. Stewart	224
	Liberal Democrats	Alan S. Giles	198
Registered electors			9,908		576
Turnout			3,402	34.34	10.89
Rejected ballots			24	0.71	0.62
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative gain from Labour

St Mary's Park

St Mary's Park (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Adrian J. Flook*	2,104	55.98	4.11
	Conservative	John D. Hallmark	2,048
	Conservative	Simon P. Williams	1,952
	Labour	Paul B. T. Comer	1,228	32.30	3.95
	Labour	Toby W. Naish	1,180
	Labour	Yemi Odemo	1,114
	Green	Caroline M. G. Austin	259	7.13	1.60
	Liberal Democrats	David R. Owen-Jones	223	4.59	1.76
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher R. Woodley	160
	Liberal Democrats	Sanjay Samani	117
Registered electors			9,123		71
Turnout			3,679	40.33	10.01
Rejected ballots			14	0.38	0.27
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Shaftesbury

Shaftesbury (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip W. Beddows	2,063	54.12	2.62
	Conservative	James A. Cousins	2,002
	Conservative	John G. B. Senior*	1,994
	Labour	Christine Eccles	1,321	33.91	0.60
	Labour	Anastasia T. Chrysos	1,277
	Labour	Richard J. Moir	1,199
	Liberal Democrats	Penelope Umbers	262	5.59	3.16
	Green	Pauline J. Illsley	238	6.38	New
	Liberal Democrats	John E. Barnett	211
	Liberal Democrats	James P. Sparling	153
Registered electors			10,096		169
Turnout			3,814	37.78	11.26
Rejected ballots			5	0.13	0.03
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Southfield

Southfield (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen B. S. Lorch	2,554	58.23	9.02
	Conservative	Janice V. Leigh	2,536
	Conservative	Nicholas R. S. Longworth	2,503
	Labour	Keir J. Fitch	1,520	33.26	3.32
	Labour	Pauline J. Brueseke	1,448
	Labour	Gavin P. Reddin	1,369
	Liberal Democrats	Anna M. L. Ahmed	428	8.51	1.02
	Liberal Democrats	James R. Durrant	389
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony K. Burrett	293
Registered electors			10,457		422
Turnout			4,627	44.25	12.11
Rejected ballots			14	0.30	0.05
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Springfield

Springfield (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Katharine R. Tracey*	2,459	55.72	3.72
	Conservative	Margaret Mervis*	2,401
	Conservative	John R. Garrett*	2,397
	Labour	Bob Bayman	1,519	33.76	1.21
	Labour	Paul A. Baverstock	1,443
	Labour	Dominic P. McElroy	1,435
	Liberal Democrats	Arminel P. Fennelly	255	5.38	1.70
	Liberal Democrats	Jayne E. Martin-Kaye	231
	Green	Samantha Guy	223	5.14	0.81
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher R. Salaman	215
Registered electors			10,658		170
Turnout			4,458	41.83	9.05
Rejected ballots			7	0.16	0.01
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Thamesfield

Thamesfield (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roger N. Bird	2,566	64.06	4.87
	Conservative	Edward J. U. Lister*	2,551
	Conservative	Lois M. Lees*	2,543
	Labour	Marcia J. Davies	1,034	24.48	4.30
	Labour	Christopher E. Locke	1,029
	Labour	Muzaffar-Ud-Din A. Khan	864
	Liberal Democrats	Simon O. Campbell-Jones	516	11.46	0.57
	Liberal Democrats	Moira R. Sanders	480
	Liberal Democrats	Martha Zantindes	374
Registered electors			10,348		285
Turnout			4,208	40.66	8.85
Rejected ballots			15	0.36	0.24
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Tooting

Tooting (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sadiq Khan*	1,835	54.61	3.99
	Labour	Jane M. White	1,793
	Labour	Stuart T. King	1,765
	Conservative	Gregory L. G. Barker	986	28.83	3.99
	Conservative	Margaret S. Heriot	970
	Conservative	Andrew R. Scantlebury	891
	Liberal Democrats	Michael A. Clifton	333	8.67	0.09
	Liberal Democrats	Ignatius J. T. Kane	279
	Green	Rajeev K. Thacker	260	7.90	New
	Liberal Democrats	Robert J. Bunce	244
Registered electors			10,261		158
Turnout			3,552	34.62	9.50
Rejected ballots			8	0.23	0.10
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

West Hill

West Hill (2)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Beryl Jeffery*	1,462	60.70	4.57
	Conservative	Malcolm C. Grimston*	1,441
	Labour	Robert Knowles	702	29.08	6.73
	Labour	Duncan E. Braithwaite	689
	Liberal Democrats	Jamie M. Angus	251	10.22	2.16
	Liberal Democrats	Laurence Spicer	238
Registered electors			6,143		20
Turnout			2,563	41.72	13.56
Rejected ballots			5	0.20	0.02
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

West Putney

West Putney (3)^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William F. D. Hawkins*	2,347	63.19	1.44
	Conservative	Martin N. Calderbank	2,205
	Conservative	Nadhim Zahawi^†^{[n 2]}	1,979
	Labour	Maureen D. Booker	1,141	28.62	2.34
	Labour	Donald J. Roy	928
	Labour	Alan B. Petrides	889
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew J. Cunningham	317	8.19	0.90
	Liberal Democrats	Allen N. Johnston	272
	Liberal Democrats	Katherine Riviere	258
Registered electors			9,743		187
Turnout			3,749	38.48	11.00
Rejected ballots			8	0.21
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Notes

^ Simpson was a sitting councillor representing the West Putney ward
^ Zahawi was a sitting councillor representing the Thamesfield

References

^ ^a ^b Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - Including the Greater London Authority referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 218. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
^ "London Borough Council Elections 7th May 1998" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
^ "Policy and politics: Local elections: How London voted for a mayor". The Guardian. 9 May 1998. p. 16.
^ Pierce, Andrew (14 April 1998). "Tories face big losses in local elections". The Times. p. 2.
^ Reiss, Charles (14 April 1998). "Tories accused of bogus leak in London poll war". Evening Standard. p. 17.
^ "Tories fear for Wandsworth". Local Government Chronicle. 5 May 1998. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
^ ^a ^b Kellner, Peter (15 April 1998). "First test for new parties". Evening Standard. p. 22.
^ "Councils of war: the 12 key town halls they're fighting for". Evening Standard. 6 May 1998. p. 19.
^ ^a ^b Frean, Alexandra (17 April 1998). "Tories rally round showpiece council in election countdown". The Times. p. 12.
^ Abrams, Fran (8 May 1998). "A day from which all parties took comfort". The Independent. p. 11.
^ "Voters leave parties guessing". BBC News Online. 8 May 1998. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
^ ^a ^b Comerford, Cathy (8 May 1998). "Tories score flagship victory with low taxes: Wandsworth". Evening Standard. p. 4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority Referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. pp. 177–179, 216–219. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "London Borough of Wandsworth Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Elections Centre. Plymouth University. pp. 11–12. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

[15] Simpson was a sitting councillor representing the West Putney ward

[16] Zahawi was a sitting councillor representing the Thamesfield

[Turnout-1] Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - Including the Greater London Authority referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 218. Retrieved 13 November 2024.

[London_1998_election-2] "London Borough Council Elections 7th May 1998" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. Retrieved 5 February 2024.

[mayor-3] "Policy and politics: Local elections: How London voted for a mayor". The Guardian. 9 May 1998. p. 16.

[losses-4] Pierce, Andrew (14 April 1998). "Tories face big losses in local elections". The Times. p. 2.

[bogus-5] Reiss, Charles (14 April 1998). "Tories accused of bogus leak in London poll war". Evening Standard. p. 17.

[fear-6] "Tories fear for Wandsworth". Local Government Chronicle. 5 May 1998. Retrieved 31 August 2009.

[test-7] Kellner, Peter (15 April 1998). "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. 6 May 1998. p. 19.

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

[comfort-10] Abrams, Fran (8 May 1998). "A day from which all parties took comfort". The Independent. p. 11.

[guessing-11] "Voters leave parties guessing". BBC News Online. 8 May 1998. Retrieved 31 August 2009.

[score-12] Comerford, Cathy (8 May 1998). "Tories score flagship victory with low taxes: Wandsworth". Evening Standard. p. 4.

[electionResults-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 7 May 1998 - including the Greater London Authority Referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. pp. 177–179, 216–219. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

[electionsCentre-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "London Borough of Wandsworth Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Elections Centre. Plymouth University. pp. 11–12. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

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