Tamworth Borough Council election, 1998

The 1998 Tamworth Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Tamworth District Council in Staffordshire, 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
• Conservative 1
• Independent 1^[1]

Background

Before the election Labour controlled the council with 25 seats, compared to 2 Conservatives, 2 Socialist Labour Party and 1 independent.^[2] In the lead up to the election 2 former independents had formed the Conservative group on the council, while 2 Labour councillors defected to the Socialist Labour Party.^[2]

10 seats were contested in the election with both the Labour and Conservative parties contesting every seat, while the Liberal Democrats stood in 5 seats.^[2] The Conservatives were hoping to double their seats on the council to 4 on the back of disappointment with the national Labour government.^[2] However Labour believed voters would back them as they said the council was providing good services.^[2]

Election result

The results saw Labour win all 10 seats contested to hold 28 of the 30 seats on the council.^[3] Labour held the 7 seats they had been defending, gained a seat from the Conservatives in Stonydelph and retook another 2 seats from defectors to the Socialist Labour Party.^[3] This was the first time in at least 20 years that any party had won all the seats contested in an election for the council.^[4] Turnout in the election was low with only 16.2% voting in Stonydelph.^[3]

Labour said the results showed "that Labour Party policies have been a resounding success", however the Conservatives said their party had increased the share of the vote laying foundations for 1999.^[3]

References

Council elections in Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017
Cannock Chase District Council	1973 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016
East Staffordshire Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015
Lichfield District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016
South Staffordshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015
Stafford Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015
Stoke-on-Trent City Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015
Tamworth Borough Council	1973 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016
See also: Wards Boundary changes

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