1998 Broxbourne Borough Council election explained

The Broxbourne Council election, 1998 was held to elect council members of the Broxbourne Borough Council, the local government authority of the borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England.^[1]

Composition of expiring seats before election

Ward	Party	Incumbent Elected	Incumbent	Standing again?
Broxbourne	Conservative	1994	Don Smith	Yes^[2]
Bury Green	Conservative	1994	Geoffrey Morris	No
Cheshunt Central	bgcolor=yellow	Liberal Democrats	1994	Robert Smith	Yes
Cheshunt North	Conservative	1994	Don Poole	Yes^[3]
Flamstead End	Conservative	1994	Sheila Kendall	Yes^[4]
Goffs Oak	Conservative	1994	Marie Dowsett	Yes
Hoddesdon North	Conservative	1994	Michael Lavender	Yes
Hoddesdon Town	bgcolor=yellow	Liberal Democrats	1994	Dorothy Morgan	No
Rosedale	bgcolor=yellow	Liberal Democrats	1994	Carolyn Iles	Yes^[5]
Rye Park	Labour	1994	Linda Dambrauskas	No
Theobalds	Labour	1994	Lester Hickling	Yes^[6]
Waltham Cross North	Conservative	1994	Norman Ames	Yes
Waltham Cross South	Labour	1994	Mark Farrington	Yes
Wormley & Turnford	Conservative	1994	Brian Hill	Yes

1. Book: Rallings, Colin . Broxbourne Borough Council Election Results 1973-2012 . Thrasher . Michael . The Elections Centre . 2012 . Plymouth . 8–9 . 2022-07-07.
2. Don Smith stood in Flamstead End Ward in 1998.
3. Don Poole stood in Broxbourne Ward in 1998.
4. Sheila Kendall stood in Cheshunt Central Ward in 1998.
5. Carolyn Iles stood in as a Labour Party candidate in 1998.
6. Lester Hickling stood in Cheshunt North Ward in 1998.

Results summary

An election was held in 14 wards on 7 May 1998.

The Conservative party gained 5 council seats at this election taking 3 seats from the Liberal Democrats in Cheshunt Central Ward, Hoddesdon Town Ward and Rosedale Ward and taking 2 seats from the Labour Party in Rye Park Ward and Theobalds Ward.

Since the last Broxbourne Local Government Election in 1996 a by-election had been held in Waltham Cross North Ward that had resulted in a gain for the Conservatives at the expense of Labour. Additionally a Liberal Democrat Councillor had "crossed the floor" of the chamber and had joined the Conservative Group.

This was the last Broxbourne local election fought before new electoral boundaries took effect in 1999.

The boundary changes would necessitate an "all out" election in 1999 when all of the 38 "new" seats would be contested.

Accordingly, all councillors elected in 1998 served a 1-year term of office.

The political balance of the new council following this election was:

• Conservative 31 seats
• Labour 11 seats