| Election Name: | 1998 United Kingdom local elections |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Type: | legislative |
| Previous Election: | 1997 United Kingdom local elections |
| Previous Year: | 1997 |
| Next Election: | 1999 United Kingdom local elections |
| Next Year: | 1999 |
| Seats For Election: | All 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 10 out of 46 unitary authorities and 88 out of 238 English districts |
| Election Date: | 7 May 1998 |
| 1Blank: | Councils |
| 2Blank: | Councils +/- |
| 3Blank: | Councillors |
| 4Blank: | Councillors +/- |
| Leader1: | Tony Blair |
| Leader Since1: | 21 July 1994 |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Percentage1: | 38% |
| 1Data1: | 94 |
| 2Data1: | 2 |
| 3Data1: | 2,240 |
| 4Data1: | 88 |
| Leader2: | William Hague |
| Leader Since2: | 19 June 1997 |
| Party2: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Percentage2: | 32% |
| 1Data2: | 8 |
| 2Data2: | 1 |
| 3Data2: | 1,085 |
| 4Data2: | 256 |
| Leader3: | Paddy Ashdown |
| Leader Since3: | 16 July 1988 |
| Party3: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Percentage3: | 25% |
| 1Data3: | 14 |
| 2Data3: | 7 |
| 3Data3: | 853 |
| 4Data3: | 114 |
The 1998 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 7 May 1998.[1] [2] All London borough council seats were elected as well a third of the seats on each of the Metropolitan Boroughs. Some unitary authorities and District councils also had elections. There were no local elections in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
These elections took place on the same day as the referendum on establishing the Greater London Authority.
The governing Labour Party, contesting its first national elections since returning to government 12 months previously, enjoyed great success, now having control of 94 councils, with the second placed Liberal Democrats now controlling 14 and the opposition Conservatives (now led by William Hague) a mere eight.
A by-election for the European Parliament was also held in the Yorkshire South constituency; Labour retained the seat.
| Party | Councils | Councillors | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gain | Loss | Change | Total | Gain | Loss | Change | Total | |||
| +2 | 94 | align="right" | -88 | 2,240 | ||||||
| align="right" | -7 | 14 | align="right" | -114 | 853 | |||||
| +1 | 8 | +256 | 1,085 | |||||||
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | align="right" | -57 | 146 | |||
| +4 | 50 | — | — | — | — | |||||
In all 32 London boroughs the whole council was up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | hold | Details | |||
| Barnet | hold | Details | |||
| Bexley | hold | Details | |||
| Brent | gain | Details | |||
| Bromley | gain | Details | |||
| Camden | hold | Details | |||
| Croydon | hold | Details | |||
| Ealing | hold | Details | |||
| Enfield | hold | Details | |||
| Greenwich | hold | Details | |||
| Hackney | hold | Details | |||
| Hammersmith and Fulham | hold | Details | |||
| Haringey | hold | Details | |||
| Harrow | gain | Details | |||
| Havering | hold | Details | |||
| Hillingdon | gain | Details | |||
| Hounslow | hold | Details | |||
| Islington | gain | Details | |||
| Kensington and Chelsea | hold | Details | |||
| Kingston upon Thames | gain | Details | |||
| Lambeth | gain | Details | |||
| Lewisham | hold | Details | |||
| Merton | hold | Details | |||
| Newham | hold | Details | |||
| Redbridge | hold | Details | |||
| Richmond upon Thames | hold | Details | |||
| Southwark | hold | Details | |||
| Sutton | hold | Details | |||
| Tower Hamlets | hold | Details | |||
| Waltham Forest | gain | Details | |||
| Wandsworth | hold | Details | |||
| Westminster | hold | Details | |||
All 36 English Metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnsley | hold | Details | |||
| Birmingham | hold | Details | |||
| Bolton | hold | Details | |||
| Bradford | hold | Details | |||
| Bury | hold | Details | |||
| Calderdale | hold | Details | |||
| Coventry | hold | Details | |||
| Doncaster | hold | Details | |||
| Dudley | hold | Details | |||
| Gateshead | hold | Details | |||
| Kirklees | hold | Details | |||
| Knowsley | hold | Details | |||
| Leeds | hold | Details | |||
| Liverpool | gain | Details | |||
| Manchester | hold | Details | |||
| Newcastle upon Tyne | hold | Details | |||
| North Tyneside | hold | Details | |||
| Oldham | hold | Details | |||
| Rochdale | hold | Details | |||
| Rotherham | hold | Details | |||
| Salford | hold | Details | |||
| Sandwell | hold | Details | |||
| Sefton | hold | Details | |||
| Sheffield | hold | Details | |||
| Solihull | hold | Details | |||
| South Tyneside | hold | Details | |||
| St Helens | hold | Details | |||
| Stockport | hold | Details | |||
| Sunderland | hold | Details | |||
| Tameside | hold | Details | |||
| Trafford | hold | Details | |||
| Wakefield | hold | Details | |||
| Walsall | hold | Details | |||
| Wigan | hold | Details | |||
| Wirral | hold | Details | |||
| Wolverhampton | hold | Details | |||
The whole of the Isle of Wight council was up for election.
In 9 English Unitary authorities one third of the council was up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | hold | Details | |||
| Derby | hold | Details | |||
| Hartlepool | hold | Details | |||
| Kingston upon Hull | hold | Details | |||
| Milton Keynes | hold | Details | |||
| Portsmouth | hold | Details | |||
| Southampton | hold | Details | |||
| Stoke-on-Trent | hold | Details | |||
| Swindon | hold | Details | |||
In 88 English district authorities one third of the council was up for election.