The 1998 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party kept overall control of the council.[1]
20 seats were contested in the election, with 15 being held by Labour, 3 by the Liberal Democrats and 2 by the Conservatives.[2] The 3 main parties contested all of the 20 seats, with 3 Socialist Labour Party and 4 other candidates standing.[2]
The election saw the lowest turnout in at least 30 years at 23.5%, a significant drop from the 36.8% turnout in the 1996 election.[3] Farnworth ward saw the lowest turnout at 15%, while the highest was 32.6% in Astley Bridge.[3] The Conservatives gained 2 seats in the election to become the main opposition party on the council again.[3] They gained Astley Bridge and Bradshaw wards from Labour, having defeated the Labour candidate in Bradshaw by 2 votes after 5 recounts.[3] However Labour held on in Kearsley by 8 votes and won Westhoughton from the Liberal Democrats to remain firmly in control of the council.[3]
After the election, the composition of the council was:
Labour 47
Conservative 8
Liberal Democrat 5[1]
Election result
Bolton Local Election Result 1998[3][4]
Party
Seats
Gains
Losses
Net gain/loss
Seats %
Votes %
Votes
+/−
Labour
14
1
2
-1
70.0
47.2
23,549
-6.9
Conservative
4
2
0
+2
20.0
30.3
15,127
+5.3
Liberal Democrats
2
0
1
-1
10.0
19.5
9,715
-0.1
Other parties
0
0
0
10.0
3.0
1,503
+3.0
Council Composition
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:
↓
48
6
6
Labour
Conservative
L
After the election the composition of the council was:
^ ab"Local Elections results". The Times. 9 May 1998. p. 46.
^ ab"Voters' chance to give verdict on Labour's first 12 months". The Bolton News. 6 May 1998. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
^ abcdef"Low poll 'a disgrace'". The Bolton News. 8 May 1998. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
^"Policy and politics: Local Elections: Analysis: Council poll results". The Guardian. 9 May 1998. p. 16.
References
Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council Election Results 1973–2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 12 July 2016.