1998 Bedford Borough Council election

The 1998 Bedford Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Bedford Borough Council in Bedfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.^[1]

Prior to the election, two councillors left the Liberal Democrats group to sit as Independents.

Summary

1998 Bedford Borough Council election^[2]^[3]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	7		38.9	15	22	41.5	9,662	36.4	–4.6
	Liberal Democrats	6	1	33.3	9	15	28.3	7,414	28.0	+1.7
	Conservative	2	1	11.1	7	9	17.0	7,995	30.1	+1.6
	Independent	3		16.7	4	7	13.2	1,449	5.5	+1.2

Brickhill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Green*	1,137	47.1	–10.8
	Conservative	Eric Threapleton	1,015	42.1	+9.6
	Labour	Jason Potter	260	10.8	+1.3
Majority			122	5.1
Turnout			2,412	41.8
Registered electors			5,784
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Castle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Apu Bagchi*	900	54.0	+13.6
	Conservative	Robert Rigby	610	36.6	+10.0
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Lawson	158	9.5	−23.6
Majority			290	17.4
Turnout			1,668	36.3
Registered electors			4,600
	Labour hold		Swing

Cauldwell
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elizabeth White*	997	71.0	–4.7
	Conservative	Gilbert Campbell	211	15.0	+1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Anita Gerard	196	14.0	+2.8
Majority			786	56.0
Turnout			1,404	23.0
Registered electors			6,174
	Labour hold		Swing

De Parys
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Graham*	1,112	50.8	–6.7
	Conservative	Terence Rigby	767	35.1	+7.6
	Labour	Charles Baily	308	14.1	–0.9
Majority			345	15.8
Turnout			2,187	39.0
Registered electors			5,623
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Felmersham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Geoffrey Hulatt	346	46.8	*N/A*
	Conservative	Dudley Hughes*	253	34.2	–13.6
	Labour	Roger Jackson	72	9.7	–5.9
	Liberal Democrats	Linda Borrett	68	9.2	–27.3
Majority			93	12.6
Turnout			739	39.5
Registered electors			1,876
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Goldington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Smith	1,121	52.2	−7.1
	Labour	Laurence Evans	859	40.0	+8.0
	Conservative	Valerie Fulford	167	7.8	–0.9
Majority			262	12.2
Turnout			2,147	40.6
Registered electors			5,302
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Harpur
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hazel Mitchell*	848	57.6	–4.2
	Conservative	Jean Pilgrim	469	31.8	+6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Vogel	156	10.6	−2.1
Majority			379	25.7
Turnout			1,473	24.4
Registered electors			6,067
	Labour hold		Swing

Harrold
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Bridgman	341	58.2	+12.9
	Labour	Eleanor Falkner	144	24.6	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Hall	101	17.2	–37.5
Majority			197	33.6
Turnout			586	28.2
Registered electors			2,089
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Kempston East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ray Oliver*	1,141	60.9	+4.6
	Conservative	Jagdish Singh	515	27.5	–3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Jacqueline Smithson	218	11.6	–2.5
Majority			626	33.4
Turnout			1,874	25.9
Registered electors			7,285
	Labour hold		Swing

Kempston West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Shan Hunt*	856	55.6	–0.2
	Conservative	Cecil Cove	553	35.9	+2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Ian White	131	8.5	–2.4
Majority			303	19.7
Turnout			1,540	23.8
Registered electors			6,481
	Labour hold		Swing

Kingsbrook
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elizabeth Luder*	766	63.4	–7.1
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Buddle	254	21.0	+6.0
	Conservative	Phillip Ashley	189	15.6	+1.1
Majority			512	42.3
Turnout			1,209	24.4
Registered electors			4,959
	Labour hold		Swing

Newnham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Russell	641	36.3	−11.2
	Conservative	Louise Kirke	568	32.2	–0.8
	Labour	Richard Crane	557	31.5	+12.0
Majority			73	4.1
Turnout			1,766	35.1
Registered electors			5,033
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Oakley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Patricia Olney*	499	65.5	+2.2
	Conservative	Domenico De Benedictis	209	27.4	−6.3
	Labour	Terence Carroll	45	5.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Howker	9	1.2	−1.8
Majority			290	38.1
Turnout			843	42.1
Registered electors			1,816
	Independent hold		Swing

Putnoe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Headley*	1,183	60.9	+7.5
	Conservative	Paul Sinclair	577	29.7	−4.3
	Labour	Paban Sharma	182	9.4	–3.3
Majority			606	31.2
Turnout			1,942	36.2
Registered electors			5,373
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Queens Park
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Jones*	1,257	72.3	−5.3
	Conservative	Janet Pilgrim	274	15.8	+3.0
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Murphy	208	12.0	+2.5
Majority			983	56.5
Turnout			1,739	28.0
Registered electors			6,275
	Labour hold		Swing

Renhold
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Harrison*	555	74.0	+10.6
	Labour	Robert Atkins	113	15.1	+5.2
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Stekelis	82	10.9	–15.8
Majority			442	58.9
Turnout			750	40.6
Registered electors			1,857
	Conservative hold		Swing

Riseley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ian Clifton*	604	64.9	+27.6
	Conservative	Arthur Foster	233	25.0	–8.7
	Labour	Adrien Beardmore	48	5.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Joanna Wood	46	4.9	–24.1
Majority			371	39.8
Turnout			931	44.4
Registered electors			2,098
	Independent hold		Swing

Wilshamstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Parker	593	42.6	+26.3
	Conservative	Mark Haines	489	35.2	–11.6
	Labour	Daniel Bisset	309	22.2	–14.7
Majority			104	7.5
Turnout			1,391	50.9
Registered electors			2,775
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

^ "Local Elections results". The Times. 9 May 1998. p. 46.
^ "Policy and politics: Local Elections: Analysis: Council poll results". The Guardian. 9 May 1998. p. 16.
^ "Local Election Results, 1999". Centre for Research into Elections and Social Trends. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2009.