1998 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council election

The 1998 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, 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 60
• Liberal Democrat 9
• Conservative 2
• Independent 1 ^[2]

Campaign

Before the election Labour held 60 of the 72 seats, with the main opposition provided by the Liberal Democrats. ^[3] 24 seats were contested in the election, including 20 Labour, 3 Liberal Democrat and 1 Conservative seats. ^[4] These included the Liberal Democrat group leader, Sadie Smith, in Great Barr, and the Conservative group leader, Bill Archer, in Wednesbury North. ^[4]

Election result

The results saw no changes in party control, meaning that Labour continued to run the council. ^[5]

Sandwell Local Election Result 1998 ^{[1] [6]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	20	0	0	0	83.3	55.1
	Liberal Democrats	3	0	0	0	12.5	16.0
	Conservative	1	0	0	0	4.2	24.3

References

1. "Local Elections results". The Times . 9 May 1998. p. 46.
2. "Policy and politics: Local Elections: Analysis: Council poll results". The Guardian . 9 May 1998. p. 16.
3. Williams, Dale (7 April 1998). "Labour set to coast through Sandwell". Birmingham Mail . p. 25.
4. Harrison, Stephen (29 April 1998). "Tough task for Tories to loosen Labour's commanding power Voters go to the polls in council elections across the Midlands on May 7. Local Government Correspondent Stephen Harrison looks at the fight for votes in the heart of the Black Country". Birmingham Post . p. 4.
5. Hardy, Simon (8 May 1998). "Labour rebels are crushed". Birmingham Mail . p. 7.
6. "Local Election Results, 1999". Centre for Research into Elections and Social Trends. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2010.