The 1998 Tamworth Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Tamworth Borough CouncilinStaffordshire, 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
Before the election Labour controlled the council with 25 seats, compared to 2 Conservatives, 2 Socialist Labour Party and 1 independent.[2] In the lead up to the election 2 former independents had formed the Conservative group on the council, while 2 Labour councillors defected to the Socialist Labour Party.[2]
10 seats were contested in the election with both the Labour and Conservative parties contesting every seat, while the Liberal Democrats stood in 5 seats.[2] The Conservatives were hoping to double their seats on the council to 4 on the back of disappointment with the national Labour government.[2] However Labour believed voters would back them as they said the council was providing good services.[2]
The results saw Labour win all 10 seats contested to hold 28 of the 30 seats on the council.[3] Labour held the 7 seats they had been defending, gained a seat from the Conservatives in Stonydelph and retook another 2 seats from defectors to the Socialist Labour Party.[3] This was the first time in at least 20 years that any party had won all the seats contested in an election for the council.[4] Turnout in the election was low with only 16.2% voting in Stonydelph.[3]
Labour said the results showed "that Labour Party policies have been a resounding success", however the Conservatives said their party had increased the share of the vote laying foundations for 1999.[3]
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 10 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 100.0 | ||||
| Conservative | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | ||||
| Socialist Labour | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | ||||
