1998 Merton London Borough Council election
Elections for the London Borough of Merton were held on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Merton London Borough Council in London, England. This was on the same day as other local elections in England and a referendum on the Greater London Authority; in the latter, Merton voted in favour of creating the Greater London Authority by 72.2% on a 37.6% turnout.
The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council, despite losing one seat.
There were some minor ward boundary changes which came into effect in December 1994; these affected Merton's boundaries with Sutton and Croydon. However, the number of council seats remained at fifty-seven. This would be the last election under these boundaries: in 2002, the number of seats was increased by 3 and all ward boundaries were redrawn.
Background
In between the 1994 election and this election there were a total of 2 by-elections to replace councillors who died in office, however these did not result in the seats changing parties. In addition to these a Labour councillor defected to a third party, which meant the composition of the council just before the election was as follows:Election results
The incumbent Labour majority administration lost two seats to the Consergainves and gained one seat from Longthornton and Tamworth Residents Association, whose last councillor was elected in 1994 and no longer sat for the party; the party did not contest the election.Merton Park Ward Residents Association and the Liberal Democrats maintained their three seats each in Merton Park and West Barnes respectively.
After the election the composition of the council was as follows:
Ward results
- Indicates an incumbent candidate- Indicates an incumbent candidate standing in a different ward