# 1998 Cheltenham Borough Council election

The 1998 Cheltenham Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Cheltenham Borough Council in Gloucestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was
* Liberal Democrat 27
* Conservative 9
* People Against Bureaucracy 4
* Vacant 1

## Campaign

Before the election the Liberal Democrats held 32 of the 41 seats on the council and were guaranteed to remain in control of the council with only 13 seats being contested. They were defending most of the seats up for election, while another 3 were held by the People Against Bureaucracy Action Group. These 3 seats included 2 where Liberal Democrats councillors had defected to People Against Bureaucracy. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat leader of the council, Alistair Cameron, stood down at the election.
The campaign saw the Conservatives attack the Liberal Democrats for the level of council tax in Cheltenham and for wasting money.

## Election result

Cheltenham Local Election Result 1998 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 6 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 46.2 | 40.6 | 10,387 | +8.3 |
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | 0 | 7 | -7 | 38.5 | 38.8 | 9,935 | -8.8 |
| PAB | 2 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 15.4 | 10.1 | 2,578 | +4.0 |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 | 2,611 | -3.8 |
| Green | 0 | | | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 82 | N/A |

## Ward results

All Saints :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Daphne Pennell | 807 | 40.4 | +4.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Patricia Henry | 619 | 31.0 | −19.8 |
| | PAB | Sally Stringer* | 371 | 18.6 | N/A |
| | Labour | Edward Hemmings | 200 | 10.0 | −3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 188 | 9.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,997 | 30.2 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Charlton Kings :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jennifer Moreton | 1,439 | 55.5 | +8.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Claire Grainger | 1,153 | 44.5 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 286 | 11.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,592 | 41.2 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
College :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Leslie Freeman | 1,278 | 43.3 | ±0.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Garth Barnes* | 1,225 | 41.5 | −8.0 |
| | PAB | Alan Stone | 321 | 10.9 | N/A |
| | Labour | Thomas Wiffen | 128 | 4.3 | −2.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 53 | 1.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,952 | 44.1 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Hatherley & the Reddings :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Diane Blackburn | 1,076 | 43.2 | −6.6 |
| | Conservative | Paul Simons | 1,036 | 41.6 | +1.2 |
| | Labour | Christopher Bailey | 298 | 12.0 | +2.2 |
| | Green | Geoffrey Foster | 82 | 3.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 40 | 1.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,492 | 32.7 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Hesters Way :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Clive Lloyd | 865 | 59.9 | −9.4 |
| | Conservative | Eric Baylis | 305 | 21.1 | +6.9 |
| | Labour | William Fawcett | 273 | 18.9 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 560 | 38.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,443 | 20.3 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Lansdown :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Susan Starling | 882 | 51.6 | +10.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Whalley* | 644 | 37.7 | −7.5 |
| | Labour | Robert Irons | 184 | 10.8 | −3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 238 | 13.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,710 | 28.0 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Leckhampton with Up Hatherley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robin Macdonald | 1,449 | 57.9 | +23.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anne Regan* | 806 | 32.2 | +1.9 |
| | Labour | Martin Burford | 249 | 9.9 | +0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 643 | 25.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,504 | 38.1 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Duncan Smith | 1,372 | 62.9 | +13.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Yvonne Nicholls | 810 | 37.1 | −7.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 562 | 25.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,182 | 38.6 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Pittville :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PAB | David Prince* | 733 | 33.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Royston Hyett | 590 | 26.9 | −20.1 |
| | Labour | David Addison | 555 | 25.3 | −12.6 |
| | Conservative | Nigel Regnier | 315 | 14.4 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 143 | 6.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,193 | 38.1 | |
| | PAB gain from Liberal Democrats | PAB gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Prestbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PAB | Leslie Godwin* | 1,153 | 59.9 | +10.1 |
| | Conservative | John Walker | 504 | 26.2 | +3.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Jones | 202 | 10.5 | −8.4 |
| | Labour | Philip Greening | 66 | 3.4 | −5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 649 | 33.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,925 | 31.8 | |
| | PAB hold | PAB hold | Swing | | |
St Marks :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Brian Cassin | 650 | 62.2 | −9.3 |
| | Labour | Andre Curtis | 205 | 19.6 | +3.3 |
| | Conservative | James Stevenson | 190 | 18.2 | +6.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 445 | 42.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,045 | 21.2 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
St Pauls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Heather McLain | 640 | 47.9 | −13.5 |
| | Conservative | Susan Godwin | 513 | 38.4 | +18.8 |
| | Labour | Tristan Wood | 183 | 13.7 | −5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 127 | 9.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,336 | 22.3 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
St Peters :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pat Thornton* | 655 | 53.6 | −7.0 |
| | Conservative | Rachel Murray | 297 | 24.3 | +10.0 |
| | Labour | Clive Harriss | 270 | 22.1 | −3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 358 | 29.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,222 | 20.4 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |