# 1998 Pendle Borough Council election

The 1998 Pendle Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Pendle Borough Council in Lancashire, 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 29
* Labour 18
* Conservative 3
* Independent 1

## Campaign

17 seats were contested in the election, with the Liberal Democrats defending 10 seats, Labour 6 and the Conservatives 1 seat. The election saw controversy over proxy votes, as the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties accused each other of abusing the system.
During the campaign the Liberal Democrat national leader Paddy Ashdown came to Pendle to support his party.

## Election result

The results saw no change in the political balance of the council, with the Liberal Democrats remaining in control of the council. The Labour Party gained 2 seats from the Liberal Democrats in Bradley and Waterside wards, but the Liberal Democrats took the seats of Walverden and Whitefield back. Meanwhile, the Conservative group leader, Roy Clarkson, held the only seat the Conservatives had been defending in Reedley. Overall turnout in the election was 34.4%.
Pendle local election result 1998 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes |
| Liberal Democrats | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 58.8 | 41.6 | 8,662 |
| Labour | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 35.3 | 38.6 | 8,033 |
| Conservative | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 | 19.8 | 4,132 |

## Ward results

Barrowford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Allan Vickerman | 717 | 45.2 |
| | Conservative | Linda Crossley | 460 | 29.0 |
| | Labour | Anthony Hargreaves | 408 | 25.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 257 | 16.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,585 | 33.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Boulsworth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alan Davies | 702 | 60.2 |
| | Labour | Martin Wilson | 267 | 22.9 |
| | Conservative | James Ilott | 198 | 17.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 435 | 37.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,167 | 27.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Bradley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Mohammed Iqbal | 750 | 49.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mohammed Munir | 600 | 39.5 |
| | Conservative | Janet Riley | 169 | 11.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 150 | 9.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,519 | 41.3 |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | |
Brierfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Frank Clifford | 631 | 54.7 |
| | Conservative | Zita Lord | 404 | 35.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Doris Stanworth | 118 | 10.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 227 | 19.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,153 | 35.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Clover Hill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Kathleen Shore | 601 | 58.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David French | 239 | 23.1 |
| | Conservative | Frank Chadwick | 194 | 18.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 362 | 35.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,034 | 30.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Coates :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Marjorie Adams | 691 | 57.2 |
| | Labour | William Skinner | 350 | 28.9 |
| | Conservative | Craig Toon | 168 | 13.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 341 | 28.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,209 | 31.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Craven :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mary Norcross | 631 | 54.6 |
| | Labour | John Edwards | 333 | 28.8 |
| | Conservative | Mark Langtree | 191 | 16.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 298 | 25.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,155 | 28.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Earby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Doris Allen | 709 | 43.7 |
| | Conservative | Rosemary Carroll | 641 | 39.5 |
| | Labour | Kathleen Strachan | 273 | 16.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 68 | 4.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,623 | 37.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Fence :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | John David | 731 | 84.4 |
| | Conservative | Adrian Mitchell | 89 | 10.3 |
| | Labour | Ian Lockwood | 46 | 5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 642 | 74.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 866 | 46.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Horsfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gillian Gilhespy | 601 | 53.3 |
| | Labour | Colin Nightingale | 527 | 46.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 74 | 6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,128 | 33.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Marsden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Gary Rowland | 552 | 72.0 |
| | Conservative | Tonia Barton | 215 | 28.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 337 | 43.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 767 | 21.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Reedley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Roy Clarkson | 711 | 57.1 |
| | Labour | Anthony Martin | 290 | 23.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sean Hunt | 244 | 19.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 421 | 33.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,245 | 33.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Southfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Pauline Allen | 690 | 74.4 |
| | Conservative | Peter Wildman | 237 | 25.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 453 | 48.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 927 | 28.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Vivary Bridge :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Clegg | 576 | 47.3 |
| | Labour | Pamela Barnett | 548 | 45.0 |
| | Conservative | Geoffrey Riley | 93 | 7.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 28 | 2.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,217 | 29.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Walverden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Safdar Hussain | 680 | 52.1 |
| | Labour | Rahmat Raja | 432 | 33.1 |
| | Conservative | Michael Landriau | 194 | 14.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 248 | 19.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,306 | 44.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | |
Waterside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ann Doult | 547 | 49.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Beck | 483 | 43.6 |
| | Conservative | Kathleen Hodgson | 78 | 7.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 64 | 5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,108 | 35.2 |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | |
Whitefield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Shabbir Ahmed | 940 | 51.7 |
| | Labour | Mohammed Ansar | 788 | 43.3 |
| | Conservative | Paul McKenna | 90 | 5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 152 | 8.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,818 | 60.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | |

## By-elections between 1998 and 1999

Horsfield By-Election 10 December 1998 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gillian Williamson | 452 | 45.4 | +8.1 |
| | Labour | | 433 | 43.4 | −11.4 |
| | Conservative | | 112 | 11.2 | +3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19 | 2.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 997 | 29.0 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |