# 1998 Watford Borough Council election

Watford, a city in England, held its 1998 Watford Borough Council elections on 7 May. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.

## Election result

1998 Watford Borough Council election :
| Party | Party | This election | This election | This election | Full council | Full council | Full council | This election | This election | This election |
| Party | Party | Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− |
| | Labour | 7 | | 53.8 | 14 | 21 | 58.3 | 7,570 | 39.1 | -3.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 3 | | 23.1 | 6 | 9 | 25.0 | 6,282 | 32.4 | -1.0 |
| | Conservative | 3 | | 23.1 | 3 | 6 | 16.7 | 5,514 | 28.5 | +4.7 |

## Ward results
### Callowland

Callowland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | F. Hodgson | 479 | 55.7 | −7.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | A. Canning | 221 | 25.7 | +2.7 |
| | Conservative | M. Taylor | 160 | 18.6 | +4.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 30.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 860 | 21.5 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 5.1 | |

### Central

Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | R. Atkin | 808 | 47.7 | −5.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | R. Martins | 721 | 42.6 | +7.6 |
| | Conservative | Z. Basit | 164 | 9.7 | −2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 5.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,693 | 31.0 | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | 6.6 | |

### Holywell

Holywell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | S. Rosser | 664 | 62.9 | −3.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | J. Baddeley | 218 | 20.6 | +4.0 |
| | Conservative | P. Jenkins | 174 | 16.5 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 42.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,056 | 19.7 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 3.8 | |

### Leggatts

Leggatts :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | S. O'Brien | 730 | 49.3 | +19.6 |
| | Labour | J. Dhindsa | 620 | 41.9 | −14.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | S. Hamid | 130 | 8.8 | −4.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 7.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,480 | 33.9 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | 17.3 | |

### Meriden

Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | R. Banham | 794 | 54.2 | −8.1 |
| | Conservative | P. Bell | 480 | 32.7 | +10.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | M. Lane | 192 | 13.1 | −2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 21.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,466 | 27.5 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 9.5 | |

### Nascot

Nascot :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | J. Brown | 752 | 51.6 | +3.3 |
| | Labour | T. Meldrum | 359 | 24.7 | −5.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | J. Jenkins | 345 | 23.7 | +2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 27.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,456 | 26.9 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 4.3 | |

### Oxhey

Oxhey :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | A. Poole | 1,112 | 58.8 | −3.4 |
| | Conservative | G. Greenstreet | 483 | 25.6 | +4.5 |
| | Labour | N. Akubue | 295 | 15.6 | −1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 33.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,890 | 40.4 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | 4.0 | |

### Park

Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | D. Wright | 928 | 61.4 | +6.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | P. Jenkins | 364 | 24.1 | −5.9 |
| | Labour | C. Barry | 220 | 14.6 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 37.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,512 | 37.4 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 6.3 | |

### Stanborough

Stanborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | D. Scudder | 965 | 60.5 | +17.7 |
| | Conservative | A. Jones | 359 | 22.5 | −7.7 |
| | Labour | S. Sardar | 270 | 16.9 | −10.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 38.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,594 | 32.4 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | 12.7 | |

### Tudor

Tudor (2 seats due to by-election) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | S. Palmer | 690 | 44.8 |
| | Labour | M. Chhina | 634 | 41.2 |
| | Conservative | P. Fincham | 464 | 30.1 |
| | Conservative | H. Ling | 397 | 25.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | M. Palmer | 346 | 22.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | J. Richmond | 315 | 20.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,539 | 29.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

### Vicarage

Vicarage :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | B. Graham | 990 | 58.7 | +7.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | A. Zafar | 414 | 24.6 | −14.9 |
| | Conservative | A. Bell | 282 | 16.7 | +7.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 34.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,686 | 31.0 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 11.2 | |

### Woodside

Woodside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | A. Burtenshaw | 939 | 51.4 | +1.7 |
| | Labour | G. O'Connell | 747 | 40.9 | −1.2 |
| | Conservative | D. Ealey | 141 | 7.7 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 10.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,827 | 35.7 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | 1.5 | |