Pendle Council election, 1998
Encyclopedia
The 1998 Pendle 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
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.
, 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
Pendle is a local government district and borough of Lancashire, England. It adjoins the Lancashire boroughs of Burnley and Ribble Valley, the North Yorkshire district of Craven and the West Yorkshire districts of Calderdale and the City of Bradford...
Borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
Council in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. 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
- LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
18 - ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
3 - IndependentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
1
Campaign
17 seats were contested in the election, with the Liberal Democrats defending 10 seats, LabourLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
6 and the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1 seat. The election saw controversy over proxy votes
Proxy voting
Proxy voting has two forms: delegable voting and delegated voting, which are procedures for the delegation to another member of a voting body of that member's power to vote in his absence, and/or for the selection of additional representatives, as in the case with transitive proxies...
, as the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties accused each other of abusing the system.
During the campaign the Liberal Democrat national leader Paddy Ashdown
Paddy Ashdown
Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG, KBE, PC , usually known as Paddy Ashdown, is a British politician and diplomat....
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 wardsWards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
, 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
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
in the election was 34.4%.