1998 Hackney London Borough Council election

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1998 Hackney London Borough Council elections

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All 60 seats to Hackney London Borough Council 31 seats needed for a majority
Registered	116,157
Turnout	38.24%
First party Second party Third party   Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative Seats before 44 10 1 Seats won 29 17 12 Seat change 15 7 11 Percentage 48.33% 28.33% 20.00%   Fourth party   Party Green Seats before 0 Seats won 2 Seat change 2 Percentage 3.33%
Council control before election No overall control Subsequent council control No overall control

The 1998 Hackney London Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1998. All 60 members of Hackney London Borough Council were up for election. The elections took place as part of the 1998 London local elections.

Despite the losses, the Labour Party remained the largest party, but the council continued with no overall control. The Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party both made gains.

The Labour Party retained overall control of the council but saw a significant reduction in seats, losing 16 seats. The Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives made gains, with the Liberal Democrats increasing their seat count by 10 and the Conservatives by six.

Simultaneously, a referendum was held on whether there was support for establishing a Greater London Authority

The 1998 Hackney London Borough Council elections initially left the Labour Party without a working majority, holding 29 of the 60 available seats. Following a series of by-elections, Labour gained three additional seats, securing victories from both the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, and thus achieving a working majority with 32 seats. The Liberal Democrats saw a reduction from 17 to 15 seats, while the Conservative Party increased their seats from 12 to 13, and the Green Party's representation decreased from 2 to 1 seat. This shift in council composition allowed Labour to establish stronger control over council decisions, including budgetary matters.

Prior to the 1998 election, Labour had effectively lost control of Hackney Council, with no single party holding a majority. The election was part of a broader set of local elections across London and the UK, where several councils experienced shifts in control.

On 9 March 2001, two Hackney Borough Council councillors, Isaac Leibowitz, Conservative, and Zev Lieberman, Liberal Democrat were convicted of a major vote-rigging conspiracy related to the May 1998 local elections. They were found guilty of fraudulently adding names to the electoral roll to influence the election outcome in Hackney's Northwold ward.

The fraud involved registering fake voters, including using disused properties and misrepresenting addresses. It also included manipulating proxy votes. This led to a significant increase in proxy voting from 12 in 1994 to 241 in 1998, with a majority of the proxies voting for the Liberal Democrats.

Leibowitz and Lieberman were convicted of forgery and conspiracy to defraud. The scale of the fraud raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and the accuracy of the election results.^[1]

In the 1998 Hackney Council election, no single party gained overall control of the council. The result reflected a broader trend observed in other boroughs during the same election cycle, where several councils transitioned to no overall control. The outcome was consistent with changes observed in other boroughs, where Labour gained control of Harrow, Brent, Lambeth, and Waltham Forest from a state of no overall control. Labour lost control of Hillingdon, Islington, and Hackney, where they had previously held a majority or significant influence.

An by-election was held after the resignation of Cllr Loarraine Monk, on 22 October 1998

An by-election was held after the resignation of Cllr Paul Thomas, on 21 January 1998. The election led to the Greens losing one of their two seats on the council, being gained by Labour

An by-election was held after the resignation of Cllr Irfan Malik, on 15 July 1998.

An by-election was held after the disqualification of Cllr Simon Parkes, on 13 January 2000.

An by-election was held after the disqualification of Cllr Neil Hughes, on 12 October 2000. Labour gained Wick from the Liberal Democrats.

An by-election was held after the disqualification of Cllr Zev Liberman, on 7 June 2001. Labour gained Northwold from the Liberal Democrats.

An by-election was held after the resignation of Cllr Vernon Williams, on 7 June 2001. Labour gained Northwold from the Liberal Democrats.

An by-election was held after the disqualification of Cllr Isaac Leibowitz, on 7 June 2001. Labour gained Northwold from the Liberal Democrats.

Council Control Before and After By-Elections^[2]

Party	Seats Before	Seats Gained/Lost	Total Seats After
Labour Party (UK)	29	3	32
Conservative Party (UK)	12	1	13
Liberal Democrats (UK)	17	2	15
Green Party of England and Wales	2	1	1

^[1]