Bromley's Political History

The Borough of Bromley has been through many changes in the last twenty years. More recently, it had a disastrous flirtation with a Lib Dem / Labour pact which ran the Council from May 1998 to July 2001. Previous to that, the Council has always been Conservative controlled.

1986

Following the 1986 elections, little had changed from the situation after the 1982 "Falklands" elections

1990

A gentle erosion in 1990, but the Conservatives still strong. Who said the Poll Tax was unpopular?

1994

The Conservatives locally were heavily affected by the mid-term blues being experienced by the national government

1998

1998 saw the Conservative vote increase by 4%, but it was not enough to retain power. Over three dark years followed, along with massive record Council Tax rises. However, it wasn't just Council services that were deteriorating - the Lib Dem / Labour coalition's majority was slowly eroded by a defection and series of by-elections until the Conservatives regained power in July 2001.

2002

Then, the full council elections of 2002 saw a landslide for the Conservatives, as voters rejected the possibility of another term with the Lib/Lab pact in control of Bromley. The Tories took nearly 52% of the vote, with a 5% swing from the Lib Dems and 6% from Labour.

2006

The 2006 elections saw both Lib Dem and Labour support collapse as Conservative Bromley remained the borough with the lowest tax in Outer London. The troubles nationally of both the Labour government and scandal-hit Liberal Democrats also helped Conservative councillors to be elected in all but 3 wards.