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

In Bromley the “Poll Tax” was not so unpopular, with Conservative support remaining strong.

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 being eroded…

1999

In July 1999, a Lib Dem councillor in the key marginal ward of Bromley Common & Keston resigned. With a record 10% hike in Council tax still fresh in residents’ minds, and the tangible effects of the Lib/Lab administration’s “conversion to woodland” policy – which saw many parks and open spaces left unmaintained – a stunning victory was notched up for the Tories.

2000

The ward of Bromley Common & Keston was again in the spotlight when a Lib Dem councillor, exasperated at the attitude and performance of her colleagues in power, decided to join the Conservative group.

2001

In the run up to the 2001 General Election, two administration councillors resigned – though in very different circumstances. One, a Labour councillor in the formerly safe Labour ward of Mottingham, stood down for personal reasons. However, a Lib Dem councillor in the marginal seat of Chelsfield & Goddington, stood down only after coming under heavy criticism for long absences from the Council – absences which coincided with his standing as a Lib Dem parliamentary candidate in a south coast constituency. With a record of cumulative council tax increases of 36%, the Lib Dem / Labour coalition of 1998 was consigned to Bromley’s political history in the two by-elections of July 2001.

2002

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

In 2006 the Conservatives consolidated their hold on the Council, and began to gain seats in former Lib Dem and Labour strongholds, such as Clockhouse and Cray Valley West (which included much of St. Paul’s Cray).