Elections to Rossendale Council were held on 7 May 1998. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council. Overall turnout was 30%.
After the election, the composition of the council was
| Rossendale Local Election Result 1998 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/- | ||
| Conservative | 7 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 58.3 | 51.6 | 7,338 | |||
| Labour | 5 | 0 | 6 | -6 | 41.7 | 48.4 | 6,889 | |||
| Cribden | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | L Forshaw | 810 | 57.2 | ||
| Conservative | M Ormerod | 606 | 42.8 | ||
| Majority | 204 | 14.4 | |||
| Turnout | 1,416 | 27.0 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Eden | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | J Cheetham | 476 | 52.3 | ||
| Labour | J Johnson | 435 | 47.7 | ||
| Majority | 41 | 4.6 | |||
| Turnout | 911 | 33.1 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Greenfield | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | J Thorne | 634 | 52.6 | ||
| Labour | J Whitehead | 572 | 47.4 | ||
| Majority | 62 | 5.2 | |||
| Turnout | 1,206 | 27.8 | |||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
| Greensclough | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | J Driver | 771 | 67.1 | ||
| Labour | D Baron | 378 | 32.9 | ||
| Majority | 393 | 34.2 | |||
| Turnout | 1,149 | 33.0 | |||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
| Hareholme | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | G Pearson | 728 | 55.0 | ||
| Conservative | D Ruddick | 596 | 45.0 | ||
| Majority | 132 | 10.0 | |||
| Turnout | 1,324 | 30.8 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Healey and Whitworth | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | J Grogan | 517 | 55.5 | ||
| Labour | C Adamson | 415 | 44.5 | ||
| Majority | 102 | 11.0 | |||
| Turnout | 932 | 26.9 | |||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
| Helmshore | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | R Beavan | 835 | 52.4 | ||
| Labour | M Proctor | 758 | 47.6 | ||
| Majority | 77 | 4.8 | |||
| Turnout | 1,593 | 30.4 | |||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
| Irwell | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | P Steen | 786 | 58.9 | ||
| Labour | P Heyworth | 549 | 41.1 | ||
| Majority | 237 | 17.8 | |||
| Turnout | 1,335 | 32.4 | |||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
| Longholme | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | J Pilling | 627 | 53.6 | ||
| Conservative | L Entwistle | 542 | 46.4 | ||
| Majority | 85 | 7.2 | |||
| Turnout | 1,169 | 29.1 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Stacksteads | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | D Easton | 503 | 50.9 | ||
| Conservative | D Nuttall | 486 | 49.1 | ||
| Majority | 17 | 1.8 | |||
| Turnout | 989 | 32.2 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Whitewell | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | D Hancock | 660 | 54.1 | ||
| Conservative | C Marsden | 559 | 45.9 | ||
| Majority | 101 | 8.2 | |||
| Turnout | 1,219 | 28.5 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Worsley | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | S Birtwell | 530 | 53.9 | ||
| Labour | J McManus | 454 | 46.1 | ||
| Majority | 76 | 7.8 | |||
| Turnout | 984 | 32.4 | |||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
| Preceded by Rossendale Council election, 1996 |
Rossendale local elections | Succeeded by Rossendale Council election, 1999 |