Elections to Southwark Council were held on 7 May 1998. The whole council was up for election. Turnout was 32.9%.
In between the 1994 election and this election there were a total of 8 by-elections to replace councillors who resigned from their seat, however only 1 seat actually changed hands going from the Liberal Democrats to the Labour Party. In addition to this change there were also 2 other Labour councillor who defected fo third parties, which meant the composition of the council just before the election was as follows:
After the election the composition of the council was as follows:
(*) - Indicates an incumbent candidate
(â ) - indicates an incumbent candidate standing in a different ward
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Kutapan.
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr Jones.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Hodson.