Prior to the 1998 election, Labour had effectively lost control of Hackney Council, with no single party holding a majority.

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 scale of the fraud raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and the accuracy of the election results.

The result reflected a broader trend observed in other boroughs during the same election cycle, where several councils transitioned to no overall control.

Labour lost control of Hillingdon, Islington, and Hackney, where they had previously held a majority or significant influence.

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.