2019 Sunderland City Council election

The 2019 Sunderland City Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect members of Sunderland City Council in England. The election took place on the same day as other local elections.

2019 Sunderland City Council election

2 May 2019
One third of 75 seats on Sunderland City Council, plus a vacancy in Sandhill Ward 38 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Seats before 61 8 6 Seats won 12 5 5 Seats after 51 12 8 Seat change 10 4 2   Fourth party Fifth party   Party UKIP Green Seats before 0 0 Seats won 3 1 Seats after 3 1 Seat change 3 1
Map of the 2019 Sunderland City Council election results. Labour in red, Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in yellow, UKIP in purple and Green Party in green.
Majority party before election Labour Majority party after election Labour

Background

There had been no by-elections to the Council in the period since the 2018 local elections, however two Liberal Democrat councillors who had won by-elections in 2017 and 2018 were seeking re-election, and a Liberal Democrat councillor had stood down ahead of the elections, meaning that there was a two-up election in the Sandhill Ward.[1]

Sitting St Chad's councillor and former mayor Stuart Porthouse was unable to stand for re-election, having been suspended from the Labour Party ahead of the election, after sharing a post online about anti-Semitism.[2] In Washington, a former Labour councillor had resigned having been expelled from the Labour Party after pleading guilty to attempting to sexually communicate with a child.[3]

The Labour Party, Conservatives and UKIP all fielded 25 candidates in the election. The Liberal Democrats fielded 19 candidates, and the Greens 24. In addition, there were 4 Independent candidates, 3 Populist Party candidates, and one each from For Britain and the Democrats and Veterans.

Election results

The election saw Labour defend 12 seats and lose 10. The Conservatives held the seat they were defending in St Michael's, and gained from Labour in Fulwell, St Peter's, St Chad's and Barnes. The Liberal Democrats defended their seat in Pallion and two seats in Sandhill, and gained seats in Millfield and Doxford. UKIP won their first ever seats on Sunderland City Council, taking the Ryhope, St Anne's and Redhill wards from Labour. In a close result, the Greens also gained their first seat, taking Washington South from Labour by 3 votes.[4]

Following the elections, Graeme Miller, the Labour leader of the Council, blamed his Party's fortunes on their Brexit stance, warning "We need to think carefully about what Brexit has done here, people have voted against the Labour Party on that."[5]

The election result was the worst for the Labour Party in Sunderland since the Council was set up in 1973, although they had previously lost 9 councillors in the 1982 local elections. It was the Conservatives' best result since 2011, and the best result for the Liberal Democrats since 1982 (when they stood as the SDP/Liberal Alliance).

Sunderland Local Election Result 2019[6]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	12	0	10	10	48	32.7	23,999	14.3
	UKIP	3	3	0	3	12	23.9	17,541	23.9
	Conservative	5	4	0	4	20	18.7	13,758	10.6
	Liberal Democrats	5	2	0	2	20	13.7	10,090	1.6
	Green	1	0	0	1	4	8	5,853	1.9
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0	1.9	1,425	2.2
	Populist	0	0	0	0	0	0.8	593	0.2
	Democrats and Veterans	0	0	0	0	0	0.2	208	0.2
	For Britain	0	0	0	0	0	0	33	0.2

Council composition

In the last council, the composition of the council was:

↓

61	8	6
Labour	Conservative	Lib Dem

After the election, the composition of the council was:

↓

51	12	8	3	1
Labour	Conservative	Lib Dem	UKIP	G

Lib Dem - Liberal Democrats
G - Greens

Ward by ward results

Asterisk denotes incumbent councillor.

Barnes Ward

Barnes Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Helen Greener	1,216	36.2
	Labour	Ian Galbraith*	1,009	30.0
	UKIP	Allison Allen	479	14.3
	Liberal Democrats	Tim Ellis	430	12.8
	Green	Josh Flynn	225	6.6
Rejected ballots			12	0.4
Majority			207	6
Turnout			3,371	40.1
Registered electors			8,383
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Castle Ward

Castle Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Stephen Foster*	1,077	48.3
	UKIP	Linda Hudson	908	40.7
	Conservative	Bryan Reynolds	244	10.9
Rejected ballots			15	0.7
Majority			169	7.5
Turnout			2,244	27.2
Registered electors			8,238
	Labour hold		Swing

Copt Hill Ward

Copt Hill Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Melanie Thornton	1,232	41.1
	UKIP	Reg Coulson	1,047	35.2
	Conservative	Pat Francis	386	13.0
	Green	Esme Featherstone	311	10.5
Rejected ballots			21	0.7
Majority			185	6.2
Turnout			2,997	33.7
Registered electors			8,903
	Labour hold		Swing

Doxford Ward

Doxford Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Heather Fagan	1,337	42.7
	Labour	Colin English*	730	23.3
	UKIP	John Defty	518	16.5
	Conservative	John Wiper	394	12.6
	Green	Richard Bradley	150	4.8
Rejected ballots			17	0.5
Majority			607	19.3
Turnout			3,146	40.8
Registered electors			7,706
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

Fulwell Ward

Fulwell Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	James Doyle	1,235	30.7
	Labour	Margaret Beck*	1,170	29.1
	Liberal Democrats	Malcolm Bond	789	19.6
	UKIP	Tracey Hull	570	14.2
	Green	Robert Welsh	260	6.5
Rejected ballots			19	0.5
Majority			65	1.6
Turnout			4,043	45.3
Registered electors			8,928
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Hendon Ward

Hendon Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Lynda Scanlan	817	37.1
	UKIP	Martin Moore	581	26.3
	Conservative	George Brown	280	12.7
	Independent	Kristian Brown	204	9.3
	Green	Gary Ogle	189	8.6
	Liberal Democrats	Thomas Crawford	134	6.1
Rejected ballots			7	0.3
Majority			236	10.7
Turnout			2,212	28.3
Registered electors			7,808
	Labour hold		Swing

Hetton Ward

Hetton Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Doris Turner*	990	33.2
	UKIP	Michael Hopper	854	28.7
	Independent	David Geddis	642	21.6
	Democrats and Veterans	Glyn Dixon	208	7
	Conservative	Neville Chamberlin	168	5.7
	Green	Rachel Lowe	111	3.7
Rejected ballots			16	0.5
Majority			136	4.6
Turnout			2,989	32.8
Registered electors			9,112
	Labour hold		Swing

Houghton Ward

Houghton Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Juliana Heron*	1,293	40.4
	UKIP	Sheila Quigley	1,116	34.9
	Conservative	Raymond Davison	313	9.8
	Green	Chris Crozier	256	8
	Independent	Mick Watson	217	6.8
Rejected ballots			4	0.1
Majority			177	5.5
Turnout			3,199	33
Registered electors			9,708
	Labour hold		Swing

Millfield Ward

Millfield Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Julia Potts	1,550	60.7	52.6
	Labour	Thomas Newton	593	23.2	26.7
	UKIP	Paul Holt	216	8.5	11.3
	Conservative	Syed Ali	94	3.7	11.6
	Green	Helmut Izaks	67	2.6	2.5
	For Britain	Joe Cobb	33	1.3	1.3
Rejected ballots			8	0.3
Majority			957	37.4
Turnout			2,561	36
Registered electors			7,111
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	40

Pallion Ward

Pallion Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Haswell*	1,662	63.7	60
	Labour	Richard Mulvaney	436	16.7	32.6
	UKIP	Michael Gutowski	340	13.0	14.7
	Conservative	Grant Shearer	108	4.1	11
	Green	David Lawson	64	2.5	1.7
Rejected ballots			7	0.3
Majority			1,226	46.8
Turnout			2,617	35.1
Registered electors			7,530
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	46.3

The Liberal Democrat candidate had won this seat in a by-election in February 2018 following the death of the incumbent Labour councillor.[7] The 2019 result, whilst a hold for the Liberal Democrats, is technically a gain from Labour based on the last time the seat was contested at a local election in 2015.

Redhill Ward

Redhill Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	UKIP	Keith Jenkins	866	41.0	18.2
	Labour	Iain Kay	795	37.6	25.2
	Conservative	Michael Winter	299	14.1	4.5
	Green	Rafal Marzec	154	7.3	7.3
Rejected ballots			8	0.4
Majority			71	3.3
Turnout			2,122	26.7
Registered electors			7,961
	UKIP gain from Labour		Swing	21.8

Ryhope Ward

Ryhope Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	UKIP	Steven Bewick	946	34.4
	Labour	Ellen Ball*	927	33.7
	Conservative	Andrei Lucaci	424	15.4
	Green	Emma Robson	249	9.1
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Townsend	188	6.8
Rejected ballots			17	0.6
Majority			19	0.7
Turnout			2,751	33.1
Registered electors			8,328
	UKIP gain from Labour		Swing

Sandhill Ward

Sandhill Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen O'Brien*	1,050	40.1
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Crosby	824	31.5
	UKIP	Hugh Clinton	735	28.1
	Labour	Nathan Davison	635	24.3
	Labour	Joanne Laverick	545	20.8
	UKIP	William Cowe	480	18.3
	Populist	Tony Morrow	245	9.4
	Green	Alexandra Mills	149	5.7
	Conservative	Christine Reed	144	5.5
	Conservative	Thomas Such	79	3
Rejected ballots			7	0.5
Majority			315	12
Turnout			2,618	33.3
Registered electors			7,863
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

There was a double vacancy in Sandhill Ward at the 2019 elections. Stephen O'Brien had won the first seat in a by-election in January 2017.[8] The 2019 result, whilst a hold for the Liberal Democrats, was technically a gain from Labour based on the last time the seat was contested at a local election in 2015. The second seat was up for election as the Liberal Democrat candidate who won in 2018 stood down ahead of the 2019 elections. Margaret Crosby defended the seat for the Liberal Democrats.[9]

Shiney Row Ward

Shiney Row Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Geoffrey Walker*	1,229	38.8
	UKIP	Richard Elvin	819	25.9
	Conservative	Clair Hall	482	15.2
	Green	Katy Sawyer	229	7.2
	Populist	Kevin Bunker	212	6.7
	Liberal Democrats	Nana Boddy	180	5.7
Rejected ballots			13	0.4
Majority			410	13
Turnout			3,164	32.7
Registered electors			9,666
	Labour hold		Swing

Silksworth Ward

Silksworth Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Peter Gibson*	1,090	37.5
	UKIP	Kay Rowham	818	28.1
	Conservative	Gwennyth Gibson	572	19.7
	Green	Neil Shaplin	279	9.6
	Populist	Brian Clare	136	4.7
Rejected ballots			13	0.4
Majority			272	9.4
Turnout			2,908	36
Registered electors			8,085
	Labour hold		Swing

Southwick Ward

Southwick Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Michael Butler	1,025	39.3
	UKIP	David White	575	22.1
	Independent	Christopher Marshall	362	13.9
	Conservative	Liam Ritchie	351	13.5
	Green	Anna Debska	148	5.7
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Walton	135	5.2
Rejected ballots			9	0.3
Majority			450	17.3
Turnout			2,605	32.7
Registered electors			7,957
	Labour hold		Swing

St Anne's Ward

St Anne's Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	UKIP	Pam Mann	773	34.6
	Labour	Alison Smith	732	32.8
	Conservative	Gavin Wilson	374	16.7
	Liberal Democrats	Emma Neale	202	9
	Green	Billy Scott Howells	142	6.4
Rejected ballots			11	0.5
Majority			41	1.8
Turnout			2,234	27.9
Registered electors			7,995
	UKIP gain from Labour		Swing

St Chad's Ward

St Chad's Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Dominic McDonough	1,200	39.7
	Labour	Gillian Galbraith*	844	27.9
	UKIP	Alan Davies	674	22.3
	Green	Scott Burrows	176	5.8
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Nicholson	122	4
Rejected ballots			5	0.2
Majority			356	11.8
Turnout			3,021	40.3
Registered electors			7,500
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

St Michael's Ward

St Michael's Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Wood*	1,721	50.7
	Labour	Stewart Ingram	716	21.1
	UKIP	Ian Walton	413	12.2
	Green	John Appleton	349	10.3
	Liberal Democrats	Diana Talbott Matthew	186	5.5
Rejected ballots			9	0.3
Majority			1,005	29.6
Turnout			3,394	41
Registered electors			8,279
	Conservative hold		Swing

St Peter's Ward

St Peter's Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Josh McKeith	1,154	34.9
	Labour	Barry Curran*	866	26.2
	UKIP	Ian Lines	602	18.2
	Liberal Democrats	John Lennox	348	10.5
	Green	Rachel Featherstone	329	9.9
Rejected ballots			10	0.3
Majority			288	8.7
Turnout			3,309	41
Registered electors			8,070
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Washington Central Ward

Washington Central Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Len Lauchlan*	1,156	41.3
	UKIP	Erland Polden	711	25.4
	Conservative	Anna Snell	509	18.2
	Green	Michal Chantkowski	259	9.3
	Liberal Democrats	Maciej Zagdan	164	5.9
Rejected ballots			19
Majority			445
Turnout			2,818	33
Registered electors			8,534
	Labour hold		Swing

Washington East Ward

Washington East Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Fiona Miller*	1,142	37.6
	Conservative	Hilary Johnson	731	24.0
	UKIP	Hazel Whitfield	589	19.4
	Green	Michael Ellis	366	12.0
	Liberal Democrats	Sean Terry	213	7.0
Rejected ballots			17
Majority			411
Turnout			3,058	33.9
Registered electors			9,015
	Labour hold		Swing

Washington North Ward

Washington North Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Peter Walker*	1,007	42.7
	UKIP	Tony Ormond	702	29.8
	Conservative	Carol Groombridge	287	12.2
	Green	June Bradley	275	11.7
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Morris	85	3.6
Rejected ballots			12
Majority			305
Turnout			2,368	29.4
Registered electors			8,056
	Labour hold		Swing

Washington South Ward

Washington South Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Green	Dom Armstrong	711	24.8
	Labour	Sean Laws	708	24.7
	Conservative	Martin Talbot	553	19.3
	UKIP	Luke Bond	535	18.7
	Liberal Democrats	Carlton West	347	12.1
Rejected ballots			11	0.4
Majority			3	0.1
Turnout			2,865	36.8
Registered electors			7,787
	Green gain from Labour		Swing

Washington West Ward

Washington West Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Harry Trueman*	1,235	42.6
	UKIP	Kevin Sheppard	674	23.3
	Conservative	Olwyn Bird	440	15.2
	Green	Paul Leonard	405	14.0
	Liberal Democrats	Odet Aszkenasy	144	5.0
Rejected ballots			13
Majority			561
Turnout			2,911	32.8
Registered electors			8,878
	Labour hold		Swing

References

1. Harrison, James (2 May 2019). "Sunderland local elections 2019: The key seats to watch out for". nechronicle. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
2. Seddon, Sean (7 March 2019). "Councillor suspended by Labour Party after sharing George Galloway post". nechronicle. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
3. "Disgraced ex-Sunderland councillor Paul Middleton expelled from Labour Party". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
4. "How a night of drama unfolded at the Sunderland City Council elections 2019". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
5. Harrison, James (3 May 2019). "Sunderland Labour leader blames handling of Brexit on 'terrible' night". nechronicle. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
6. "Local Elections Results 2019". Sunderland City Council. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
7. "Lib Dems claim surprise council by-election win over Labour in Sunderland". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
8. Seddon, Sean (13 January 2017). "Lib Dems snatch second Sunderland council seat in by-election". nechronicle. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
9. "Full list of candidates for 2019 Sunderland City Council local elections confirmed". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.