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

← 2018 2 May 2019 2021 →

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 5
Seats won 12 5 5
Seats after 51 12 8
Seat change Decrease10 Increase4 Increase3

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Party UKIP Green
Seats before 0 0
Seats won 3 1
Seats after 3 1
Seat change Increase3 Increase1

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

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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

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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 one seat in Sandhill,they gained a second seat 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

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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

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Asterisk denotes incumbent councillor.

% Change from 2018

Barnes Ward

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Barnes Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Helen Greener 1,216 36.2  8.9
Labour Ian Galbraith* 1,009 30.0  5.8
UKIP Allison Allen 479 14.3  14.3 new
Liberal Democrats Tim Ellis 430 12.8  0.3
Green Josh Flynn 225 6.6  0.2
Rejected ballots 12 0.4
Majority 207 6
Turnout 3,371 40.1
Registered electors 8,383
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

Castle Ward

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Castle Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Stephen Foster* 1,077 48.3  14.7
UKIP Linda Hudson 908 40.7  40.7 new
Conservative Bryan Reynolds 244 10.9  9.2
Rejected ballots 15 0.7
Majority 169 7.5
Turnout 2,244 27.2
Registered electors 8,238
Labour hold Swing

Copt Hill Ward

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Copt Hill Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Melanie Thornton 1,232 41.1  7.5
UKIP Reg Coulson 1,047 35.2  35.2 new
Conservative Pat Francis 386 13.0  1.8
Green Esme Featherstone 311 10.5  6.8
Rejected ballots 21 0.7
Majority 185 6.2
Turnout 2,997 33.7
Registered electors 8,903
Labour hold Swing

Doxford Ward

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Doxford Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Heather Fagan 1,337 42.7  34.8
Labour Colin English* 730 23.3  35.1
UKIP John Defty 518 16.5  16.5 new
Conservative John Wiper 394 12.6  43
Green Richard Bradley 150 4.8  4.9
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

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Fulwell Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Doyle 1,235 30.7  15.9
Labour Margaret Beck* 1,170 29.1  4
Liberal Democrats Malcolm Bond 789 19.6  3.4
UKIP Tracey Hull 570 14.2  14.2 new
Green Robert Welsh 260 6.5  2.4
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

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Hendon Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Lynda Scanlan 817 37.1  10.3
UKIP Martin Moore 581 26.3  26.3 new
Conservative George Brown 280 12.7  6.7
Independent Kristian Brown 204 9.3  9.3 new
Green Gary Ogle 189 8.6  4.4
Liberal Democrats Thomas Crawford 134 6.1  0.1
Rejected ballots 7 0.3
Majority 236 10.7
Turnout 2,212 28.3
Registered electors 7,808
Labour hold Swing

Hetton Ward

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Hetton Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Doris Turner* 990 33.2  20.1
UKIP Michael Hopper 854 28.7  28.7 new
Independent David Geddis 642 21.6  7.2
Democrats and Veterans Glyn Dixon 208 7  7 new
Conservative Neville Chamberlin 168 5.7  7.2
Green Rachel Lowe 111 3.7  1
Rejected ballots 16 0.5
Majority 136 4.6
Turnout 2,989 32.8
Registered electors 9,112
Labour hold Swing

Houghton Ward

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Houghton Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Juliana Heron* 1,293 40.4  13.8
UKIP Sheila Quigley 1,116 34.9  34.9 new
Conservative Raymond Davison 313 9.8  5.5
Green Chris Crozier 256 8  5.4
Independent Mick Watson 217 6.8  6.8 new
Rejected ballots 4 0.1
Majority 177 5.5
Turnout 3,199 33
Registered electors 9,708
Labour hold Swing

Millfield Ward

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Millfield Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Julia Potts 1,550 60.7  2.7
Labour Thomas Newton 593 23.2  10
UKIP Paul Holt 216 8.5  8.5 new
Conservative Syed Ali 94 3.7  2.2
Green Helmut Izaks 67 2.6  0.2
For Britain Joe Cobb 33 1.3  1.3 new
Rejected ballots 8 0.3
Majority 957 37.4
Turnout 2,561 36
Registered electors 7,111
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing

Pallion Ward

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Pallion Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Martin Haswell* 1,662 63.7  3.6
Labour Richard Mulvaney 436 16.7  12.7
UKIP Michael Gutowski 340 13.0  13.0 new
Conservative Grant Shearer 108 4.1  3.2
Green David Lawson 64 2.5  0.6
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

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Redhill Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
UKIP Keith Jenkins 866 41.0  41.0 new
Labour Iain Kay 795 37.6  22.5
Conservative Michael Winter 299 14.1  3.5
Green Rafal Marzec 154 7.3  2.9
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

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Ryhope Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
UKIP Steven Bewick 946 34.4  34.4 new
Labour Ellen Ball* 927 33.7  17.0
Conservative Andrei Lucaci 424 15.4  16.0
Green Emma Robson 249 9.1  2.3
Liberal Democrats Keith Townsend 188 6.8  0.9
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

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Sandhill Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Stephen O'Brien* 1,050 40.1  5.0
Liberal Democrats Margaret Crosby 824 31.5  13.6
UKIP Hugh Clinton 735 28.1  28.1 new
Labour Nathan Davison 635 24.3  11.7
Labour Joanne Laverick 545 20.8  15.2
UKIP William Cowe 480 18.3  18.3 new
Populist Tony Morrow 245 9.4  9.4 new
Green Alexandra Mills 149 5.7  0.9
Conservative Christine Reed 144 5.5  8.4
Conservative Thomas Such 79 3.0  10.9
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

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Shiney Row Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Geoffrey Walker* 1,229 38.8  15.6
UKIP Richard Elvin 819 25.9  25.9 new
Conservative Clair Hall 482 15.2  8.5
Green Katy Sawyer 229 7.2  2.5
Populist Kevin Bunker 212 6.7  6.5
Liberal Democrats Nana Boddy 180 5.7  1.6
Rejected ballots 13 0.4
Majority 410 13
Turnout 3,164 32.7
Registered electors 9,666
Labour hold Swing

Silksworth Ward

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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

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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

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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

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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 4.0
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

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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

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St Peter's Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Joshua 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

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Washington Central Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Len Lauchlan* 1,156 41.3  19.3
UKIP Erland Polden 711 25.4  25.4 new
Conservative Anna Snell 509 18.2  12.3
Green Michal Chantkowski 259 9.3  0.8
Liberal Democrats Maciej Zagdan 164 5.9  5.9 new
Rejected ballots 19
Majority 445
Turnout 2,818 33
Registered electors 8,534
Labour hold Swing

Washington East Ward

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Washington East Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Fiona Miller* 1,142 37.6  12.5
Conservative Hilary Johnson 731 24.0  12
UKIP Hazel Whitfield 589 19.4  19.4 new
Green Michael Ellis 366 12.0  6
Liberal Democrats Sean Terry 213 7.0  0.5
Rejected ballots 17
Majority 411
Turnout 3,058 33.9
Registered electors 9,015
Labour hold Swing

Washington North Ward

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Washington North Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter Walker* 1,007 42.7  20.2
UKIP Tony Ormond 702 29.8  29.8 new
Conservative Carol Groombridge 287 12.2  6.2
Green June Bradley 275 11.7  4.6
Liberal Democrats Kevin Morris 85 3.6  1.4
Rejected ballots 12
Majority 305
Turnout 2,368 29.4
Registered electors 8,056
Labour hold Swing

Washington South Ward

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Washington South Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Dom Armstrong 711 24.8  15.5
Labour Sean Laws 708 24.7  22.5
Conservative Martin Talbot 553 19.3  16.4
UKIP Luke Bond 535 18.7  18.7 new
Liberal Democrats Carlton West 347 12.1  4.6
Rejected ballots 11 0.4  4.6
Majority 3 0.1
Turnout 2,865 36.8
Registered electors 7,787
Green gain from Labour Swing

Washington West Ward

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Washington West Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Harry Trueman* 1,235 42.6  16.6
UKIP Kevin Sheppard 674 23.3  23.3 new
Conservative Olwyn Bird 440 15.2  10
Green Paul Leonard 405 14.0  4.5
Liberal Democrats Odet Aszkenasy 144 5.0  0.8
Rejected ballots 13
Majority 561
Turnout 2,911 32.8
Registered electors 8,878
Labour hold Swing

References

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  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.