2019 Sunderland City Council election
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One third of 75 seats on Sunderland City Council, plus a vacancy in Sandhill Ward 38 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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).
Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | 12 | 0 | 10 | ![]() |
48 | 32.7 | 23,999 | ![]() | |
UKIP | 3 | 3 | 0 | ![]() |
12 | 23.9 | 17,541 | ![]() | |
Conservative | 5 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
20 | 18.7 | 13,758 | ![]() | |
Liberal Democrats | 5 | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
20 | 13.7 | 10,090 | ![]() | |
Green | 1 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
4 | 8 | 5,853 | ![]() | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
0 | 1.9 | 1,425 | ![]() | |
Populist | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
0 | 0.8 | 593 | ![]() | |
Democrats and Veterans | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
0 | 0.2 | 208 | ![]() | |
For Britain | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 33 | ![]() |
Council composition
In the last council, the composition of the council was:
style="background:Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color; width:81.33%;" | 61 | style="background:Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; width:10.67%;" | 8 | style="background:Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color; width:8%;" | 6 |
Labour | Conservative | Lib Dem |
After the election, the composition of the council was:
style="background:Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color; width:68%;" | 51 | style="background:Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; width:16%;" | 12 | style="background:Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color; width:10.67%;" | 8 | style="background:Template:UK Independence Party/meta/color; width:4%;" | 3 | style="background:Template:Green Party of England and Wales/meta/color; width:1.33%;" | 1 |
Labour | Conservative | Lib Dem |
UKIP | G |
Lib Dem - Liberal Democrats
G - Greens
Ward by ward results
Asterisk denotes incumbent councillor.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Julia Potts | 1,550 | 60.7 | ![]() | |
Labour | Thomas Newton | 593 | 23.2 | ![]() | |
UKIP | Paul Holt | 216 | 8.5 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Syed Ali | 94 | 3.7 | ![]() | |
Green | Helmut Izaks | 67 | 2.6 | ![]() | |
For Britain | Joe Cobb | 33 | 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 | ![]() |
Pallion Ward
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Martin Haswell* | 1,662 | 63.7 | ![]() | |
Labour | Richard Mulvaney | 436 | 16.7 | ![]() | |
UKIP | Michael Gutowski | 340 | 13.0 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Grant Shearer | 108 | 4.1 | ![]() | |
Green | David Lawson | 64 | 2.5 | ![]() | |
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 | ![]() |
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
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UKIP | Keith Jenkins | 866 | 41.0 | ![]() | |
Labour | Iain Kay | 795 | 37.6 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Michael Winter | 299 | 14.1 | ![]() | |
Green | Rafal Marzec | 154 | 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 | ![]() |
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
- ^ Harrison, James (2 May 2019). "Sunderland local elections 2019: The key seats to watch out for". nechronicle. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Seddon, Sean (7 March 2019). "Councillor suspended by Labour Party after sharing George Galloway post". nechronicle. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Disgraced ex-Sunderland councillor Paul Middleton expelled from Labour Party". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "How a night of drama unfolded at the Sunderland City Council elections 2019". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Harrison, James (3 May 2019). "Sunderland Labour leader blames handling of Brexit on 'terrible' night". nechronicle. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Local Elections Results 2019". Sunderland City Council. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Lib Dems claim surprise council by-election win over Labour in Sunderland". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ Seddon, Sean (13 January 2017). "Lib Dems snatch second Sunderland council seat in by-election". nechronicle. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ "Full list of candidates for 2019 Sunderland City Council local elections confirmed". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.