# 2021 Sunderland City Council election

The 2021 Sunderland City Council election took place on 6 May 2021 to elect members of Sunderland City Council in England on the same day as other elections across the United Kingdom.

## Background

The local elections held in 2021 were originally scheduled for 7 May 2020, but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and held on 6 May 2021. There were 28 seats up for election: one-third of the seats on the council, plus three additional vacancies in the Copt Hill, Shiney Row, and Washington South wards.
Vacancies had arisen in the Copt Hill and Houghton Wards ahead of the local elections as the former Labour councillors, Jack Cunningham and Alex Scullion respectively, resigned from the council during 2020. In Shiney Row, there was an additional vacancy due to the death in office of Labour councillor Geoff Walker in January 2021. The vacancy in the Washington South ward arose with the resignation in March 2021 of the council's only sitting Green Party councillor, Dom Armstrong, following disagreements with his party about trans rights issues.
There had been speculation ahead of the election that the Labour Party could lose overall control of Sunderland City Council for the first time in its history. Conservative group leader Antony Mullen said that he was 'prepared to form coalition to kick out Labour.'
The Labour Party and Conservatives fielded 28 candidates in the election. The Liberal Democrats fielded 23 candidates, the Green Party 21 and UKIP 19. In addition, there was one Independent, one Populist Party and one Communist Party candidate.

## Election results

After the election, the Labour Party maintained control of the council. Labour's majority was reduced to nine, having lost 9 seats. In Washington South, the Conservatives gained the seat vacated by the Green Party, but the Labour incumbent held on to the other. Labour also lost to the Conservatives in Ryhope and St Anne's - wards that had been won by UKIP in the 2019 local elections. The Conservatives made further gains from Labour in St Peter's, St Chad's and Barnes.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats gained seats with large swings from Labour in Sandhill, Pallion, Doxford and Hendon. Fulwell turned out to be a close contest between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats - pushing Labour into their only third-place position in the city.
Labour leader Graeme Miller described the results as 'very disappointing', commenting that "the UKIP vote across the city moved to the Conservatives, at the same time they received a 10% bump in their vote because the public are happy with the vaccine rollout, and we’ve lost councillors as a result." There were nonetheless some positives for Labour; with strong performances in some of the towns and villages outside Sunderland, winning a close contest in Silksworth, and holding all four seats in the two-up elections in Copt Hill and Shiney Row wards.
2021 Sunderland City Council election :
| Party | Party | This election | This election | This election | Full council | Full council | Full council | This election | This election | This election |
| Party | Party | Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− |
| | Labour | 15 | 9 | 53.6 | 27 | 42 | 56.0 | 27,904 | 39.2 | +6.5 |
| | Conservative | 8 | 6 | 28.6 | 10 | 18 | 24.0 | 24,735 | 34.8 | +16.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 5 | 4 | 17.9 | 7 | 12 | 16.0 | 10,958 | 15.4 | +1.7 |
| | UKIP | 0 | | 0.0 | 3 | 3 | 4.0 | 3,191 | 4.5 | -19.4 |
| | Green | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3,727 | 5.2 | -2.8 |
| | Independent | 0 | | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 554 | 0.8 | -1.1 |
| | Populist | 0 | | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 38 | 0.1 | -0.7 |
| | Communist | 0 | | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 32 | 0.1 | New |

## Council composition

In the last council, the composition of the council was:
| 51 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| Labour | Conservative | Lib Dem | UKIP | G |
After the election, the composition of the council was:
| 42 | 18 | 12 | 3 |
| Labour | Conservative | Lib Dem | UKIP |
Lib Dem - Liberal Democrats G - Greens

## Ward results

% Change from 2019

### Barnes

Barnes :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Richard Dunn | 1,610 | 48.3 | +12.1 |
| | Labour | Rebecca Atkinson | 1,367 | 41.0 | +11.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tim Ellis | 201 | 6.0 | −6.8 |
| | Green | Alyson Kordbarlag | 158 | 4.7 | −1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 7.3 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Castle

Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Denny Wilson | 1,243 | 58.14 | +9.8 |
| | Conservative | Gwennyth Gibson | 583 | 27.27 | +16.4 |
| | UKIP | Tony Clarke | 201 | 9.40 | −31.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Allen Curtis | 111 | 5.19 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 660 | 30.87 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Copt Hill

Copt Hill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kevin Johnston | 1,327 | 46.4 | +5.3 |
| | Labour | Tracy Dodds | 1,203 | 42.1 | +1.0 |
| | Conservative | George Brown | 833 | 29.1 | +16.1 |
| | Conservative | Jakub Wypych | 519 | 18.1 | +5.1 |
| | UKIP | Reg Coulson | 403 | 14.1 | −21.1 |
| | UKIP | John Defty | 384 | 13.4 | −21.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sue Stirling | 272 | 9.5 | N/A |
| | Green | Esme Featherstone | 256 | 9.0 | −1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anthony Usher | 83 | 2.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Doxford

Doxford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Gibson | 1,510 | 48.7 | +6.0 |
| | Labour | Thomas Johnston | 797 | 25.7 | +2.4 |
| | Conservative | John Wiper | 684 | 22.1 | +9.5 |
| | Green | Auburn Langley | 110 | 3.5 | −1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 713 | 23.0 | +3.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Fulwell

Fulwell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Michael Hartnack | 1,826 | 42.4 | +11.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Malcolm Bond | 1,571 | 36.5 | +16.9 |
| | Labour Co-op | Barry Curran | 730 | 16.9 | −12.2 |
| | Green | Liam Dufferwiel | 180 | 4.2 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Hendon

Hendon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ciaran Morrissey | 1,029 | 42.2 | +36.1 |
| | Labour | Michael Mordey | 849 | 34.8 | −2.3 |
| | Conservative | Simon Ayre | 377 | 15.5 | +2.8 |
| | Green | Helmut Izaks | 110 | 4.5 | −4.1 |
| | UKIP | Martin Moore | 75 | 3.1 | −23.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Hetton

Hetton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | James Blackburn | 1,258 | 44.7 | +11.5 |
| | Independent | David Geddis | 554 | 19.7 | −1.9 |
| | Conservative | Patricia Francis | 545 | 19.4 | +13.7 |
| | UKIP | Richard Elvin | 313 | 11.1 | −17.6 |
| | Green | Rachel Lowe | 81 | 2.9 | −0.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ian Ellis | 63 | 2.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Houghton

Houghton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Price | 1,437 | 48.0 | +7.6 |
| | Conservative | Raymond Davison | 951 | 31.7 | +21.9 |
| | UKIP | Donna Thomas | 307 | 10.2 | −24.7 |
| | Green | Billy Howells | 195 | 6.5 | −1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Carlton West | 106 | 3.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Millfield

Millfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Niall Hodson | 1,701 | 65.8 | +5.1 |
| | Labour | Iain Kay | 609 | 23.6 | +0.4 |
| | Conservative | Syed Ali | 192 | 7.4 | +3.7 |
| | Green | Gary Ogle | 50 | 1.9 | −0.7 |
| | Communist | Julio Romero Johnson | 32 | 1.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Pallion

Pallion :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Colin Nicholson | 1,440 | 59.4 | −4.3 |
| | Labour | Abul Haque | 480 | 19.8 | +3.1 |
| | Conservative | Judith Porter | 410 | 16.9 | +12.8 |
| | Green | Danielle Chamberlain | 93 | 3.8 | +1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Redhill

Redhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alison Smith | 1,019 | 50.6 | +13.0 |
| | Conservative | Paul Burke | 623 | 30.9 | +16.8 |
| | UKIP | Sandra Hesslewood | 371 | 18.4 | −22.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Ryhope

Ryhope :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Usman Ali | 1,411 | 49.1 | +33.7 |
| | Labour | Ellen Ball | 1,230 | 42.8 | +9.1 |
| | UKIP | Marek Filipkowski | 233 | 8.1 | −26.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 189 | 6.3 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Sandhill

Sandhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Edgeworth | 1,274 | 50.8 | +10.7 |
| | Labour | Debra Waller | 812 | 32.4 | +8.1 |
| | Conservative | Christine Reed | 320 | 12.7 | +7.2 |
| | UKIP | Pauline Huntley | 66 | 2.6 | −25.5 |
| | Populist | Tony Morrow | 38 | 1.5 | −7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 462 | 16.4 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | 34 | |

### Shiney Row

Shiney Row :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Katherine Mason-Gage | 1,639 | 50.9 | +12.1 |
| | Labour | David Snowdon | 1,190 | 36.9 | −1.9 |
| | Conservative | Grant Shearer | 1,069 | 33.2 | +18.0 |
| | Conservative | Richard Vardy | 1,026 | 31.8 | +16.6 |
| | Green | Raymond Moore | 223 | 6.9 | −0.3 |
| | UKIP | Kay Rowham | 197 | 6.1 | −19.8 |
| | Green | Robert Welsh | 176 | 5.5 | −1.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nana Boddy | 170 | 5.3 | −0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Silksworth

Silksworth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Pat Smith | 1,120 | 42.6 | +5.1 |
| | Conservative | Jack Simm | 1,073 | 40.8 | +21.1 |
| | Green | Chris Crozier | 180 | 6.8 | −2.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sharon Boddy | 136 | 5.2 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Ian Walton | 123 | 4.7 | −23.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Southwick

Southwick :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kelly Chequer | 1,208 | 50.8 | +11.5 |
| | Conservative | Liam Ritchie | 754 | 31.7 | +18.2 |
| | UKIP | Stephen Harrison | 171 | 7.2 | −14.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Norman Dent | 138 | 5.8 | +0.6 |
| | Green | Morgan Seed | 105 | 4.4 | −1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 19.1 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### St Anne's

St Anne's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Greg Peacock | 911 | 42.0 | +25.3 |
| | Labour | Susan Watson | 908 | 41.9 | +9.1 |
| | UKIP | Bryan Foster | 190 | 8.8 | −25.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Walton | 158 | 7.3 | −1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### St Chad's

St Chad's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Chris Burnicle | 1,647 | 59.9 | +20.2 |
| | Labour | Darryl Dixon | 895 | 32.5 | +4.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Crosby | 208 | 7.6 | +3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### St Michael's

St Michael's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Lyall Reed | 1,958 | 57.1 | +6.4 |
| | Labour | Chris Smith | 902 | 26.3 | +5.2 |
| | Green | John Appleton | 455 | 13.3 | +3.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Colin Wilson | 117 | 3.4 | −2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,056 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### St Peter's

St Peter's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Sam Johnston | 1,808 | 53.8 | +18.9 |
| | Labour | David Newey | 1,056 | 31.4 | +5.2 |
| | Green | Rachel Featherstone | 216 | 6.4 | −3.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Lennox | 183 | 5.4 | −5.1 |
| | UKIP | Ian Lines | 95 | 2.8 | −15.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Washington Central

Washington Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dianne Snowdon | 1,611 | 55.1 | +13.8 |
| | Conservative | Michael Winter | 915 | 31.3 | +13.1 |
| | Green | Scott Burrows | 211 | 7.2 | −2.1 |
| | UKIP | Tony Ormond | 107 | 3.7 | −21.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sean Terry | 82 | 2.8 | −3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Washington East

Washington East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sean Laws | 1,558 | 47.9 | +10.3 |
| | Conservative | Hilary Johnson | 1,403 | 43.1 | +19.1 |
| | Green | Michal Chantkowski | 193 | 5.9 | −6.1 |
| | UKIP | Stephen Cuthbert | 98 | 3.0 | −16.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Washington North

Washington North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Michael Walker | 1,216 | 52.8 | +10.1 |
| | Conservative | Derek Dunn | 730 | 31.7 | +19.5 |
| | Green | Graeme Edminson | 148 | 6.4 | −5.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jaye Jordan | 119 | 5.2 | +1.6 |
| | UKIP | Maureen Hibbert | 89 | 3.9 | −25.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Washington South

Washington South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Paul Donaghy | 1,186 | 40.4 | +21.1 |
| | Labour | Louise Farthing | 1,171 | 39.9 | +15.2 |
| | Labour | Brandon Feeley | 931 | 31.7 | +7.0 |
| | Conservative | Craig Morrison | 801 | 27.3 | +8.0 |
| | Green | Michael Ellis | 521 | 17.8 | −7.0 |
| | Green | Richard Bradley | 418 | 14.2 | −10.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Steven Donkin | 240 | 8.2 | −3.9 |
| | UKIP | Josh Green | 88 | 3.0 | −15.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Conservative gain from Green | Conservative gain from Green | Swing | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
*Cllr Paul Donaghy defected to Reform UK on 16 January 2023.

### Washington West

Washington West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jimmy Warne | 1,462 | 52.0 | +9.4 |
| | Conservative | Olwyn Bird | 916 | 32.6 | +17.4 |
| | Green | Paul Leonard | 242 | 8.6 | −5.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Bex | 129 | 4.6 | −0.4 |
| | UKIP | Bill Little | 64 | 2.3 | −21.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

## By-elections
### Hetton

Hetton: 30 September 2021 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Iain Scott | 661 | 31.6 | −13.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Lennox | 634 | 30.3 | +28.1 |
| | Independent | David Geddis | 386 | 18.5 | −1.2 |
| | Conservative | Adelle Burnicle | 303 | 14.5 | −4.9 |
| | Independent | Maurice Allen | 67 | 3.2 | N/A |
| | Green | Justine Merton-Scott | 41 | 2.0 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 27 | 1.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,092 | 22.5 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 20.6 | |

### Redhill

Redhill: 3 March 2022 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Labour | John Usher | 709 | 50.2 | 0.4 |
| Liberal Democrats | Steve Donkin | 386 | 27.3 | 27.3 New |
| Conservative | Sue Leishman | 196 | 13.9 | 17.0 |
| UKIP | Ian Lines | 85 | 6.0 | 12.4 |
| Green | Helmut Izaks | 35 | 2.5 | New |
| Labour gain from UKIP | Labour gain from UKIP | Swing | 13.9 | |