# Sunderland City Council

Sunderland City Council is the local authority of Sunderland, a metropolitan borough with city status in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. It is one of five such councils in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in England. It provides the majority of local government services in Sunderland.
The council has been under Labour majority control since the formation of the metropolitan borough in 1974. It is based at City Hall on Plater Way. The council is a member of the North East Combined Authority.

## History

The town of Sunderland was an ancient borough, having been given its first charter (as 'Wearmouth') in 1179. A subsequent charter of 1634 incorporated the town under the name of Sunderland, which had become the more commonly used name.
Sunderland was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. It was then governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Sunderland", generally known as the corporation or town council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Sunderland was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it was made a county borough, independent from the new Durham County Council. The borough boundaries were enlarged on several occasions.
In 1974 the county borough was replaced by a larger metropolitan borough within the new county of Tyne and Wear. From 1974 until 1986 the borough council was a lower-tier district authority, with Tyne and Wear County Council providing county-level services. The county council was abolished in 1986, since when the borough council has again provided both district-level and county-level services, as it had done when it was a county borough prior to 1974. Some functions are provided across Tyne and Wear by joint committees with the other districts. The borough was awarded city status in 1992, allowing the council to change its name to Sunderland City Council.

## Governance

Since 1986 the council has provided both district-level and county-level functions, with some services being provided through joint arrangements with the other Tyne and Wear councils. In 2024 a combined authority was established covering Sunderland, County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland and South Tyneside, called the North East Combined Authority. It is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the North East and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area.
There are civil parishes at Hetton, Burdon and Warden Law, of which only Hetton has a parish council, which form an additional tier of local government for their areas; the rest of the borough is unparished.

### Political composition

The council has been under Labour majority control since the reforms of 1974.
| Party in control | Party in control | Years |
| | Labour | 1974–present |

### Leadership

The role of Mayor of Sunderland is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2002 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Robert Symonds | Labour | May 2002 | 14 May 2008 |
| Paul Watson | Labour | 14 May 2008 | 7 Nov 2017 |
| Harry Trueman | Labour | 7 Mar 2018 | 16 May 2018 |
| Graeme Miller | Labour | 16 May 2018 | 20 May 2024 |
| Michael Mordey | Labour | 20 May 2024 | |

### Composition

Following the 2024 election and the subsequent defection of a councillor from Labour to Independent in June 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Labour | 52 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 12 |
| | Conservative | 10 |
| | Independent | 1 |
| Total | Total | 75 |
The next election is due in May 2026.

## Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2004, the council has comprised 75 councillors, representing 25 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. New ward boundaries are being drawn up with the aim that they will be ready for the 2026 elections.
* A. Barnes
* B. Castle
* C. Copt Hill
* D. Doxford
* E. Fulwell
* F. Hendon
* G. Hetton
* H. Houghton
* J. Millfield
* K. Pallion
* L. Redhill
* M. Ryhope
* N. St Anne's
* O. St Chad's
* P. St Michael's
* Q. St Peter's
* R. Sandhill
* S. Shiney Row
* T. Silksworth
* U. Southwick
* V. Washington Central
* W. Washington East
* X. Washington North
* Y. Washington South
* Z. Washington West

## Councillors

Sunderland's 25 Council wards are each represented by three elected councillors.
Current Sunderland City Councillors :
| Ward | Councillors | Elected on |
| Barnes | Antony Mullen | 5 May 2022 |
| Barnes | Ehthesham Haque | 4 May 2023 |
| Barnes | Fiona Tobin | 2 May 2024 |
| Castle | Allison Chisnal | 5 May 2022 |
| Castle | Stephen Foster | 4 May 2023 |
| Castle | Denny Wilson | 2 May 2024 |
| Copt Hill | Melanie Thornton | 4 May 2023 |
| Copt Hill | Kevin Johnston | 2 May 2024 |
| Copt Hill | Tracy Dodds | 16 June 2022 |
| Doxford | Allen Curtis | 5 May 2022 |
| Doxford | Heather Fagan | 4 May 2023 |
| Doxford | Paul Gibson | 2 May 2024 |
| Fulwell | Malcolm Bond | 5 May 2022 |
| Fulwell | Peter Walton | 4 May 2023 |
| Fulwell | Micheál Hartnack | 2 May 2024 |
| Hendon | Dale Mordey | 5 May 2022 |
| Hendon | Lynda Scanlan | 2 May 2019 |
| Hendon | Stephen Elms | 2 May 2024 |
| Hetton | Claire Rowntree | 5 May 2022 |
| Hetton | Iain Scott | 4 May 2023 |
| Hetton | James Blackburn | 2 May 2024 |
| Houghton | Mark Burrell | 5 May 2022 |
| Houghton | Juliana Heron | 4 May 2023 |
| Houghton | John Price | 2 May 2024 |
| Millfield | Andrew Wood | 5 May 2022 |
| Millfield | Julia Potts | 4 May 2023 |
| Millfield | Niall Hodson | 2 May 2024 |
| Pallion | George Smith | 5 May 2022 |
| Pallion | Martin Haswell | 4 May 2023 |
| Pallion | Steve Donkin | 2 May 2024 |
| Redhill | Paul Stewart | 5 May 2022 |
| Redhill | John Usher | 4 May 2023 |
| Redhill | Alison Smith | 2 May 2024 |
| Ryhope | Martyn Herron | 5 May 2022 |
| Ryhope | Lindsey Leonard | 4 May 2023 |
| Ryhope | Helen Glancy | 2 May 2024 |
| Sandhill | Margaret Crosby | 5 May 2022 |
| Sandhill | Stephen O’Brien | 4 May 2023 |
| Sandhill | Paul Edgeworth | 2 May 2024 |
| Shiney Row | Mel Speding | 5 May 2022 |
| Shiney Row | David Snowdon | 4 May 2023 |
| Shiney Row | Katherine Mason-Gage | 2 May 2024 |
| Silksworth | Phillip Tye | 5 May 2022 |
| Silksworth | Joanne Laverick | 4 May 2023 |
| Silksworth | Sophie Clinton | 2 May 2024 |
| Southwick | Alex Samuels | 5 May 2022 |
| Southwick | Michael Butler | 4 May 2023 |
| Southwick | Kelly Chequer | 2 May 2024 |
| St Anne's | Susan Watson | 5 May 2022 |
| St Anne's | Catherine Hunter | 4 May 2023 |
| St Anne's | Lynne Dagg | 2 May 2024 |
| St Chad's | Simon Ayre | 5 May 2022 |
| St Chad's | Dominic McDonough | 4 May 2023 |
| St Chad's | Chris Burnicle | 2 May 2024 |
| St Michael's | Micheál Dixon | 5 May 2022 |
| St Michael's | Adele Graham-King | 4 May 2023 |
| St Michael's | Lyall Reed | 2 May 2024 |
| St Peter's | Lynn Vera | 5 May 2022 |
| St Peter's | Josh McKeith | 4 May 2023 |
| St Peter's | David Newey | 2 May 2024 |
| Washington Central | Linda Williams | 5 May 2022 |
| Washington Central | Beth Jones | 4 May 2023 |
| Washington Central | Dianne Snowdon | 2 May 2024 |
| Washington East | Logan Guy | 5 May 2022 |
| Washington East | Fiona Miller | 4 May 2023 |
| Washington East | Sean Laws | 2 May 2024 |
| Washington North | Jill Fletcher | 5 May 2022 |
| Washington North | Peter Walker | 4 May 2023 |
| Washington North | Michael Walker | 2 May 2024 |
| Washington South | Graeme Miller | 5 May 2022 |
| Washington South | Joanne Chapman | 4 May 2023 |
| Washington South | Brandon Feeley | 2 May 2024 |
| Washington West | Dorothy Trueman | 5 May 2022 |
| Washington West | Henry Trueman | 4 May 2023 |
| Washington West | Jimmy Warne | 2 May 2024 |

## Premises

The council is based at City Hall on Plater Way (formerly the site of the Vaux Brewery), which was purpose-built for the council and opened in 2021.
Prior to that the council was based at the Civic Centre on Burdon Road, which had been built in 1970. The Civic Centre was demolished in 2022.
The Civic Centre in turn had replaced the old borough council's headquarters at the Town Hall on Fawcett Street which had been built in 1890 and was demolished shortly after the council moved to the Civic Centre.