# 2002 Sunderland City Council election

The 2002 Sunderland Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council in Tyne and Wear, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Labour 62
* Conservative 11
* Liberal Democrat 1
* Liberal 1

## Campaign

66 candidates contested the 25 seats that were available in the election. The election was said to be the "first time in recent memory" that every seat that was up for election was contested. Candidates included 6 from the British National Party and an independent, former Conservative group leader Ron Smith, in Pallion ward.
Postal voting in the election was up on the 2001 general election with 9,770 postal votes returned by 1 May, an increase of 3,500 on the general election.

## Election result

The results saw Labour easily holding control of the council after losing just 1 seat in the election. The only change came in St Peter's ward with the Conservatives gaining the seat from Labour. Meanwhile, none of the British National Party candidates managed to win a seat, but the party did come second in 2 wards, Town End Farm and Southwick. The results meant Labour held 62 seats after the election, compared to 11 for the Conservatives.
Following the election the Labour leader of the council for the previous 3 years, Colin Anderson, was defeated in a leadership election by Bob Symonds.
Sunderland Local Election Result 2002 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes |
| Labour | 21 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 84.0 | 56.9 | 27,882 |
| Conservative | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 12.0 | 31.9 | 15,629 |
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 7.9 | 3,852 |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 1,537 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 121 |

## Ward results

Castletown :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Thomas Foster | 1,248 | 86.2 |
| | Conservative | Gwennyth Gibson | 199 | 13.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,049 | 72.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,447 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | James Hollern | 949 | 59.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Jackson | 337 | 21.1 |
| | Conservative | Dorreen Storey | 314 | 19.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 612 | 38.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,600 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Colliery :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Maureen Ambrose | 1,070 | 62.2 |
| | Conservative | John Brown | 651 | 37.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 419 | 24.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,721 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Eppleton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Elizabeth Bell | 1,239 | 67.0 |
| | Conservative | David Wilson | 611 | 33.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 628 | 33.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,850 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Fulwell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Norman Bohill | 1,863 | 66.5 |
| | Labour | Gary Hollern | 609 | 21.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Amie Leung | 181 | 6.5 |
| | BNP | Joseph Dobbie | 148 | 5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,254 | 44.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,801 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Grindon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | James Scott | 902 | 67.0 |
| | Conservative | David Francis | 445 | 33.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 457 | 33.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,347 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Hendon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Thomas Martin | 1,092 | 45.0 |
| | Conservative | Kathryn Chamberlin | 992 | 40.9 |
| | BNP | David Guynan | 340 | 14.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 100 | 4.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,424 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Hetton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Richard Tate | 1,186 | 75.1 |
| | Conservative | Olwyn Bird | 394 | 24.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 792 | 50.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,580 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Houghton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Joseph Lawson | 1,341 | 80.3 |
| | Conservative | Gordon Newton | 330 | 19.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,011 | 60.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,671 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Pallion :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Brian Dodds | 1,148 | 44.4 |
| | Conservative | Stephen Daughton | 1,032 | 39.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Foreman | 286 | 11.1 |
| | Independent | Ronald Smith | 121 | 4.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 116 | 4.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,587 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Ryhope :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | David Wares | 1,451 | 69.8 |
| | Conservative | William Dunn | 628 | 30.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 823 | 39.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,079 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
St Chad's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Leslie Scott | 1,433 | 58.2 |
| | Conservative | Alistair Newton | 1,030 | 41.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 403 | 16.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,463 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
St Michael's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Margaret Forbes | 1,923 | 66.9 |
| | Labour | Phillip Gibson | 950 | 33.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 973 | 33.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,873 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
St Peter's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Michael Arnott | 1,047 | 39.4 |
| | Labour | Christine Shattock | 952 | 35.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Lennox | 657 | 24.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 95 | 3.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,656 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | |
Shiney Row :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Kathryn Rolph | 1,423 | 72.5 |
| | Conservative | Marjorie Matthews | 539 | 27.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 884 | 45.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,962 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Silksworth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Peter Gibson | 1,623 | 72.2 |
| | Conservative | Patricia Francis | 484 | 21.5 |
| | BNP | David Rogers | 141 | 6.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,139 | 50.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,248 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
South Hylton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Thomas Wright | 898 | 68.4 |
| | Conservative | Michael Dixon | 415 | 31.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 483 | 36.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,313 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Southwick :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Paul Stewart | 933 | 62.9 |
| | BNP | Alan Brettwood | 292 | 19.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jane Walters | 167 | 11.3 |
| | Conservative | Alice Mclaren | 92 | 6.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 641 | 43.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,484 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Thorney Close :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Robert Kirby | 1,011 | 67.1 |
| | Conservative | Paula Wilkinson | 260 | 17.3 |
| | BNP | Joseph Dobbie | 235 | 15.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 751 | 49.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,506 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Thornholme :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Greenfield | 1,113 | 56.6 |
| | Labour | Leonard Lamb | 594 | 30.2 |
| | Conservative | Neville Chamberlin | 260 | 13.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 519 | 26.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,967 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Town End Farm :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Richard Bell | 831 | 61.1 |
| | BNP | John Martin | 381 | 28.0 |
| | Conservative | Gillian Connor | 149 | 10.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 450 | 33.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,361 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Washington East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Derek Sleightholme | 1,463 | 62.1 |
| | Conservative | Jacqueline Atkinson | 537 | 22.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Avril Kitching | 357 | 15.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 926 | 39.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,357 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Washington North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | James Walker | 1,136 | 79.5 |
| | Conservative | Kathleen Irvine | 293 | 20.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 843 | 59.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,429 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Washington South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Peter Young | 1,325 | 49.8 |
| | Conservative | Lee Martin | 871 | 32.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Owen Dumpleton | 466 | 17.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 454 | 17.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,662 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Washington West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | William Stephenson | 1,075 | 65.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Griffin | 288 | 17.6 |
| | Conservative | Justin Garrod | 270 | 16.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 787 | 48.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,633 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |