# 2023 Sunderland City Council election

The 2023 Sunderland City Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Sunderland City Council. There were 25 of the 75 seats of the council up for election, being the usual third of the council. The election took place at the same time as other local elections across England.
Labour retained its majority on the council. The Liberal Democrats overtook the Conservatives to become the largest opposition party. The Liberal Democrats were led into the election by Niall Hodson, but he was replaced as party leader after the election by Paul Edgeworth.

## Background

25 of the 75 seats will be up for election
Since the first election in 1973, Sunderland has been a strongly Labour council, which consistently achieves over 60% control of the council. However, in recent years they have lost seats to the Conservatives, UKIP and Liberal Democrats. The seats up for election this year were last elected in 2019. In that election, Labour lost 10 seats, The Conservatives gained 4 and Liberal Democrats gained 3.
In 2022, Labour defied speculation they would continue to haemorrhage, Leader Graeme Miller commented that "It was a good night" for his party because they "stopped the rot".
Since the last election, three councillors have defected from the Conservatives, one to Labour, one to Reform UK, and one who currently sits as an Independent and is not standing for re-election. In the last election the Conservatives were outperformed by the Liberal Democrats, who gained one more seat. There was speculation that the Liberal Democrats could take over from the Conservatives as the main opposition party on the council.

## Result summary

2023 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 | 16 | 2 | 66.7 | 29 | 45 | 60.0 | 28,796 | 45.3 | 0.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 5 | 1 | 20.8 | 10 | 15 | 20.0 | 10,882 | 17.1 | 1.6 |
| | Conservative | 3 | 2 | 4.0 | 10 | 13 | 17.3 | 14,358 | 22.6 | 8.3 |
| | Reform UK | 0 | - | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 2.7 | 4,230 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| | Green | 0 | - | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3,533 | 5.6 | 1.0 |
| | Independent | 0 | - | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1,719 | 2.7 | 0.6 |
| | Monster Raving Loony | 0 | - | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 40 | 0.1 | - |
| | Communist | 0 | - | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 27 | 0.1 | - |

## Council Composition

In the last council, the composition of the council was:
| 43 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 2 |
| Labour | Conservative | Lib Dem | Reform UK | Independent |
| 45 | 15 | 13 | 1 |
| Labour | Lib Dem | Conservative | Reform UK |

## Results by ward

An asterisk next to a candidate’s name denotes an incumbent councillor. All changes shown below are in relation to the 2019 local election.

### Barnes

Barnes :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Abul Bakkar Haque | 1,272 | 40.3 | +1.7 |
| | Conservative | Kevin Leonard | 1,130 | 35.8 | −11.8 |
| | Reform UK | Alan Douglas Bilton | 296 | 9.4 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tim Ellis-Dale | 248 | 7.9 | +0.2 |
| | Green | Mark Tyers | 212 | 6.7 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 142 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### Castle

Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Stephen Foster* | 1,235 | 65.0 | +0.8 |
| | Conservative | Paul Burke | 258 | 13.6 | −11.2 |
| | Reform UK | Peter Middleton | 196 | 10.3 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mia Coupland | 125 | 6.6 | New |
| | Green | Gary Ogle | 87 | 4.6 | −6.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Copt Hill

Copt Hill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Melanie Thornton* | 1,273 | 50.8 | +6.5 |
| | Independent | Phillip John Dowell | 564 | 22.5 | New |
| | Conservative | Pat Francis | 364 | 14.5 | −3.1 |
| | Green | Andrew Robertson | 122 | 4.9 | −2.3 |
| | Reform UK | Sheila Samme | 98 | 3.9 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nana Boddy | 83 | 3.3 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Doxford

Doxford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Heather Fagan* | 1,788 | 59.2 | +9.5 |
| | Labour Co-op | Andrew John Rowntree | 719 | 23.8 | −4.2 |
| | Conservative | John Scott Wiper | 301 | 10.0 | −8.6 |
| | Reform UK | Dawn Hurst | 146 | 4.8 | New |
| | Green | Auburn Langley | 67 | 2.2 | −1.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Fulwell

Fulwell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Walton | 1,879 | 48.1 | −4.3 |
| | Conservative | David Sinclair | 1,036 | 26.5 | −3.4 |
| | Labour | Andy Stafford | 718 | 18.4 | +2.9 |
| | Reform UK | Lisa Hilton | 126 | 3.2 | New |
| | Green | Liam Dufferwiel | 108 | 2.8 | +0.6 |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Jumping Jack Flash | 40 | 1.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 843 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,912 | 43.9 | 3.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### Hendon

Hendon (countermanded) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Lynda Scanlan* | 878 | 43.6 | −2.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Steve Donkin | 865 | 43.0 | +4.8 |
| | Conservative | Georgina Young | 104 | 5.2 | −6.6 |
| | Reform UK | Ian Jones | 87 | 4.3 | New |
| | Green | Helmut Izaks | 79 | 3.9 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
The election in Hendon was countermanded due to the death of the Conservative candidate, Syed Ali. It was held on 15 June.

### Hetton

Hetton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Iain Scott* | 1,117 | 44.9 | −0.2 |
| | Independent | David Geddis | 812 | 32.7 | −3.6 |
| | Conservative | Connor Sinclair | 210 | 8.4 | −4.0 |
| | Reform UK | Sam Wood-Brass | 157 | 6.3 | New |
| | Green | Rachel Lowe | 101 | 4.1 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ian David Ellis | 89 | 3.6 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Iain Scott was elected in a by-election on 30 September 2021 due to the death of the incumbent Labour councillor Doris Turner.

### Houghton

Houghton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Juliana Herron* | 1,625 | 60.1 | +4.4 |
| | Conservative | Craig Morrison | 363 | 13.4 | −9.5 |
| | Independent | Donna Thomas | 269 | 9.9 | −5.8 |
| | Reform UK | Steve Holt | 206 | 7.6 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sharon Boddy | 128 | 4.7 | New |
| | Green | Alyson Kordbarlag | 113 | 4.2 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 46.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 27.0 | −5.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Millfield

Millfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Julia Potts* | 1,497 | 56.3 | +7.3 |
| | Labour | Kingsley Osahon Okojie | 872 | 32.8 | −4.1 |
| | Conservative | Hardip Barad | 134 | 5.0 | −5.0 |
| | Green | Richard Peter Bradley | 71 | 2.7 | +0.1 |
| | Reform UK | David Craig | 59 | 2.2 | New |
| | Communist | Julio Romero Johnson | 27 | 1.0 | −0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Pallion

Pallion :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martin Haswell* | 1,659 | 64.3 | +6.4 |
| | Labour | Karren Noble | 715 | 27.7 | −0.8 |
| | Conservative | Gwennyth Gibson | 93 | 3.6 | −6.9 |
| | Reform UK | Raymond Lathan | 75 | 2.9 | New |
| | Green | Dorothy Lynch | 39 | 1.5 | −1.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Redhill

Redhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | John Usher* | 1,015 | 59.3 | +3.0 |
| | Reform UK | Neil Farrer | 262 | 15.3 | New |
| | Conservative | Sue Leishman | 215 | 12.6 | −4.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Steven Dale | 133 | 7.8 | −13.9 |
| | Green | Justine Merton-Scott | 87 | 5.1 | +0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,712 | 21.9 | |
| | Labour gain from UKIP | Labour gain from UKIP | Swing | | |
John Usher was elected in a by-election on 3 March 2022 due to the resignation of the incumbent Independent councillor Keith Jenkins.

### Ryhope

Ryhope :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Lindsey Leonard | 1,348 | 51.5 | +5.8 |
| | Conservative | Lorraine Douglas | 596 | 22.7 | −22.0 |
| | Reform UK | Tony Thompson | 368 | 14.0 | New |
| | Green | Micheal Harker | 166 | 6.3 | −3.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Janice Ellis | 142 | 5.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour gain from UKIP | Labour gain from UKIP | Swing | | |

### Sandhill

Sandhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen O'Brien* | 1,457 | 64.0 | +10.8 |
| | Labour | Keith Lakeman | 557 | 24.5 | −8.9 |
| | Conservative | Christine Reed | 104 | 4.6 | −5.8 |
| | Reform UK | Ciera Hudspith | 100 | 4.4 | New |
| | Green | Martha Bradley | 60 | 2.6 | −0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Shiney Row

Shiney Row :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | David Snowdon* | 1,501 | 53.8 | −1.4 |
| | Conservative | Richard Vardy | 592 | 21.2 | +0.8 |
| | Green | Thomas Mower | 310 | 11.1 | −0.4 |
| | Reform UK | Morgon Proud | 177 | 6.3 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Peacock | 137 | 4.9 | New |
| | Independent | Lynsey Gibson | 74 | 2.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Silksworth

Silksworth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Joanne Laverick | 1,459 | 56.2 | ±0.0 |
| | Conservative | Owen Snaith | 493 | 19.0 | −13.1 |
| | Green | Chrisphoer Crozier | 346 | 13.3 | +1.6 |
| | Reform UK | Michael Ellis | 218 | 8.4 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mauro Amatosi | 78 | 3.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Southwick

Southwick :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Michael Butler* | 1,256 | 60.2 | +1.6 |
| | Conservative | Liam Ritchie | 359 | 17.2 | −10.7 |
| | Reform UK | Paul Watt | 250 | 12.0 | New |
| | Green | Emma Cutting | 136 | 6.5 | −6.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helder Costa | 84 | 4.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### St Anne's

St Anne's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Catherine Hunter | 981 | 48.5 | −0.3 |
| | Conservative | Pam Mann* | 694 | 34.3 | −4.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elaine Rumfitt | 216 | 10.7 | New |
| | Green | Simon Hughes | 131 | 6.5 | −6.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour gain from UKIP | Labour gain from UKIP | Swing | | |
Pam Mann won this seat in 2019 as a UKIP candidate.

### St Chad's

St Chad's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Dominic McDonough* | 1,296 | 50.2 | +0.7 |
| | Labour | Martin Old | 888 | 34.4 | +0.7 |
| | Reform UK | Graham Hurst | 164 | 6.3 | New |
| | Green | Scott Burrows | 124 | 4.8 | −3.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anthony Usher | 112 | 4.3 | −4.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 408 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### St Michael's

St Michael's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Adele Graham-King | 1,432 | 42.2 | −11.6 |
| | Labour | Chris Smith | 1,378 | 40.6 | +5.3 |
| | Reform UK | Chris Eynon | 273 | 8.0 | New |
| | Green | John Appleton | 201 | 5.9 | −0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Colin Wilson | 110 | 3.2 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### St Peter's

St Peter's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Josh McKeith* | 1,348 | 43.4 | +9.8 |
| | Labour Co-op | David Newey | 1,160 | 37.3 | −12.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Lennox | 254 | 8.2 | −0.6 |
| | Green | Rachel Featherstone | 193 | 6.2 | −1.7 |
| | Reform UK | Keith Samme | 152 | 4.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 188 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,111 | 39.3 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Washington Central

Washington Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Beth Jones | 1,806 | 66.6 | +7.5 |
| | Conservative | Audrey Jaitay | 505 | 18.6 | −12.4 |
| | Reform UK | Dean Hilton | 158 | 5.8 | New |
| | Green | Raymond Moore | 145 | 5.3 | −4.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Linda Wood | 99 | 3.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,301 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,720 | 32.7 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Washington East

Washington East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Fiona Miller* | 1,651 | 56.4 | +3.1 |
| | Conservative | Hiliary Johnson | 780 | 26.6 | −12.1 |
| | Reform UK | Lynda Alexander | 210 | 7.2 | New |
| | Green | Michal Chantokowski | 166 | 5.7 | −1.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Bond | 122 | 4.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 871 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,936 | 33.1 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Washington North

Washington North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Walker* | 1,455 | 68.2 | +7.0 |
| | Conservative | Svetlana Rakhimova | 275 | 12.9 | −12.1 |
| | Reform UK | Elizabeth Anne Brown | 163 | 7.6 | New |
| | Green | Kevin Lynch | 131 | 6.1 | −7.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Graeme Arnott | 108 | 5.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,180 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,138 | 26.9 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Washington South

Washington South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Joanne Chapman | 1,311 | 43.6 | −3.8 |
| | Conservative | Peter Noble | 1,210 | 40.3 | −2.4 |
| | Reform UK | Deborah Lorraine | 229 | 7.6 | New |
| | Green | Robert Welsh | 142 | 4.7 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sean Terry | 114 | 3.8 | −6.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 101 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,012 | 39.5 | |
| | Labour gain from Green | Labour gain from Green | Swing | | |

### Washington West

Washington West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Harry Trueman* | 1,534 | 56.8 | −1.6 |
| | Conservative | Samantha Cosgrove | 570 | 21.1 | −10.1 |
| | Green | Paul Leonard | 228 | 8.4 | −1.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Bex | 220 | 8.2 | New |
| | Reform UK | Kathryn Brown | 147 | 5.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 964 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,705 | 31.5 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |