Sunderland City Council is the local authority of the

City of Sunderland The City of Sunderland () is a metropolitan borough with city status in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is named after its largest settlement, Sunderland, spanning a far larger area, including nearby towns incl ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newc ...

, England. It is a

metropolitan district council A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolit ...

, one of five in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of local government services in Sunderland.

Political composition

Sunderland City Council has been controlled by the Labour Party from its formation in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. There are currently 43 Labour councillors, 19

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, 12 Liberal Democrats and one independent (elected as

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...

) on the council.

Elections

Sunderland's Council area comprises 25 wards, each electing three councillors. Elections are held in thirds, in three years out of every four. Between 1974 and 1986, elections were held in every fourth year to Tyne and Wear County Council, until the County Council was abolished. In 1982 and 2004, all seats on Sunderland Council were up for election following boundary changes. At the first round of elections in 1973, 78 councillors were elected from 26 wards, and the make-up of the Council was: 56 Labour councillors, 21 Conservatives, and one Independent. At the 1982 local elections following boundary changes, 75 councillors were elected from 25 wards, and the composition of the Council was: 49 Labour, 15 Conservatives, eight SDP-Liberal Alliance, and three

Independent Labour An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

councillors At the 2004 local elections following boundary changes, 75 councillors were elected from 25 wards, and the composition of the Council was: 61 Labour councillors, 12 Conservatives and two Liberal Democrats. In the May 2016 local elections, the Labour Party gained two seats, the Conservatives held two seats, and the Liberal Democrats won one seat. This made the composition of the Council for 2016/17: 67 Labour councillors, six Conservatives, one Liberal Democrat and one Independent. Following by-elections in January 2017 and February 2018, the Liberal Democrats gained two further seats from the Labour Party. In the May 2018 local elections, the Labour Party gained a seat from an Independent councillor in Copt Hill, but lost three seats to the Liberal Democrats, and two to the Conservatives. In the May 2019 local elections, the Labour Party lost ten seats: four to the Conservatives, three to UKIP, two to the Liberal Democrats, and one to the Green Party. Neither UKIP nor the Green Party had previously been represented on the City Council. The 2020 local elections were scheduled for 7 May 2020, but were postponed due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, and held on 6 May 2021.

Council wards

Sunderland Council area ward map with labels

The Sunderland City Council area is coterminous with the boundaries of the city's three parliamentary constituencies –

Sunderland Central Sunderland Central is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is represented by the Labour Party MP Julie Elliott, who has held the seat since its creation in 2010. Constituency profile The Sunderland Central constit ...

, Houghton and Sunderland South and

Washington and Sunderland West Washington and Sunderland West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Sharon Hodgson, a member of the Labour Party. Constituency profile The town of Washington has a well-preserv ...

– and the 25 Council wards are distributed between them. The following Sunderland Council wards fall within the Sunderland Central constituency: Barnes, Fulwell, Hendon, Millfield,

Pallion Pallion is a suburb and electoral ward in North West Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, England. Most of the buildings in the area were built during the Victorian Era and consist of large terraced houses built for shipbuilders, but also smaller one-s ...

Ryhope Ryhope ( ) is a coastal village along the southern boundary of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, North East England. With a population of approximately 14,000, measured at 10.484 in the 2011 census, Ryhope is 2.9 miles to the centre of ...

, St Michael's (covering the areas of

Ashbrooke Ashbrooke is a residential area of Sunderland, North East England directly south and south-west of the city centre. Ashbrooke developed through the Victorian era as Sunderland's first suburb. Originally occupied by large middle-class families ...

and Hill View), St Peter's (covering the areas of

Roker Roker () is a tourist resort and affluent area of Sunderland, North East England, bounded on the south by the River Wear and Monkwearmouth, on the east by the North Sea, to the west by Fulwell and on the north by Seaburn. It is administere ...

and

Monkwearmouth Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in North East England. Monkwearmouth is located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bish ...

) and Southwick. Houghton and Sunderland South constituency comprises the wards of Copt Hill, Doxford,

Hetton Hetton is a small Dales village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, situated 5.75 miles north of Skipton by the B6265 road. It is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Hetton-cum-Bordley. The population of the former ...

Houghton Houghton may refer to: Places Australia * Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland) Canada *Houghton Township, ...

, St Chad's (covering the areas of

Herrington Herrington is an area in the south of Sunderland, lying within historic County Durham in North East England. ''The Herringtons'' are split into ''East & Middle'' and ''West'' and ''New'' villages. East and Middle Herrington is now a largely r ...

and Farringdon), Sandhill (covering the areas of

Thorney Close Thorney Close is a suburb of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in England. It is located on the northern edge of the A690 (Durham Road), and borders with Grindon to the north and Herrington to the south, and the A19 to the west. Originally emerging ...

, Grindon and Springwell),

Shiney Row Shiney Row is a village in Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, England. One of the most notable people who was born in Shiney Row is Sir George Elliot, 1st Baronet Sir George Elliot, 1st Baronet, JP (18 March 1814 – 23 December 1893) ...

, and

Silksworth Silksworth is a suburb of the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. The area can be distinguished into two parts, old Silksworth, the original village and township which has existed since the early middle ages, and New Silksworth, the industrial ...

. Washington and Sunderland West constituency comprises the wards of Castle (covering the areas of Castletown and Town End Farm), Redhill (covering Redhouse and

Witherwack Witherwack is a suburb in the north of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, situated between Red House to the west, Carley Hill to the east and Marley Pots to the south. The origin of the name Witherwack is unknown. The spelling of the name h ...

), St Anne's (covering

South Hylton South Hylton () is a suburb of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Lying west of Sunderland city centre on the south bank of the River Wear, South Hylton has a population of 10,317 ( 2001 Census). Once a small industrial village, South Hylton ( ...

and

Pennywell Pennywell is one of the UK's largest post-war social housing schemes, and is situated in the central-west area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, North East England. Pennywell is the largest local authority housing estate in the City of Sunderland. ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Central, Washington East, Washington North, Washington South and Washington West.

References

{{Local authorities in Tyne and Wear Metropolitan district councils of England Local authorities in Tyne and Wear Leader and cabinet executives Local education authorities in England Billing authorities in England Council