The 1973 Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council election was held on 10 May 1973 as part of the first elections to the new local authorities established by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

in England and Wales. The entirety of the new 78-seat council was up for election, with each of the 26 new council wards returning three councillors by first-past-the-post.

Background

The election took place following the elections to the

Tyne and Wear County Council Tyne and Wear County Council was the county council of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear in northeast England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 1 April 1986. The county council was based at Sandyford House in Ne ...

in April. The

stipulated that the elected members were to shadow and eventually take over from the predecessor corporation on 1 April 1974. The order in which the councillors were elected dictated their term serving, with third-place candidates serving two years and up for re-election in 1975, second-placed three years expiring in 1976 and first-placed five years until 1978.

Election results

The election resulted in a clear majority for the Labour Party, which won 56 of the 78 seats on the new Council. The election resulted in the following composition of the Council:

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 1973 Sunderland City Council elections