Labour Party sets out plans for future after increasing majority on Sunderland City Council

Labour bosses on Wearside have celebrated more gains in the latest round of local elections, and are confident they can win more seats in future years.

The local elections on May 2, 2024, saw Sunderland City Council’s ruling Labour Group gain five new seats and increase its overall majority.

New Labour councillors were elected in Barnes, St Anne’s and St Peter’s wards displacing incumbent Conservative councillors, as well as Labour candidates taking council seats from other political parties.

This included a Labour win over the Liberal Democrats in Hendon and a win in Washington South, a seat last held by the council’s sole Reform UK councillor.

A vacant seat in Ryhope also saw a new Labour councillor elected, with Labour being the only political party on the night to boost its numbers overall.

After losing large numbers of councillors across the 2019 and 2021 local elections, Labour’s decline slowed significantly in 2022, and the trend started to change in 2023 as the party began to gain seats again.

According to senior Labour councillors, the 2024 local elections were “really positive” and reflected increased confidence in the Labour Party and its record of delivery, especially around regeneration.

This includes the ongoing Riverside Sunderland project where new offices, health facilities and houses are being built, as well as new cultural and leisure attractions.

Councillor Phil Tye, chair of the Sunderland Labour Group, said: “Our election gains show that residents of the city see the changes that we’re making and see the significant improvements across Riverside Sunderland and the work we’re doing there.

“It’s great that the residents of Sunderland are supporting us for that, but I think it also paints a picture on the national picture as well that the country is ready for change.

“There’s only one party capable of doing that and that’s the Labour Party”.

Labour’s victory in St Anne’s ward saw Lynne Dagg elected with a 440-vote majority over Conservative incumbent Greg Peacock, following on from Catherine Hunter’s Labour victory in the ward last year.

In Barnes ward, Fiona Tobin took a seat from the Conservatives with a 172-vote majority over incumbent councillor Richard Dunn, again following on from Ehthesham Haque’s win for Labour in the ward last year.

In St Peter’s ward, Labour’s David Newey took a seat from the Conservatives with a 93-vote majority over Conservative incumbent Sam Johnston.

The Labour Party’s Brandon Feeley won Washington South with a majority of more than 600 votes over the Conservatives, with incumbent Reform UK councillor Paul Donaghy coming in third place.

In Hendon, Labour’s Stephen Elms took a seat from the Liberal Democrats with a slim 28-vote majority, with three Labour councillors now representing the ward.

The first result declared on the night was also a Labour win and saw Kevin Johnston, the council’s cabinet member for Dynamic City, re-elected to the Copt Hill ward.

Cllr Johnston, who has responsibility for city development in his cabinet portfolio, said residents welcomed Labour-led transformation in the city, from works at the former Vaux site at Riverside Sunderland, to the new film studio planned on the banks of the River Wear.

The Labour councillor said: “I think people now see that the city is really on the up.

“The continuing regeneration is obviously going to be massive for the city and we have got a lot of things going on that will be coming and opening in the next year, then you look at the Crown Works Studios.

“It’s going to be absolutely massive for the city and for the region and for us to pull that off and bring that to Sunderland is just absolutely amazing, and that will have a knock-on effect for generations to come in terms of jobs and putting Sunderland on the global stage.

“So we have got a lot of work still to do over the next few years and we’re ready to do that”.

The councillor added that development would not just focus on the city centre but also in the Coalfields, with a multi-million retail park development on track in Houghton.

While Labour gains in areas such as Barnes, St Anne’s and Hendon were in line with voting trends in the previous election year, St Peter’s ward saw Labour break new ground.

This included winning a seat in a ward which has been represented by three Conservative councillors in recent years.

Labour bosses said that local election results also showed the party closing the gap in other wards which will be targeted in future elections, including the all-out elections in 2026 where all 75 of the council’s seats are up for grabs.

Cllr Tye added: “We’re really excited and looking forward to it and I think we will be looking to take St Michael’s ward next and it’s within our sights.

“Large amounts of seats can change at the all-out elections and we have seen a good example of change here tonight in the Hendon ward.

“We have took Hendon back from the Liberal Democrats which is a significant achievement for us to be able to do that.

“We’re really pleased with the results and it’s where we thought we would be, to take seats from both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats is a huge achievement for us.

“If you look deeper at the numbers as well, the seats that we were going for and trying to take, such as St Chad’s ward, we have slashed that majority that the Conservatives had there and are getting close to that.

“We will keep campaigning, keep working and keep up with positive campaigns and keep making improvements to the city, it has been a good night for us”.

Sunderland City Council’s overall make-up is now 53 Labour councillors, 12 Liberal Democrats and 10 Conservatives.

The overall turnout for the 2024 Sunderland local election was 30.8%, compared to 31.9% in 2023.