A critical set of local elections that could shape Newcastle’s future for years to come are being held this week. Voters will go to the polls on Thursday in an election that could radically alter the balance of power on Tyneside. Control of Newcastle City Council could change hands, as is the case in other parts of Tyne and Wear.
Here is what you need to know heading into election day on 7 May.
How many councillors are up for election?
Because of boundary changes that are coming into force, this year is a rare ‘all out’ election in Newcastle – meaning all 78 of the council’s seats are being contested, instead of the usual one third. Voters will be able to cast up to three votes on their ballot paper and three councillors will be elected in each of the city’s 26 electoral wards.
What is the current makeup of the council?
Newcastle City Council has been run by Labour since 2011. However, the party lost its overall majority in the council chamber following a series of defections in 2024 and now operates a minority administration.
The current political composition of the council is: 34 Labour, 22 Liberal Democrats, six independents, six East End and Associates Independents, four Greens, three Newcastle Independents, and one Conservative, with two seats currently vacant.
Who is the leader of the council?
Karen Kilgour has been Labour’s council leader in Newcastle since 2024, when she became the first woman to ascend to the role. She replaced Nick Kemp, who resigned as council leader amid a scandal surrounding a bullying complaint made against him by a senior director at the civic centre.
A councillor since 2014, the West Fenham ward representative previously served as Coun Kemp’s deputy and was also a cabinet member under the leadership of Nick Forbes.
She is switching wards at this election and will stand in Blakelaw and Cowgate.
When are polls open and when will the results be announced?
Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday, 7 May. Rather than being held overnight straight after the polls close, Newcastle’s vote count will be during the day on Friday, 8 May.
The count will be split into two sessions – with votes in the first 13 wards counted in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. It is estimated that the first round of results will start being declared from around 11.30am and the second from roughly 3pm, with all results expected to have been announced by 4.30pm.
What are the most interesting seats to watch?
Not so long ago, election nights in Newcastle were relatively easy to predict and only a handful of swing wards like Ouseburn offered much intrigue. That has now changed dramatically.
The last time local elections were held in the city in 2024, the Greens won their first seats in Newcastle, and a Conservative was elected for the first time in more than 30 years. Labour’s grip on power locally has continued to erode since then and opposition parties smell blood.
Labour’s struggles in the national polls, coupled with the rising popularity of both Reform UK and the Greens, have heightened the tension further.
So, it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that every single ward in Newcastle will be worth keeping an eye on as the results roll in on Friday.
Reform UK have been less bullish about their chances of claiming a majority in Newcastle than they have elsewhere in the North East, but will nonetheless expect to make significant gains – particularly in the outer west of the city. East end wards like Walker, traditional working class areas that have long been dominated by Labour, would also appear an obvious target for Reform.
But the Greens hold strong hopes of their own in the east, buoyed by the success of their Newcastle leader Nick Hartley in Byker after his election two years ago.
The Greens will expect victory in central parts of the city with a younger population, particularly in the city centre Monument ward where ex-North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll is a high-profile Green candidate.
Their election campaign has been embroiled in controversy, however, with a number of Green candidates in the city accused of making antisemitic remarks.
The Liberal Democrats have been Newcastle’s main opposition party since 2011, having previously run the council for seven years, and have long hoped that this year would offer them the chance to capitalise on Labour’s struggles at a national level and return to power here.
The question for them is whether they can beat Reform and the Greens to those gains, as well as holding on in Lib Dem strongholds like Manor Park.
Anything else to watch out for?
Former GP Doc Anand made history for the Tories in 2024 when he won in Gosforth, becoming the first Conservative councillor elected in Newcastle since 1992. In the year he turns 80, the eccentric campaigner is seeking a second term of office.
While there is an expectation of big Reform gains in the outer west of the city, independent Marc Donnelly will hope to extend his record of victory in the Chapel ward. A well-known and outspoken figure, Coun Donnelly took 85.7% of the vote when he was last elected in 2022 – which was 1,300 higher than anyone else polled across the city that year and the biggest tally of any candidate across the entire region.
What issues are getting people talking?
Like many areas, the size of council tax bills has been a hot topic in Newcastle. The council recently signed off on a 4.99% uplift in March, alongside plans for 75 job cuts over the next 12 months and £37 million worth of savings by 2029.
The council has slashed its budgets by more than £400 million since 2011 as Government funding has been reduced, though the city’s Labour leadership has been keen to push major investment and regeneration plans – including a promised £50 million to improve the state of Newcastle’s roads and footpaths and the building of 15,000 new homes.
Whoever takes charge of the city council will be tasked with overseeing the completion of the Tyne Bridge’s restoration works in time for its centenary celebrations in 2028.
Incoming councillors could also find themselves playing a critical role in perhaps the hottest topic in the city at the moment – the future of Newcastle United’s St James’ Park.
The football club has yet to announce whether it will seek to stay at its historic ground or build a new stadium elsewhere, potentially on the neighbouring Leazes Park, but a decision either way would have major implications for the future of the city.
Who is standing for election?
Here is the full list of candidates standing in Newcastle:
Arthur’s Hill:
- Gareth Barber (Reform UK)
- Margaret Birkmyre (Conservative)
- Hannah Cousins (Labour)
- Joseph Eldridge (Independent)
- Clifford Hedley (Reform UK)
- Joanne Kingsland (Labour)
- Abigail Macdonald (Liberal Democrat)
- Mohammed Milon (Liberal Democrat)
- Adrin Neatrour (Liberal Democrat)
- Stuart Norton (Reform UK)
- John Pearson (Green)
- Hayder Qureshi (Labour)
- Shemol Rahman (Imagine)
- Mohammed Suleman (Green)
- Rowshon Uddin (Green)
Benwell, Scotswood and Denton Burn:
- Hans Christian Andersen (Liberal Democrat)
- Susan Anthony (Labour)
- Daniel Astley (Reform UK)
- Robin Brooke (Liberal Democrat)
- Anthony Brown (Conservative)
- Jan Grace (Green)
- Jiabao He (Reform UK)
- Robert Higgins (Labour)
- Rima Hussein (Green)
- Gavin Liddle (Liberal Democrat)
- David McGovern (Independent)
- David Minto (Reform UK)
- Hazel Stephenson (Labour)
- Kerrin Tatwood (Green)
Blakelaw and Cowgate:
- Dawn Brown (Conservative)
- Rachel Davison (Reform UK)
- Aurora Harrison (Green)
- Frances Hinton (Green)
- Gavin Hutchinson (Reform UK)
- Tina Ion (Green)
- Karen Kilgour (Labour)
- Brian McGreevy (Liberal Democrat)
- Michael O’Dowd (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)
- Lauren Proctor (Liberal Democrat)
- Juna Sathian (Labour)
- Bill Schardt (Liberal Democrat)
- Ian Tokell (Labour)
- Irene Turnbull (Reform UK)
- Marion Williams (Independent)
Byker:
- Syed Ahmed (Conservative)
- Khadija Ali (Labour)
- Jamie Anderson (Green)
- Tanya Dawes (Reform UK)
- Gary Day (Liberal Democrat)
- Steven Forster (Liberal Democrat)
- Nick Hartley (Green)
- Robert Jarman (Liberal Democrat)
- Gavin Jordan (Labour)
- Shane Robinson (Reform UK)
- Neil Scott (Reform UK)
- Hedley Sugar-Wells (Green)
- Will Wain (Labour)
Castle:
- Samuel Bennett (Reform UK)
- Gary Black (Reform UK)
- David Down (Liberal Democrat)
- Mark Edwards Junior (Labour)
- Steve Fairlie (Labour)
- Andrew Herridge (Labour)
- Imran Mohammed (Green)
- Richard Morris (Liberal Democrat)
- Jamie Robinson (Green)
- Roderick Russell (Reform UK)
- Dhananjay Singh (Liberal Democrat)
- Andrew Welch (Green)
- Anna Wilson (Conservative)
Chapel:
- Yvonne Alden (Reform UK)
- Owen Bell (Labour)
- Mary Clifford (Green)
- David Cook (Labour)
- Ian Cowans (Liberal Democrat)
- Muhammad Dahri (Conservative)
- Marc Donnelly (Independent)
- Margaret Donnelly (Independent)
- Ben Hobson (Labour)
- Lawrence Hunter (Independent)
- Karen Jewers (Conservative)
- Prashasti Khare (Reform UK)
- Keith Metcalf (Green)
- James Price (Green)
- Chanchal Samaiya (Reform UK)
- David Slesenger (Liberal Democrat)
- Judith Steen (Liberal Democrat)
Dene and South Gosforth:
- James Brine (Green)
- David Cooper (Reform UK)
- Alex Dodgson (Labour)
- Adam Forrest (Reform UK)
- Hilary Franks (Labour)
- Henry Gallagher (Liberal Democrat)
- Gerry Langley (Conservative)
- Peter Laws (Reform UK)
- Marley Nellis (Labour)
- Stephen Psallidas (Liberal Democrat)
- Nick Simpson (Green)
- Laurence Taylor (Green)
- Wendy Taylor (Liberal Democrat)
Denton and Westerhope:
- Emmanuel Alawode (Labour)
- Vince Barry-Stanners (Labour)
- Margaret Bebb (Reform UK)
- Alan Birkmyre (Conservative)
- Colin Dalglish (Liberal Democrat)
- Elizabeth Dicken (Liberal Democrat)
- Ben Feechan (Green)
- Miles Henderson (Green)
- Kami Kundi (Reform UK)
- Adam Mitchell (Newcastle Independents)
- Tracey Mitchell (Newcastle Independents)
- Steven Rutherford (Reform UK)
- Jacqueline Slesenger (Liberal Democrat)
- Zarah St Clair (Labour)
- Roger Whittaker (Green)
Elswick:
- Halimah Begum (Green)
- Jeremy Bell (Liberal Democrat)
- Hazel Dixon (Reform UK)
- Margaret Dooner (Liberal Democrat)
- David Faulkner (Liberal Democrat)
- Mohammed Habibi (Conservative)
- Nicu Ion (Labour)
- Margaret Murning (Labour)
- Khaled Musharraf (Green)
- Timothy Smith (Reform UK)
- Peter Thomson (Green)
- Philip Tolan (Reform UK)
- Arif Zaman (Labour)
Fawdon and West Gosforth:
- Arlene Ainsley (Labour)
- Rob Austin (Liberal Democrat)
- Milo Bennett (Conservative)
- Callum Buchanan (Labour)
- John Duffy (Reform UK)
- Martin Evison (Reform UK)
- John Hall (Liberal Democrat)
- Kai Hoult (Reform UK)
- Daniel Jones (Green)
- Gary Kilgour (Labour)
- David Laws (Green)
- Peter Lovatt (Liberal Democrat)
- Isabella Warburton Brown (Green)
Gosforth:
- Doc Anand (Conservative)
- Jack Burton (Green)
- John Dale (Reform UK)
- Colin Ferguson (Liberal Democrat)
- George Ford (Reform UK)
- Adam Jackson (Green)
- Andrew Kidger (Green)
- Maria Manco (Conservative)
- Rebecca Mead (Conservative)
- Thomas Millen (Labour)
- Alistair Pedlow (Reform UK)
- Jonathan Sabarre (Labour)
- Tahir Siddique (Liberal Democrat)
- Thomas Woodwark (Liberal Democrat)
- Colin Wright (Labour)
Heaton:
- Jude Browne (Liberal Democrat)
- Chandni Chopra (Green)
- John Dobie (Conservative)
- Lara Ellis (Labour)
- Joe Gartland (Green)
- Andrew Gray (Green)
- Steve Handford (Communist Party of Britain)
- Billy Hill (Reform UK)
- Stewart Jackson (Reform UK)
- Clare Penny-Evans (Labour)
- Andrew Rakowski (Liberal Democrat)
- Mark Ridyard (Liberal Democrat)
- Mehrban Sadiq (Labour)
- Steve Taylor (Reform UK)
Jesmond:
- Peter Allen (Liberal Democrat)
- Phliip Browne (Liberal Democrat)
- James Coles (Liberal Democrat)
- Trevor Cox (Reform UK)
- Sandra Davison (Conservative)
- Tim Dowson (Green)
- Marianne Kell (green)
- Killian McCartney (Labour)
- Ludovico Rella (Green)
- Ellen Russell (Reform UK)
- Janet Stansfield (Reform UK)
- Fin Weatherill (Labour)
- John Thomas (Labour)
Kenton:
- Craig Austin (Liberal Democrat)
- Ged Bell (Labour)
- Ronald Clark (Liberal Democrat)
- Gareth Davies (Conservative)
- Nick Fray (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)
- Richard Frearson (Green)
- Stephen Lambert (Labour)
- Jane Lancaster (Green)
- Mick Mahoney (Reform UK)
- Paula Maines (Labour)
- Philip McArdle (Liberal Democrat)
- Terry McNamara (Reform UK)
- Milan Nemecek (Green)
- Alison Sanderson (Reform UK)
Kingston Park and Dinnington:
- Barbara Down (Liberal Democrat)
- Chris Durham (Reform UK)
- Mohammad Farsi (Liberal Democrat)
- Gordon Forbes (Reform UK)
- Simon Harrison (Labour)
- John Mansfield (Liberal Democrat)
- Katy Sawyer (Green)
- Connor Shotton (Conservative)
- Tudor Skelly (Conservative)
- Liam Spencer (Labour)
- Gordana Vasic (Labour)
- Kenneth Wake (Conservative)
- Susie Warburton Brown (Green)
- Dave Webb (Green)
- Frank Wilson (Reform UK)
Lemington:
- Stephen Barry-Stanners (Labour)
- Adrian Butler (Reform UK)
- Tracy Connell (Liberal Democrat)
- Ian Davison (Conservative)
- Kirsty Galbraith (Reform UK)
- David Harrison (Green)
- Alice Kubiak (Green)
- Russ Lawler (Reform UK)
- Peter Mitchell (Green)
- Barbara Moorhead (Liberal Democrat)
- Barry Phillipson (Labour)
- Bill Shepherd (Liberal Democrat)
- Eleanor Woolstencroft (Labour)
Manor Park:
- Christopher Bartlett (Labour)
- Philip Brookes (Green)
- Deborah Burns (Liberal Democrat)
- Heather Chambers (Conservative)
- Trevor Cox (Reform UK)
- Nathan Evans (Green)
- John Gardner (Reform UK)
- Mark Gardner (Reform UK)
- Mica Hind (Green)
- Doreen Huddart (Liberal Democrat)
- Danny Hutton Ferris (Labour)
- Christopher O’Keefe (Labour)
- Greg Stone (Liberal Democrat)
Monument:
- Chaudhry Ahmad (Conservative)
- Nabeela Ali (Labour)
- Craig Cottrell (Independent)
- Jamie Driscoll (Green)
- Christopher Gray (Reform UK)
- Brian Hall (Liberal Democrat)
- John Honeychurch-Kyle (Conservative)
- Gareth Jones (Green)
- Raja Khan (Labour)
- Aidan King (Liberal Democrat)
- Alison Murphy (Liberal Democrat)
- Agnes Offiong (Reform UK)
- Kiran Sayyed (Green)
- Paul Wallace (Reform UK)
- Mirza Yousef (Labour)
Newbiggin Hall and Callerton:
- Ali Avaei (Liberal Democrat)
- Deanne Bell (Reform UK)
- Alexander Hay (Labour)
- Helen Laverick (Liberal Democrat)
- Brian Moore (Reform UK)
- Colin Nichol (Reform UK)
- Rory Osborne (Green)
- George Pattison (Labour)
- Jacqui Robinson (Labour)
- James Setch (Conservative)
- Andrew Swai (Liberal Democrat)
- Anne Tindale (Green)
- Angus Williams (Green)
Ouseburn:
- Leon Brown (Reform UK)
- Alistair Chisholm (Green)
- Mike Cookson (Liberal Democrat)
- Lawrence Davies (Green)
- Robert Fleming (Labour)
- Curtis Hollocks (Reform UK)
- Gareth Kane (Liberal Democrat)
- Ali Mehmood (Labour)
- Joseph Morris (Labour)
- Matt Osbourn (Liberal Democrat)
- Philip Parkinson (Conservative)
- Sarah Peters (Green)
- Marie Summersby (Conservative)
- Tony Teasdale (Reform UK)
Parklands and North Gosforth:
- Pauline Allen (Liberal Democrat)
- Paul Barrett (Reform UK)
- Gerard Bartley (Reform UK)
- Andrew Capocci (Green)
- Alex Clark (Reform UK)
- Benjamin Eckford (Labour)
- Lewys Evans (Labour)
- William Kilgour (Labour)
- Audrey Macnaughton (Green)
- Christine Morrissey (Liberal Democrat)
- David Partington (Liberal Democrat)
- Will Rogers (Green)
- Alison Wake (Conservative)
Throckley, Walbottle and Newburn:
- Richard Barnes (Reform UK)
- Kimberley Barrass (Green)
- Simon Bell (Conservative)
- Belinda Brady (Liberal Democrat)
- Christine Cogan (Liberal Democrat)
- Harry Drew (Conservative)
- Alexis Fernandes (Conservative)
- Michael Fitzpatrick (Reform UK)
- Angela Hall (Liberal Democrat)
- Mark Hardy (Labour)
- Amy Hunter (Reform UK)
- Idwal John (Green)
- Pat McGee (Green)
- Adam Walker (Labour)
- Linda Wright (Labour)
Walker:
- Ian Aird (Labour)
- Mark Buckley (Liberal Democrat)
- Andrew Cowie (Liberal Democrat)
- Lorraine Gingell (Reform UK)
- Colin Goldsborough (Reform UK)
- Christopher Metcalf (Conservative)
- Liz Panton (Party of Women)
- Robert Renton (Liberal Democrat)
- Richard Sharp (Reform UK)
- John Stokel-Walker (Independent)
- Chuck Taylor (Green)
- Pamela Victor Ibitamuno (Labour)
- Sam Vosper (Labour)
- Tom Whatson (Green)
- Matt Williams (Green)
- Davy Wood (Independent)
Walkergate:
- Brad Aird (Labour)
- Christine Aird (Labour)
- David Cain (Liberal Democrat)
- Stephen Lowery (Reform UK)
- Gavin Maw (Reform UK)
- Maria Maza (Green)
- Margaret Montgomery (Green)
- David Orr (Reform UK)
- Stephen Oxborough (Conservative)
- Abdul Rajib (Labour)
- Karen Robinson (Liberal Democrat)
- William Signey (Liberal Democrat)
- Wayne Thompson (Green)
West Fenham:
- Tasnim Adnan (Green)
- Navya Bharagida (Labour)
- Barry Brians (Reform UK)
- Sian Broadhurst (Green)
- Owen Burbidge (Liberal Democrat)
- Fahim Habibi (Conservative)
- Lauren Healey (Green)
- Saeem Korim (Labour)
- Michael Martin (Reform UK)
- Mark Mitchell (Liberal Democrat)
- John Moore (Reform UK)
- PJ Morrissey (Liberal Democrat)
- Connor Slomski (Labour)
Wingrove:
- Babatope Aguntasolo (Liberal Democrat)
- Irim Ali (Labour)
- Fi Clarke (Liberal Democrat)
- John Ekong (Reform UK)
- Harold Goodwill (Reform UK)
- Mo Karim (Conservative)
- Humaira Khan (Green)
- James Lee (Reform UK)
- Joyce McCarty (Labour)
- Younes Mohammed (Green)
- Mohammed Sarwar (Green)
- Rebecca Shatwell (Labour)
- Colin Steen (Liberal Democrat)
