The leader of Sunderland City Council’s first Reform UK group of councillors has been announced.
Chris Eynon, newly elected Redhouse ward councillor, is expected to become council leader on the local authority after he was elected leader of the Reform UK Group on Monday.
The 30-year-old financial advisor and Army reservist was one of 58 Reform UK candidates who emerged victorious in the historic May 7 local elections, which saw Reform take control of the council and the ruling Labour Group reduced to just five councillors.
Reform UK said the newly elected group of councillors met on Monday to formally elect leadership roles.
Cllr Eynon was elected Reform UK Group leader on the council and will be joined by Grangetown councillor Daniel Cowie, who was elected deputy leader of the group.
The council leader position, along with the deputy leader position, cabinet and committee positions and the Mayor of Sunderland role, are expected to be formally agreed at the council’s annual meeting next week.
In a statement on social media, Cllr Eynon said: “It is a tremendous honour to have been elected by my colleagues to lead the Reform UK Group following these historic local elections.
“The people of Wearside voted for change, and we are determined to deliver it.
“I look forward to leading our team as we work tirelessly on behalf of residents across Sunderland and begin a new chapter for our city.”
Cllr Eynon said he first got involved with Reform UK in 2023 and had seen the party grow its local vote share year on year, including in council elections and a General Election.
Speaking at the local election count on May 8, where Labour lost control of the council after running it for more than 50 years, Cllr Eynon said Reform UK had “finally had our breakthrough here.”
Cllr Eynon dismissed claims from Labour that Reform would put the city’s future and regeneration projects at risk and stressed the party had a plan for the city, adding: “We want to bring even more development to Sunderland 100 per cent.”
The Redhouse councillor, speaking at the counting hall last week, also raised concerns about the city council’s debts and reserve levels and said Labour had “not left us a great inheritance to say the least”.
He continued: “There’s been a lot of stuff going on with money being spent on things it really shouldn’t have been and nothing is off the table is what I would say, but we’re going to go in with a fresh look and a fresh approach.
“It’s been Labour for over 50 years so something is going wrong in there, we need to get in and get a fresh look at the whole situation and hopefully we can come up with some good resolutions that we have learned from our councils elsewhere in the country.”
A statement on the Reform UK Sunderland Facebook page said the leader of Sunderland City Council will be formally ratified at a full council meeting in line with the council’s constitutional procedures.
Cllr Eynon added: “I look forward to the challenge ahead and to working tirelessly for the people of Wearside. It is a new era for Sunderland.”
Next week’s annual meeting of Sunderland City Council is scheduled for Wednesday May 20 at City Hall and is expected to start at 6pm.
Members of the public are welcome to attend and the meeting is also expected to be broadcast live via the city council’s YouTube channel.
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