Reform UK has taken control of Sunderland City Council after making huge gains from Labour in a historic local election result. The landmark Sunderland City Council elections followed changes to ward boundaries by the Local Government Boundary Commission, with councillors elected to newly drawn wards with new names.
It had been around 20 years since all 75 council seats were last contested in one election cycle, and three councillors were elected to each of the city’s 25 wards.
More than 360 candidates put their names forward from the Labour Party, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Reform UK, plus three independents.
As results were declared on May 8 at Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre, Reform UK emerged with an overall majority taking power from the ruling Labour Party, which had run the city council since its formation in 1974.
The seismic result saw Reform UK go from no councillors on the local authority to 58 once all 25 wards were declared.
The council’s Labour Group, which previously controlled around 50 seats, finished the count with just five councillors remaining, after taking all three seats in Barnes and Thornhill ward and two seats in Washington West.
Council leader Michael Mordey, deputy council leader Kelly Chequer, and the entire Labour cabinet of senior councillors, were among those who lost their seats.
The Sunderland Conservatives, who had nine councillors before the election, were completely wiped out, with group leader Antony Mullen among those losing their seats.
The Green Party, which recently welcomed former Labour councillor Fiona Miller before the local elections, also failed to win a single seat across the city.
Meanwhile, the Wearside Liberal Democrats finished the election with 12 councillors, with group leader Paul Edgeworth and deputy leader Heather Fagan both retaining their seats.
The three independent candidates standing, including two former Labour councillors, were not elected following the declaration of results.
Chris Eynon, chair of Sunderland Central Reform, speaking after he was elected to the Redhouse ward early in the count, said he was confident in the party’s chances.
The new councillor 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.
“In some seats in the hall we have got 50 per cent vote share, I’ve never seen anything like it, it’s been an absolute carnage night for the Labour Party, a lot of glum faces in there and candidates tonight.
“I think Reform have 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.
“Very simply our plan is Wearside first, it’s a Labour myth that we’re against development . We want to bring even more development to Sunderland 100 per cent,” he said.
“It’s very unfair for Labour to say we’re going to be a threat to that and I think the voters have saw through that tonight.”
Cllr Eynon, a financial advisor in his day job, 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.”
Councillor Paul Edgeworth, leader of the Wearside Liberal Democrats, welcomed the results for the Lib Dem opposition group.
“This result just confirms what we’ve always known. Local people are sick of the Labour Party, sick of the Labour council, and sick of the Labour government. They are dead in the water in Sunderland,” he said.
“People in Sunderland do not want Labour. But where there is an alternative, they do not want Reform either.
“When people elect a Lib Dem councillor, they like what they get and they vote for more of it. I’m encouraged by our strong showing in this election, bucking national trends and providing a hopeful and optimistic alternative to Labour’s chaos.
“I would like to thank everyone who voted for our positive and constructive vision for the city’s future.
“We will continue to work hard and deliver for all residents, and we will continue to provide an effective opposition to the new council.”
A Sunderland Labour representative was not available for comment at the election count.
The council’s overall make-up is now 58 Reform UK, 12 Liberal Democrats and five Labour.
This means Reform UK has overall control of Sunderland City Council.
The council is expected to hold its annual general meeting later in May where it will be confirmed who takes up the leadership positions for the coming year.
