2026 Sunderland City Council election

←  2024 7 May 2026 (2026-05-07) 2027 →
All 75 seats to Sunderland City Council 38 seats needed for a majority
Leader Michael Mordey Paul Edgeworth Antony Mullen Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative Last election 53 seats, 45.4% 12 seats, 15.3% 10 seats, 18.2% Current seats 50 [a] 12 9   Party Independent Reform UK Green Last election 0 seats, 1.5% 0 seats, 14.5% 0 seats, 5.2% Current seats 3 0 1
Incumbent Leader Michael Mordey Labour Co-op

The 2026 Sunderland City Council election will be held on 7 May 2026, alongside the other local elections across the United Kingdom being held on the same day. All 75 members of Sunderland City Council will be elected. ^[1] Boundary changes will be made for these elections. ^[2]

Contents

• Background
• Ward results[9]
• Barnes and Thornhill
• Deptford and Hendon
• Doxford Park
• Farringdon and Silksworth
• Fulwell
• Grangetown
• Grindon and Thorney Close
• Herrington and Newbottle
• Hetton
• Houghton North
• Houghton South and Hetton Downs
• Hylton Castle
• Pallion and Ford
• Pennywell and South Hylton
• Penshaw and Shiney Row
• Redhouse
• Roker
• Ryhope
• Southwick
• Tunstall and Humbledon
• Washington Central
• Washington East
• Washington North
• Washington South
• Washington West
• References

Background

Before the election Labour was the largest party with Liberal Democrats forming the official opposition after overtaking the Conservatives at the 2023 and 2024 elections. ^[3] Since the last election two councillors defected from both Labour and the Conservatives to sit as Independents. ^{[4] [5]}

In November 2025 Reform UK won their first seat on the council with a 35% swing in the Hetton ward by-election, however their councillor resigned from the party after just 76 days and now sits as an independent. ^[6] There is speculation that Reform will take control of the council like it had the year before in County Durham. ^[7]

In March 2026, Fiona Miller a Labour councillor first elected in 2011 defected to the Green Party. Her husband Gramme Miller was council leader for Labour between 2018 and 2024 before he was removed by Labour's National Executive Committee. ^[8]

Ward results ^[9]

An asterisk next to a candidate's name denotes an incumbent councillor.

References

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