South Tyneside Council: All the candidates, issues and seats to watch

Voters will go to the polls across South Tyneside on May 2 as part of the 2024 local elections.

South Tyneside Council’s Labour Group is bidding to retain the party’s grip on power in the borough, after successfully defending the majority of its seats last year.

While Labour’s overall control of the council is unlikely to be affected this year, it promises to be an interesting election night with a range of battles to keep an eye on.

Here is everything you need to know about what’s happening in South Tyneside ahead of polling day.

How many councillors are up for election?

There are 18 seats up for grabs on polling day, with one seat in each of South Tyneside’s 18 electoral wards being contested.

Each ward across the borough has three seats, and is represented by three councillors.

As South Tyneside Council runs its elections by ‘thirds’, only one councillor will be elected to each ward across the borough on May 2, 2024.

What is the current make-up of the council?

Labour has been in power at South Tyneside Council for decades and despite losing seats to opposition parties and independents in recent years, the Labour Group retains majority control of the local authority.

The council’s political make-up has changed significantly in recent years with the Green Party becoming the official opposition, as well as an alliance of opposition independents and the council’s sole Conservative councillor.

As things stand, the council’s Labour Group controls 38 of the 54 seats on the council, and the Green Party are the main opposition party with nine councillors.

There are also six independent councillors and one Conservative councillor, who have all been elected to the local authority since 2019.

At the time of writing, there are no vacant seats on the council.

Who is the leader of the council?

Councillor Tracey Dixon has been council leader since 2020, and took over the role after the resignation of then council leader Iain Malcolm following bullying allegations from senior council officers.

In the years since, and with a new chief executive, South Tyneside Council has undergone a programme of change with town hall bosses stating the council’s culture has improved.

In elections since 2020, the Labour Party has maintained control of the council but has lost some seats to opposition parties and independents.

Last year’s local elections saw the trend continue, with the Green Party winning more seats in previously Labour-controlled areas, and becoming the official opposition on the council.

The 2024 elections will see the majority of the 18 seats up for grabs being defended by the Labour Party,  as well as some opposition councillors being up for election for a second term.

As a large number of councillors are not seeking re-election this year, several wards could see new faces, or in some cases, former councillors returning to the local authority.

Several senior Labour councillors, including the leader and deputy leader of South Tyneside Council, will also be seeking re-election this year.

Compared to last year’s elections, there are less candidates overall with some wards seeing two-way battles between Labour and Green Party candidates.

This year’s election also takes place against the backdrop of an ongoing industrial dispute between the council and its refuse staff, which has caused disruption to bin collections for months.

Which seats are being fought over?

Labour will be looking to defend seats from opposition groups and to take back seats in opposition-controlled areas.

A total of seven councillors are not seeking re-election this year, including six Labour councillors and one Green councillor, which represents an opportunity for new faces on the council in certain wards.

These wards include Biddick and All Saints, Cleadon Park, Harton, Horsley Hill, West Park, Westoe and Whiteleas.

The Conservative Party has previously stood candidates in the majority of wards but this year, has only stood candidates in four out of 18 wards.

The Cleadon and East Boldon ward is one to watch this year as it will see the council’s sole Conservative councillor Ian Forster defending his seat against the Green Party and Labour.

The ward has traditionally voted Conservative and Labour in the past, however, recent local elections have seen ward residents vote for Green councillors.

Another Green win would see the ward represented by three Green councillors and would effectively eliminate the Conservatives from the council.

The Green Party will also be looking to take a second seat from Labour in Biddick and All Saints ward, after gaining a seat in the area last year.

Elsewhere in Primrose ward, incumbent independent councillor David Kennedy is standing for re-election and will be defending his seat against Labour and the Green Party.

The Westoe seat previously held by Labour councillor Ann Best, who is not seeking re-election this year, will also be one to watch.

The Westoe area currently has two independent representatives and the Labour seat will be contested this year by an independent candidate, the Labour Party and the Green Party.

Leader of South Tyneside Council, Cllr Tracey Dixon, and deputy council leader, Cllr Audrey Huntley, will also be looking to defend their seats in the Whitburn and Marsden ward and Fellgate and Hedworth ward respectively.

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Anything else to watch out for on election night?

Reform UK stood a local election candidate in South Tyneside last year and are looking to contest seats on the council in 2024, with candidates now standing in the Harton and Monkton wards.

What happens on May 2?

Voters will go to polling stations across the borough on May 2 up until 10pm, when the polls close.

The ballots are normally transported from polling stations to Temple Park  Centre for verification and counting.

The results of polls will be declared by ward throughout the night, with the final result being announced on May 2 or in the early hours of Friday.

An annual meeting of South Tyneside Council is normally held in the weeks after the local elections to appoint councillors to committees and positions, and to appoint a new Mayor and Deputy Mayor of South Tyneside.

Here is the full list of the South Tyneside Council candidates vying for your vote on May 2, 2024.

BEACON AND BENTS

Jabed Hossain (Labour Party)

Sue Stonehouse (Green Party)

BEDE

John Michael Chilton (Green Party)

Terry Foggon (Independent)

Margaret Peacock (Labour Party)

BIDDICK AND ALL SAINTS

Chris Davies (Green Party)

Shiela Hussain (Labour Party)

BOLDON COLLIERY

Joanne Bell (Labour Party)

Simon Kevin Oliver (Independent)

Darius Seago (Green Party)

CLEADON AND EAST BOLDON

Kevin Brydon (Labour Party)

Rhiannon Sian Curtis (Green Party)

Ian Forster (Conservative Party)

CLEADON PARK

Steven Alexander Harrison (Independent)

John Gordon Riley (Green Party)

Ken Stephenson (Labour Party)

FELLGATE AND HEDWORTH

Nicola Alison Cook (Green Party)

Ian Jason Diamond (Independent)

Audrey Elizabeth Fay-Huntley (Labour and Co-operative Party)

Tony Roberts (Independent)

HARTON

Karen Dix (Labour Party)

Jim Mouat (Reform UK)

Karen Myers (Independent)

Colin Robert Tosh (Green Party)

HEBBURN NORTH

Annette Chapman (Green Party)

Brian Goodman (Independent)

Liz McHugh (Labour Party)

HEBBURN SOUTH

John Gerard McCabe (Labour Party)

Briony Sommers (Green Party)

HORSLEY HILL

Phil Brown (Independent)

Dorothy Grainger (Labour Party)

Carrie Danielle Richardson (Green Party)

Stan Wildhirt (Conservative Party Candidate)

MONKTON

Joan Hamilton (Independent)

Joan Margaret Keegan (Labour Party)

Matty McKenna (Green Party)

Marian Elizabeth Stead (Reform UK)

PRIMROSE

Elaine Francis (Green Party)

David Kennedy (Independent)

Stephen Pearson (Labour Party)

SIMONSIDE AND REKENDYKE

Edward Malcolm (Labour Party)

Bethany Dionne Telford (Green Party)

Kenneth George Wood  (Independent)

WEST PARK

Nicky Gynn (Green Party)

Justin Knight (Independent)

Sean McDonagh (Labour and Co-operative Party)

WESTOE

Sandra Duncan (Labour Party)

Georgina Holt (Green Party)

Kate Owens-Palmer (Independent)

WHITBURN AND MARSDEN

Tracey Allison Dixon (Labour Party)

Edward Anthony Littley (Green Party)

Heidi Wildhirt (Conservative Party Candidate)

WHITELEAS

Robin Anthony Coombes (Independent)

Michelle Turnbull (Labour Party)

Dawn Wildhirt (Conservative Party)

Sophie-Jane Williams (Green Party)