With the local elections less than a month away, voters across the North East will soon be dashing for their polling stations to have their say on how their community will be run.
Here is everything you need to know about Gateshead Council ahead of election day on Thursday, May 5, from registration deadlines to potentially swinging seats.
Read more: Local elections LIVE 2022
How many councillors are up for election?
The borough of Gateshead contains 22 wards, each represented by three individual councillors. On May 5 one councillor per ward will stand for election.
What is the current political make up of Gateshead Council?
Labour is by far the largest party with 52 councillors, followed by the Liberal Democrats on 13, and one independent.
Who is the leader of the council?
Deckham councillor Martin Gannon has been the leader of the council since May 2016.
He was first elected to the local authority in 1984 and had been deputy leader for six years, before replacing Mick Henry in the top job after he stood down following the borough's rejection of a devolution deal.
Prior to his role in the council Coun Gannon worked for GMB Union for 23 years and he is also the chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee.
When is the deadline for registering to vote?
The last date to register to vote is Thursday, April 14, at midnight. Postal vote applications must be received by Tuesday, April 19, at 5pm. Proxy vote applications must be received by Tuesday, April 26, at 5pm.
Any wards to look out for?
The Lib Dems are thought to have their eyes set on taking what is currently an independent seat in Dunston Hill and Whickham East, and from Labour in Pelaw and Heworth. Pelaw has a history of flipping and electing both Labour and Liberal Democratic candidates.
And local Conservatives say they are pushing for success in Winlaton and High Spen, where their candidate Lewis Ormston is trying again after coming in second place last year with more than 35% of the vote. Sheila Everatt is also on the ballot for the Tories in Lamesley once again, where she polled almost 40% of last year's vote, in the hope of getting a single blue seat in the council chamber.
Full list of candidates standing in Gateshead's 2022 local elections:
Birtley:
Paul Thomas Elliot (Liberal Demorat Focus Team)
Richard Andrew Herdamn (Conservative)
Daniel Weatherley (Labour)
Blaydon:
Ruth Marie Ashford (Green)
Lee-Ann Moir (Labour)
Kamil Tankiewicz (Liberal Democrat)
Susan Mary Wilson (Conservatve)
Bridges:
Martin Backley (Conservative)
Gareth Cooper (Liberal Democrat)
Angela Douglas (Labour)
Chopwell and Rowlands Gill:
John Michael Aspinall (Green)
Lynne Margaret Caffrey (Labour)
Jean Margaret Callender (Liberal Democrat)
Brian David Derrick (Conservative)
Chowdene:
Maureen Irene Goldsworthy (Labour)
Thomas Fredrick Newell (Green)
David Potts (Conservative)
Marika Smith (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)
Norman Spours (Liberal Democrat)
Crawcrook and Greenside:
Christopher Anthony Coxon (Conservative)
Oliver Christopher Martin Wiliam Jones-Lyons (Liberal Democrat Focus Team)
Hugh Peter Kelly (Labour)
Jack Phillipson (Green)
Deckham:
Garry Rutherford Brooks (Green)
Martin Gannon (Labour)
Norman Hall (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)
Matthew Robert Jordison (Liberal Democrat)
Josh Alan Knotts (Conservative)
Dunston and Teams:
Andy Blanchflower (Green)
Dot Burnett (Labour)
Beth Gordon (Liberal Democrat Focus Team)
Jordan-Lee Guthrie (Conservative)
Dunston Hill and Whickham East:
Isabel Mary Blanchflower (Green)
Jack Hocking (Conservative)
Andrew Dylan Moir (Labour)
Amelia Louise Ord (Liberal Democrat Focus Team)
Graham Steele (Save Us Now)
Felling:
Bill Dick (Labour)
David Gilson Fawcett (Liberal Democrat)
Neil Campbell Grant (Green)
Peter Crompton Jackson (Conservative)
High Fell:
Francis Thomas Athey (Conservative)
Elaine Brunskill (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)
Judith Francesca Therese Gibson (Labour)
Thomas Karl Holder (Liberal Democrat)
Gabriel Rubinstein (Green)
Lamesley:
Daniel James Clarke (Liberal Democrat)
Sheila Everatt (Conservative)
Jane McCoid (Labour)
Ashleigh Taylor Mclean (Green)
Lobley Hill and Bensham:
Kevin Michael Dodds (Labour)
John Rogan Gardiner (Conservative)
Andy Redfern (Green)
Jamie Rickelton (Liberal Democrat)
Low Fell:
Mark Andrew Gorman (Green)
Calvin Kenneth Joseph Lawson (Labour)
Paul Sterling (Conservative)
Dawn Elizabeth Welsh (Liberal Democrat Focus Team)
Pelaw and Heworth:
Ali Reza Akbari Pargam (Conservative)
Anne Adelaide Wheeler (Labour)
Amanda Renee Wintcher (Liberal Democrat Focus Team)
Ryton, Crockhill and Stella:
Ros Cooper (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coaltion)
Lyneda Ann Duggan (Liberal Democrat Focus Team)
Freda Geddes (Labour)
Andrew Mason (Green)
Louise Beatrice Prince (Conservative)
Saltwell:
Robert Ableson (Conservative)
John Frederick Adams (Labour)
Leanne Mary Brand (Liberal Democrat Focus Team)
Rachel Mary Cabral (Independent)
Craig Edward Gallagher (Save Us Now)
Wardley and Leam Lane:
John Robert McNeil (Conservative)
Sharron Louise Potts (Labour)
Alan Kevin Price (Green)
Robinson Geoffrey Stanaway (Liberal Democrat)
Whickham North:
Jeff Bowe (Labour)
John Callanan (Conservative)
Peter Thomas Craig (Liberal Democrat Focus Team)
Whickham South and Sunniside:
Michael Alan Hall (Labour)
Helen McDonald (Green)
Marilyn Ord (Liberal Democrat Focus Team)
Perry Wilson (Conservative)
Windy Nook and Whitehills:
Tom Graham (Labour)
Ruth Christina Grant (Green)
Kyle Lambert Murray (Conservative)
Susan Walker (Liberal Democrat)
Winlaton and High Spen:
Pamela Marie Burns (Labour)
Paul Martin McNally (Green)
Lewis Ormston (Conservative)
David Graham Randall (Liberal Democrat Focus Team)
