Voters went to the polls in Newcastle at May’s local elections.
After what has been a turbulent few months in city politics that has seen long-serving council leader Nick Forbes ousted, it was a fascinating battle at the ballot box. Here is everything you need to know about election day on Thursday, May 5.
This article was published in advance of the local elections but the winning candidates are indicated in bold below. Full results by ward including how every candidate scored are here.
How many councillors are up for election?
A third of the council’s seats are up for grabs – one in each of the city’s 26 wards. The one exception to that is in Benwell and Scotswood ward, where two councillors will be elected following the retirement of long-serving Jeremy Beecham after more than 50 years on the council.
So, in total, 27 councillors will be elected on the night. You can find a full list of every candidate standing at the bottom of this article.
You can see the full results from election night here.
What is the current makeup of the council?
Labour has been in power in Newcastle since 2011, when it won back control from the Liberal Democrats, and has a sizeable majority of the council’s 78 seats. Following 2021’s elections, the breakdown was: 52 for Labour, 20 Lib Dems, three for the Newcastle Independents party, and three independents.
Who is the leader of the council?
Nick Forbes has been the council’s leader since 2011, but that is about to change. Earlier this year he was deselected by Labour members in his Arthur’s Hill ward and will not be standing for re-election this May, meaning that there are some very big changes about to happen at the civic centre.
Byker councillor Nick Kemp, who is not up for election this year, has already been chosen by Labour as Coun Forbes’ successor and he is due to formally take over the top job in May. These elections will be his first test and could have major implications for his leadership, both in terms of how he runs the council and whether he can hold together what is a divided Labour group.
Which seats are being fought over?
Ouseburn is always one to watch and has a habit of producing very tight battles between Labour and the Liberal Democrats, with the margin of victory being as small as just 12 votes a few years ago. The area has been in the news a lot lately with the controversy over plans to build a huge 18-storey tower on Malmo Quay, so expect this to be another entertaining fight as the Lib Dems’ Mike Cookson tries to oust one of Labour’s cabinet members in Paula Holland.
The only other ward in Newcastle that is split between the city’s two main parties is North Jesmond. Another Labour cabinet member, Stella Postlethwaite, is bidding to fend off the Lib Dems and keep hold of her seat there.
Keep an eye on West Fenham too, where the Green Party has hopes of having its first councillor elected in Newcastle. If Tay Pitman can claim victory there she would be taking a huge scalp from Labour, with the council’s deputy leader Karen Kilgour being the incumbent. The Lib Dems and Tories are also thought to be pushing hard in that ward too.
And in the outer west of the city, the Newcastle Independents will be looking to boost their numbers further after making inroads over the last few years. With three councillors to their name already, the group will be hoping for more success in wards like Lemington, Denton and Westerhope, and Callerton and Throckley.
And what of the Conservatives? 2022 marks a full 30 years since the Tories last won an election in Newcastle, a barren run that they will be desperate to bring to an end.
Anything else to watch out for on election night?
Abdul Samad, the man who beat Nick Forbes to Labour’s candidacy in Arthur’s Hill, is almost certain to be elected in what is a safe seat for the ruling party.
Independent councillor Marc Donnelly is up for re-election. He has often been a controversial figure within the council but is technically, in numerical terms at least, the most popular councillor in the city – polling more than 3,000 votes from his loyal following in Chapel ward when he was last standing in 2018.
The Northern Independence Party is also putting up candidates in Newcastle for the first time – Andrew Ehala in West Fenham and David Stewart in Wingrove. The left wing party has gained national attention since being founded in 2020 and campaigns for the North of England to become independent.
What are the local issues getting people talking?
All the talk in Newcastle’s political circles for the past couple of months has been about Labour’s upheaval following Coun Forbes’ ousting and the divisions within the city’s ruling party. Coun Kemp claimed the leadership with the support of a very slim majority of councillors and will be desperate not to lose any allies in May.
Labour’s often controversial plans to cut air pollution in the city, including new Clean Air Zone tolls and an end to free evening parking in the city centre, will surely be a topic of discussion on the doorstep. The council also wants to press on with a £50m transformation of the city centre, including pedestrianising Grey Street and Blackett Street, while a long-awaited refurbishment of the Tyne Bridge remains at the top of the city’s to-do list.
How the council can help residents who are struggling with the cost of living crisis will be a crucial issue, after a decade in which the local authority has made more than £300m worth of cuts to its own budgets.
Claims that the city council has become overly centralised are a favourite talking point among Lib Dems and independents representing outlying wards, with regular complaints about crumbling roads and play areas. In the outer west, where Labour lost seats last year, the ruling party will hope that its success in securing Levelling Up funding for a new leisure centre in West Denton will give its candidates a boost.
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.
Read more: Local elections LIVE 2022
Full list of candidates standing in Newcastle’s 2022 local elections:
Arthur's Hill
Maggie Birkmyre (Conservative)
Joseph Eldridge (Newcastle Independents)
Tom Registe (Green)
Abdul Samad (Labour)
Tahir Siddique (Liberal Democrats)
Benwell and Scotswood (two vacancies)
Hans-Christian Andersen (Liberal Democrats)
Susan Anthony (Labour)
John Gordon (Newcastle Independents)
Tony Roberts (Green)
Richard Scholfield (Liberal Democrats)
Connor Shotton (Conservative)
Hazel Stephenson (Labour)
Kenneth Wake (Conservative)
Blakelaw
Hamed Aghajani (Liberal Democrats)
Simon Bell (Conservative)
Annie Hunter (Newcastle Independents)
Juna Sathian (Labour)
Byker
Phill James (Green)
Stephen Psallidas (Liberal Democrats)
Stephen Sheraton (Labour)
Richard Tulip (Conservative)
Callerton and Throckley
Sarah Armstrong (Newcastle Independents)
John Dobie (Conservative)
Steve Fairlie (Labour)
Idwal John (Green)
Richard Morris (Liberal Democrats)
Castle
Vince Barry-Stanners (Labour)
Thom Campion (Liberal Democrats)
Jeanette Holmes (Freedom Alliance)
Andrew Thorp (Green)
John Watts (Conservative)
Chapel
Oskar Avery (Labour)
Marc Donnelly (Independent)
Ian Forster (Conservative)
James Milne (Green)
Judith Steen (Liberal Democrats)
Dene and South Gosforth
Nick Arnold (Labour)
Alistair Ford (Green)
Gerry Langley (Conservative)
Wendy Taylor (Liberal Democrats)
Denton and Westerhope
Elizabeth Dicken (Liberal Democrats)
Alexis Fernandes (Conservative)
Dan Greenhough (Labour)
Adam Mitchell (Newcastle Independents)
Elswick
David Faulkner (Liberal Democrats)
Mirian Mafemba (Labour)
Saamiya Malik (Conservative)
Peter Thomson (Green)
Fawdon and West Gosforth
Stephen Axford (Conservative)
Michael Bell (Labour)
Brenda Hindmarsh (Liberal Democrats)
Roger Whittaker (Green)
Gosforth
Doc Anand (Conservative)
Milo Barnett (Labour)
Colin Ferguson (Liberal Democrats)
Frances Hinton (Green)
Brian Moore (North East Party)
Heaton
Mel Bishop (Conservative)
Lara Ellis (Labour)
Andrew Gray (Green)
Steve Handford (Communist Party of Britain)
Fiona Punchard (Liberal Democrats)
Kenton
Iain Adams (Conservative)
Robert Austin (Liberal Democrats)
Ged Bell (Labour)
Kingston Park South and Newbiggin Hall
Leanne Conway-Wilcox (Conservative)
George Pattison (Labour)
Colin Steen (Liberal Democrats)
Lemington
Kat Brenna (Green)
Nix Joanne (Newcastle Independents)
Zak Mudie (Conservative)
Robert Petrie (Liberal Democrats)
Barry Phillipson (Labour)
Manor Park
Stephen Barry-Stanners (Labour)
Stephen Dawes (Conservative)
Doreen Huddart (Liberal Democrats)
Mike Rabley (Green)
Monument
Ian Appleby (Green)
Jane Byrne (Labour)
William Hayes (Conservative)
David Partington (Liberal Democrats)
North Jesmond
Philip Browne (Liberal Democrats)
Dom Eiben (Reform UK)
Shehla Naqvi (Green)
Stella Postlethwaite (Labour)
Aaron Whelan Harvey (Conservative)
Ouseburn
Mike Cookson (Liberal Democrats)
Nick Hartley (Green)
Paula Holland (Labour)
Alex Wang-Evans (Conservative)
Parklands
Robin Ashby (Liberal Democrats)
Christopher Bartlett (Labour)
Andrew Burnett (Conservative)
John Hall (Newcastle Independents)
Audrey Macnaughton (Green)
South Jesmond
Tom Appleby (Liberal Democrats)
Joshua Clark (Conservative)
Laura Cummings (Labour)
Tim Dowson (Green)
Walker
Bill Shepherd (Liberal Democrats)
John Stokel-Walker (Labour)
Marie Summersby (Conservative)
Tom Whatson (Green)
Walkergate
Deborah Gallagher (Liberal Democrats)
Stephen Oxborough (Conservative)
Doug Peterson (Green)
Stephen Laird Wood (Labour)
West Fenham
Andrew Ehala (Northern Independence Party)
Raja Khan (Conservative)
Karen Kilgour (Labour)
PJ Morrissey (Liberal Democrats)
Tay Pitman (Green)
Wingrove
Kami Kundi (Liberal Democrats)
Joyce McCarty (Labour) 1547
Shabs Mohammed (Conservative)
John Pearson (Green)
David Stewart (Northern Independence Party)
