The 2022 Newcastle City Council election took place on 5 May 2022. Twenty-seven of the 78 seats on Newcastle City Council were contested: the usual third of the council, plus a casual vacancy in Benwell and Scotswood. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom. In the previous council election in 2021, the Labour Party maintained its control of the council, holding 52 seats after the election. There were twenty Liberal Democrat councillors, three independent councillors and three Newcastle Independents. Background History
The Local Government Act 1972 created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and districts covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire starting in 1974. Newcastle was a district of the Tyne and Wear metropolitan county. The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs. The North of Tyne Combined Authority was created in 2018 and began electing the mayor of the North of Tyne from 2019, which was given strategic powers covering a region covering some of the same area as the former Tyne and Wear metropolitan county, as well as Northumberland. Since its creation, Newcastle has variously been under Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative control. The Liberal Democrats held a majority of seats on the council from 2004 until 2011, when Labour gained enough seats to control the council. Nick Forbes became leader of the council. Labour continued to gain seats until the 2019 election, when the party lost two seats but continued to have an overall majority. In the 2021 Newcastle City Council election, Labour lost another two seats to hold 52, having won 18 of the 28 seats contested with 39.2% of the vote. The Liberal Democrats held 20 seats, having received 19.5% of the vote. Three independent councillors and three Newcastle Independents completed the council; independent candidates received 7.0% of the vote across the city and Newcastle Independents candidates received 6.8%. The Conservatives received 17.6% of the vote and the Green Party received 9.1%, but neither party won a seat. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England produced new boundaries for Newcastle ahead of the 2018 election, meaning that the 2018 elections were all-out, with all councillors being elected before returning to electing by thirds. The seats due for election in 2022 were those won by the first-placed candidate in each ward in 2018. Election background Following the 2021 election, Nick Kemp challenged Nick Forbes for the leadership of the Labour group. Forbes had served as a councillor since 2000, as Labour group leader since 2007 and as council leader since 2011. Kemp had served as a councillor since 2002 and had resigned as cabinet member for environmental and regulatory services in 2020, saying that he was being undermined; Forbes said at the time that he had recently received complaints about Kemp. Karen Kilgour also challenged the incumbent deputy group leader, Joyce McCarty. Forbes defeated Kemp by 30 votes to 22, while Kilgour, regarded as an ally of Kemp, defeated McCarty by 28 votes to 24. Forbes failed to win reselection as Labour's candidate in Arthur's Hill, and subsequently confirmed that he would stand down from the council at the election. Labour councillors chose Nick Kemp to succeed Forbes as leader of the Labour group in March 2022, although Forbes remained council leader until after the election. Labour councillor Jeremy Beecham retired from the council in March 2022. His Benwell and Scotswood seat was therefore contested alongside the ward's seat due in the ordinary election. Electoral process The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election in the fourth year. The election took place by first-past-the-post voting, with wards generally represented by three councillors and one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term. All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Newcastle aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the election. People who lived at two addresses in different council areas, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, could be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in person at polling stations took place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, with postal and proxy voting also available. Previous council composition After 2021 election Before 2022 election Party Seats Party Seats 52 50 20 20 3 4 3 3 Results summary
Ward results Arthur's Hill
Benwell and Scotswood
Two seats were contested in Benwell and Scotswood: the seat due in the ordinary election and the casual vacancy caused by Jeremy Beecham's retirement. Blakelaw
Byker
Callerton and Throckley
Castle
Chapel
Dene and South Gosforth
Denton and Westerhope
Elswick
Fawdon and West Gosforth
Gosforth
Heaton
Kenton
Kingston Park South and Newbiggin Hall
Lemington
Manor Park
Monument
North Jesmond
Ouseburn
Parklands
South Jesmond
Walker
Walkergate
West Fenham
Wingrove
Changes between 2022 and 2023 Late March 2022: Joyce McCarty, councillor for Wingrove, was administratively suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation into text messages alleging a "Muslim plot" behind Nick Forbes' deselection, and began sitting as an independent; Labour withdrew its endorsement of her candidacy for the 2022 election, though she remained on the ballot as her nomination had been submitted before the suspension. On 29 July 2022, the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit concluded its investigation, finding McCarty guilty of Islamophobia and confirming a twelve-month ban from the party. 25 May 2022: Nick Kemp was elected leader of the council, succeeding Nick Forbes. January 2023: Stephen Sheraton, Labour councillor for Byker, resigned on health grounds. A by-election was held on 2 March 2023. February 2023: Graham Middleton, an independent councillor for Chapel, resigned. Because his term was due to expire in May, the vacancy was left to be filled at the ordinary election. February 2023: Kyle Webster, councillor for Lemington, resigned from the Labour Party and sat as an independent for the remainder of his term. March 2023: Stella Postlethwaite, Labour councillor for North Jesmond, resigned. Her vacancy was filled alongside the ward's ordinary seat at the 2023 election. By-elections Byker The by-election followed the resignation of Labour councillor Stephen Sheraton on health grounds.
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