South Tyneside Council

South Tyneside Council
Type
Type	Metropolitan borough
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Mayor	Pat Hay, Labour since 18 May 2021
Leader	Tracey Dixon, Labour since 14 January 2021
Chief Executive	Jonathan Tew since August 2021
Structure
Seats	54 councillors
Political groups	Administration   Labour (38) Other parties   Green (9)   Conservative (1)   Independent (6)
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	2024
Meeting place
South Shields Town Hall
Website
www.southtyneside.gov.uk

South Tyneside Council is the local authority of South Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is a metropolitan borough council, one of five in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England. It provides the majority of local government services in South Tyneside.

History

South Tyneside was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as a metropolitan district within the new county of Tyne and Wear. The new district covered the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:

• Boldon Urban District
• Hebburn Urban District
• Jarrow Municipal Borough
• South Shields County Borough

Boldon, Hebburn and Jarrow had been lower-tier authorities subordinate to Durham County Council prior to the reforms. South Shields had been a self-governing county borough. The new district was named "South Tyneside" reflecting its position both relative to the River Tyne and within the Tyneside conurbation. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

Between 1974 and 1986 the council formed the lower tier of local government, with Tyne and Wear County Council providing county-level services to the area. The county council was abolished in 1986 under the Local Government Act 1985, since when South Tyneside Council has been responsible for all local government services.

The council has been a constituent member of the North East Combined Authority since 2014.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 1979.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been held by the following parties:

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in South Tyneside. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1997 have been:

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2004, the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 18 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council elected each time.