Conservative councillor Simon Ayre resigns to sit as independent
Councillor Simon Ayre, who was first elected to Sunderland City Council in May, 2022, resigned from the Sunderland Conservatives this month (June, 2025).
The councillor represents the St Chad's ward which, following the most recent round of local government elections in May, 2024, had three Conservative councillors including Cllr Ayre, councillor Chris Burnicle and councillor Dominic McDonough.
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In a statement following his resignation from the Conservative Party, Cllr Ayre said he will continue as an independent councillor as he "takes time to consider his position".
Cllr Ayre said: "Primarily I became a councillor to serve the local community where I live, basic things such as potholes, ensuring residents had access to services and advocating for their interests.
"For a while now, I began to feel my political thoughts and values did not align with the Conservative narrative, therefore I decided to part ways with the party and will continue as an independent councillor as I take time to consider my position.
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Hide Ad"My priority will always be the community I was elected to serve and I am here as always to address queries and issues from residents."
Since his election, the St Chad's representative has sat on key council committees, including the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee, which has a role in scrutinising NHS services, adult social care and public health issues.
Cllr Ayre was approaching the end of his first council term as a Conservative ahead of the 'all-out' council elections in May, 2026, which will see all 75 council seats at Sunderland City Council up for grabs under revised ward boundaries and several new ward names.
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Hide AdThe Sunderland Conservatives, in a statement, said Cllr Ayre was not planning to seek re-election as a councillor next year.
The statement added the resignation was the result of Cllr Ayre being omitted from a Conservative political leaflet ahead of next year's all-out elections, which will include new ward boundaries and the St Chad's ward being "phased out".
A Sunderland Conservatives spokesperson maintained Cllr Ayre "not being mentioned in a leaflet for the new Herrington and Newbottle ward" was the reason for his resignation from the Conservative Party.
The Sunderland Conservatives spokesperson said: "Simon informed the local party that he did not wish to pursue a second term as a councillor as he has reached retirement age, so we have recruited former St Chad’s councillor Robert Oliver to stand alongside Chris Burnicle and Dominic McDonough.
"Robert will be a fantastic addition to our ward team.
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Hide Ad“It was explained to Simon that this leaflet is not for the current St Chad’s electorate he represents, but for a new ward called Herrington and Newbottle which he neither represents nor intends to seek election in.
"This appears not to have been understood and so he issued his resignation based solely on this matter. No other reasons were given.
"We continue to like Simon as a person but it is a matter of party policy that our literature will reflect the new wards coming into being in 2026, not the historic ones which are being phased out.”
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Hide AdCllr Ayre was approached for comment over the Sunderland Conservatives' statement.
The new political make-up of Sunderland City Council is 52 Labour, 12 Liberal Democrats, nine Conservatives, and two independents.
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