Ousted Sunderland City Council leader Michael Mordey breaks his silence on local elections defeat

Michael Mordey, Sunderland City Council’s Labour leader since May 2024, was among dozens of sitting Labour councillors who lost their seats in local elections on May 7.

The “all-out” local elections saw all 75 seats on the local authority contested with Reform UK taking 58 seats, the Liberal Democrats 12 seats and Labour just five seats.

Labour went into the election with around 50 seats but the results saw Mr Mordey ousted as leader, along with his entire cabinet, former Labour council leader Graeme Miller and other senior party figures.

The elections marked an end to decades of Labour control, with the party having run the city council since its formation in 1974, and Labour leaders in Gateshead, Newcastle and South Tyneside also lost their seats.

Mr Mordey has now said the election results were a “bitter disappointment” but stressed he would “always be rooting for Sunderland”.

The outgoing council leader paid tribute to “all the brilliant Labour councillors and candidates who put themselves forward for election”, describing them as “amazing representatives of your local areas”.

He said that “in a time when abuse – particularly online - is as bad as it is, it is a brave decision to step forward and seek to be a voice for local residents” and that Labour representatives should be “proud of the change you helped deliver in the city over the years”.

Mr Mordey, who has served in several senior positions on the council, was first elected in 2008 and, although he lost his Hendon seat to the Liberal Democrats in the 2021 local elections, he regained the seat the following year.

He became leader of Sunderland City Council in May, 2024, appointing a new cabinet and one of his first decisions was to remove deputy cabinet members to help “put more money back into frontline services”.

In the May 2026 local elections he stood in the Grangetown ward, one of several new wards created following boundary changes from the Local Government Boundary Commission, but Reform UK won all three seats.

Mr Mordey said that being council leader was “the honour of my life” and that “growing up as a kid in Hendon, I never dreamed that one day I would lead my home city”.

He thanked his “loving family, fantastic friends, some great mentors and brilliant teachers” for their help and support and said it was a “privilege to lead a team of such talented public servants” who had “achieved a lot”.

The outgoing council leader’s highlights included the Sunderland Fuel Fund that “stepped in and helped thousands of pensioners with their fuel bills”, a new Stronger Communities Strategy supporting the voluntary and community sector and developing the city’s first Child Poverty Strategy.

He also noted the Labour council’s work progressing the “transformational” Crown Works Studios and key initiatives around digital inclusion and tackling anti-social behaviour as well as “keeping the city’s regeneration moving at pace” and “establishing the city’s reputation as an events city”.

The outgoing Labour councillor also thanked his cabinet for their “hard work and dedication”, credited council officers and thanked the “1,003 voters of the new Grangetown ward for your support at the election”.

Mr Mordey continued: “I am gutted that I won’t be able to represent the ward moving forward but would like to wish the three new councillors the best of luck in representing a great part of Sunderland.

“Being a local councillor is a huge privilege and is something that I will always cherish but it is now time for me to move onto pastures new.

“But what will never change is that I will always be rooting for Sunderland because we truly are a city on the up.”

The council is expected to hold its annual general meeting later in May where it will be confirmed who takes up the leadership positions for the coming year.