| Election Name: | 2024 Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council election |
| Country: | Tyne and Wear |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Party Colour: | yes |
| Election Date: | 2 May 2024 |
| Previous Election: | 2023 Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2023 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Seats For Election: | 22 of 66 seats on Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council |
| Majority Seats: | 34 |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Leader1: | Martin Gannon |
| Last Election1: | 49 seats, 50.3% |
| Seats Before1: | 49 |
| Seats1: | 16 |
| Seats After1: | 48 |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Popular Vote1: | 24,775 |
| Percentage1: | 49.5% |
| Party2: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Leader2: | Ron Beadle |
| Last Election2: | 17 seats, 27.5% |
| Seats Before2: | 17 |
| Seats2: | 6 |
| Seats After2: | 18 |
| Seat Change2: | 1 |
| Popular Vote2: | 12,812 |
| Percentage2: | 25.6% |
| Leader | |
| Posttitle: | Leader after election |
| Before Election: | Martin Gannon |
| Before Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
| After Election: | Martin Gannon |
| After Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
The 2024 Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council election was held on 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections across the United Kingdom on the same day. Labour retained its majority on the council.
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. Gateshead was a district of the Tyne and Wear metropolitan county.[1] The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs.
Gateshead Council has continuously been under Labour control since its creation. The Liberal Democrats have generally been the main opposition. In the most recent election in 2023, Labour won 15 seats on 50.3% of the vote and the Liberal Democrats won 7 seats on 27.5% of the vote. The Conservatives received 12.5% of the vote and the Green Party received 7.5% of the vote, but neither party won any seats.[2]
Positions up for election in 2024 were last up for election in 2021. In that election, Labour won 19 seats and the Liberal Democrats won five seats.[3]
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.[4] [5] The election took place by first-past-the-post voting, with wards generally being represented by three councillors, with one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term.
All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Gateshead aged 18 or over will be entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters will be able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.
| After 2023 election | Before 2024 election | After 2024 election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | Party | Seats | |||
| 49 | 49 | 48 | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | 18 | ||||||
The election saw the Liberal Democrats take one seat from Labour, but no other seats changed party and so Labour retained their large majority on the council.[6]
The results for each ward were:[7]