Reform UK eyeing huge political shake-up across Newcastle, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead

Its win in a by-election in the North Tyneside ward of Killingworth was labelled the “first of many” by victor Brian Smith, a reflection of the growing confidence among Nigel Farage’s party in the North East.

With fellow Reform candidate John Falkenstein unable to embarrass Labour’s recently-elected North Tyneside mayor Karen Clark in his unsuccessful bid to win her old Longbenton and Benton ward seat, she dismissed the party as not being a “serious threat”.

But the fact that Reform swept into power at Durham County Council just a couple of months ago, as well as becoming the second largest party in Northumberland, suggests that the region’s Labour-dominated political establishment should be taking them very seriously indeed.

Reform has been top of the nationwide polls for several months now, at a time when Sir Keir Starmer’s administration has been beset by controversies and U-turns on key issues like welfare reform and winter fuel payments.

And unless that picture changes dramatically in the coming months, the North East’s political scene could be set for another significant shake-up next May, when there are four ‘all out’ elections being held in Tyne and Wear that could set the course of the region’s politics for years to come.

That means that every single council seat in Newcastle, Sunderland, South Tyneside, and Gateshead will be up for grabs, instead of the usual one-third.

All of those local authorities are currently run by Labour and do not have a single Reform representative between them.

But if voters are dissatisfied with the ruling party locally or nationally next May, the pain at the ballot box is potentially triple what it would be in a usual council election cycle in Tyne and Wear.

One needs only to look to Durham to see how dramatic a change can happen, with Labour now reduced to a meagre four seats in a county known as one of its traditional heartlands and where it held a majority for almost a century until 2021.

Sunderland has long been a target area for Reform, with Nigel Farage staging a rally on Wearside ahead of last summer’s general election.

Labour has already lost its majority in Newcastle, where opponents have been weighing up whether to move for a vote of no confidence in the leadership, while Gateshead Council has been under pressure over issues like the closure of the Gateshead Flyover and the stalled plans for a new arena and conference centre on the Quayside.

Labour’s previously firm control over South Tyneside has also dwindled over recent years, with independents and Greens the beneficiaries.

Next May is still 10 months away and that can be an eternity in politics. But what is clear is that there is a huge amount to play for in the North East in 2026 – and if Reform’s popularity holds until then, they will be serious contenders.