Local Election Results 2026: What Changed in Morpeth

On 7 May 2026, millions of voters across England went to the polls in local elections. Morpeth was not among them. Northumberland County Council is on a four-year cycle, and with the last full election held in May 2025, the county is in a fallow year until 2029. There were no county, town or parish council elections anywhere in Northumberland this time around.

But the results elsewhere in the North East were extraordinary — and they matter to Morpeth because they signal where political momentum is heading in the region.

Reform sweeps the North East

The headline story was the rise of Reform UK. The party won outright majorities on three neighbouring councils in a single night:

• Sunderland — Reform took 58 seats, ending Labour's 52-year grip on the council. Labour was reduced to just five councillors. Council leader Michael Mordey lost his seat.
• Gateshead — Reform won 38 seats from a standing start of zero, taking control from Labour for the first time since 1974. Former leader Martin Gannon, a councillor since 1984, was among those defeated.
• South Tyneside — Reform won 41 seats, toppling Labour leader Tracey Dixon and ending Labour's dominance dating back to 1979.

In Newcastle, it was the Liberal Democrats who came out on top with 25 seats on the newly redrawn 78-seat council, with Reform and the Greens each winning 24 seats. Labour, which had controlled Newcastle for most of the past half-century, was left with just two councillors.

What happened in Morpeth last year

Morpeth's most recent elections were on 1 May 2025, when all 69 seats on Northumberland County Council and all seats on Morpeth Town Council were contested.

At the county level, Conservatives retained all three Morpeth divisions:

• Morpeth Kirkhill — Richard Wearmouth (Conservative) was re-elected.
• Morpeth North — David Bawn (Conservative) was re-elected.
• Morpeth Stobhill — John Beynon (Conservative) was re-elected.

On Morpeth Town Council, the Conservatives again won the majority of the 15 seats across the town's wards. However, there were strong performances from other parties. In the Stobhill ward, Liberal Democrat Alison Byard topped the poll with 1,082 votes. In North ward, Green candidate Jan Rosen finished second with 974 votes, just behind Conservative David Bawn on 1,036.

Across Northumberland as a whole, the 2025 election left the council with no overall control: 26 Conservatives, 23 Reform UK, eight Labour, seven Independents, three Liberal Democrats and two Greens. Conservative leader Glen Sanderson was subsequently re-elected as council leader with cross-party support.

What it means for Morpeth

Morpeth remains a Conservative stronghold at both county and town council level, which sets it apart from the dramatic changes seen in Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside this month. But the wider trends are worth watching.

Reform UK already made significant inroads across Northumberland in 2025, winning 23 county council seats from zero. The party took seats in Choppington, Hepscott and Stakeford — areas not far from Morpeth. If the momentum seen in this year's elections elsewhere in the North East continues, the 2029 Northumberland elections could be competitive in ways that previous cycles were not.

For now, Morpeth's elected representatives remain unchanged. Your three county councillors are Richard Wearmouth (Kirkhill), David Bawn (North) and John Beynon (Stobhill), all Conservative. Your MP for North Northumberland is David Smith (Labour). Full details of your town and county councillors, and how to contact them, are in our guide to politics in Morpeth.

The next scheduled elections in Northumberland are in May 2029.