The 2002 South Tyneside Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of South Tyneside

South Tyneside

South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear in North East England.It is bordered by four other boroughs - Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, and North Tyneside to the north. The border county of Northumberland lies further north...

 Metropolitan Borough

Metropolitan borough

A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...

 Council in Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 party kept overall control of the council.

After the election, the composition of the council was

• Labour
  Labour Party (UK)
  The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
  
   50
• Liberal Democrat 6
• Others 4

Campaign

20 seats were contested in the election with 6 Progressives and 3 independents

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 standing in addition to 20 Labour, 17 Liberal Democrat and 12 Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 candidates. Meanwhile 3 sitting Labour councillor

Councillor

A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...

s stood down at the election, Cathy Brown, Alex Tudberry and Ed Malcolm.

The election saw all postal voting

Postal voting

Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....

 in an attempt to increase voter turnout

Voter turnout

Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...

, along with a trial of an electronic counting system. Postal voting was successful in increasing turnout with over half of voters taking part, at 55% turnout had increased significantly on the 27% seen in the previous election in 2000

South Tyneside Council election, 2000

The 2000 South Tyneside Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council in Tyne and Wear, England...

.

Election result

The results saw Labour maintain their majority on the council after not losing any seats in the election. Labour held all 3 seats that had been seen as key wards

Wards of the United Kingdom

A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...

, Beacon and Bent, Westoe

Westoe

Westoe is a suburb of South Shields, Tyne & Wear, United Kingdom.- History :Westoe was originally a village a mile south of South Shields, and was gradually absorbed into the urban sprawl extending from the centre of Shields at the end of the niineteenth century.In contemporary usage the term...

 and Whiteleas, while the Liberal Democrat leader on the council, Jim Selby, was re-elected in Cleadon

Cleadon

Cleadon is a suburban village in South Tyneside, North East England in the county of Tyne and Wear. The population of Cleadon is 4,795, and there are a few shops including Bon Appetit Deli, Boutiques store and a Post Office. Cleadon is a short walk from the local East Boldon Metro Station. Nearby...

 and East Boldon.

Ward results