Before the election South Tyneside was seen as one of Labour's safest councils in the north east of England with them having 49 of the 60 councillors and they were expected to remain in control of the council [REF].
Labour was the only party who contested all 54 seats that were up for election, with the other candidates being made up of 23 Conservatives, 22 Liberal Democrats, 13 independents, 12 Progressives, 3 British National Party and 1 each from the Green party and the National Front [REF].