Before (end of 1978) (78 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 50 · Conservative 26 · Other 1 · The Liberal Party 1
After (end of 1979) (78 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 53 · Conservative 24 · Other 1 · The Liberal Party 0
Ward results
No. 16 (Sunderland: Silksworth)1 seat · turnout 72.8%
| W. Norman | Ind Lab | 3,649 |
| K. Harrop | Labour | 2,449 |
| R. Musgrave | Conservative | 1,360 |
No. 24 (Penshaw & Herrington)1 seat · turnout 67.6%
| A. Campbell | Labour | 4,092 |
| I. Blyth | Conservative | 1,749 |
No. 7 (Sunderland: Ford & Pennywell)1 seat · turnout 62.5%
| R. Baxter | Labour | 4,700 |
| F. Pickering | Conservative | 1,693 |
| W. Beck | Ind Lab | 946 |
No. 8 (Sunderland: Fulwell)1 seat · turnout 78.6%
| D. Storey | Conservative | 4,950 |
| J. Wainwright | Labour | 1,741 |