Before (end of 1982) (75 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 49 · Conservative 15 · SDP-Liberal Alliance 8 · Other 3
After (end of 1983) (75 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 52 · Conservative 14 · SDP-Liberal Alliance 7 · Other 2
Ward results
Castletown1 seat
| L. Mann | Labour | 1,718 |
| R. McQuillan | Lib/Sdp | 532 |
| P. Heyward | Conservative | 225 |
Central1 seat
| R. Swinburn | Labour | 1,744 |
| D. Dawson | Lib/Sdp | 1,072 |
| L. Roberts | Conservative | 885 |
Colliery1 seat
| A. Wilkinson | Labour | 1,949 |
| G. Briton | Conservative | 1,117 |
| K. Hastie | Lib/Sdp | 316 |
Eppleton1 seat
| T. Scott | Labour | 1,360 |
| D. Humphrey | Conservative | 560 |
| C. Hall | Lib/Sdp | 289 |
Fulwell1 seat
| G. Entwistle | Conservative | 2,464 |
| T. Marrin | Lib/Sdp | 675 |
| Holt E. | Labour | 447 |
Grindon1 seat
| A. Myers | Labour | 1,617 |
| O. Carlyon | Conservative | 799 |
| A. Waugh | Lib/Sdp | 219 |
Hendon1 seat
| R. Sidewa | Labour | 1,812 ✓ |
| R. Small | Conservative | 1,581 |
| H. Gregory | Lib/Sdp | 178 |
| F. Pickering | Ind Con | 154 |
Hetton1 seat
| R. Hodgkis | Labour | 2,138 |
| J. Martin | Lib/Sdp | 263 |
| A. Staples | Conservative | 185 |
Houghton1 seat
| L. Gibson | Labour | 1,765 |
| I. Blyth | Conservative | 405 |
| D. Telford | Lib/Sdp | 349 |
Pallion1 seat
| G. O'Neil | Conservative | 2,077 |
| T. Ellison | Labour | 1,766 |
| R. Tennant | Lib/Sdp | 341 |
Shiney Row1 seat
| M. Porter | Labour | 1,780 |
| A. Wright | Conservative | 370 |
| R. Chilton | Lib/Sdp | 248 |
Silksworth1 seat
| R. Hunter | Labour | 2,411 |
| B. Small | Conservative | 566 |
| I. Toms | Lib/Sdp | 266 |
South Hylton1 seat
| A. Waistell | Labour | 1,578 |
| J. Carr | Conservative | 678 |
| C. Jenks | Lib/Sdp | 208 |
Southwick1 seat
| F. Hall | Lib/Sdp | 1,454 |
| T. Glazebrook | Labour | 1,371 |
| P. Heyward | Conservative | 190 |
St Chad's1 seat
| T. Cumiskey | Labour | 2,235 |
| W. Pickering | Conservative | 1,533 |
| A. Petrov | Lib/Sdp | 532 |
St Michael's2 seats · turnout 41.0%
| P. Wood | Conservative | 2,467 ✓ |
| M. Forbes | Conservative | 2,281 ✓ |
| S. Meattie | Labour | 793 |
| C. Hutchinson | Labour | 688 |
| S. Phillips | SDP-Liberal Alliance | 502 |
St Peter's1 seat
| M. Gray | Conservative | 1,970 |
| A. Handy | Labour | 1,025 |
| G. Sinclair | Lib/Sdp | 333 |
Thorney Close1 seat
| D. Allan | Labour | 1,844 ✓ |
| A. Otterson | Ind Lab | 1,137 |
| M. Smith | Conservative | 355 |
| M. Thomas | Lib/Sdp | 100 |
Thornholme1 seat
| W. Lundgren | Lib/Sdp | 1,250 |
| S. Nesbitt | Conservative | 1,037 |
| J. Jeffrey | Labour | 952 |
Town End Farm1 seat
| C. Slater | Labour | 1,431 |
| T. Thirkell | Lib/Sdp | 146 |
| C. Smith | Conservative | 136 |
Washington East1 seat
| E. Timmins | Labour | 1,809 ✓ |
| A. Forster | Conservative | 787 |
| H. Pettitt | Lib/Sdp | 451 |
| D. Jacques | Ecol | 96 |
Washington North1 seat
| J. Murray | Labour | 1,878 |
| G. Nicholson | Conservative | 344 |
| K. Ainslie | Lib/Sdp | 220 |
Washington South1 seat
| M. Murphy | Labour | 1,492 |
| M. Brannan | Lib/Sdp | 1,066 |
| S. Davies | Conservative | 662 |
Washington West1 seat
| F. Hughes | Labour | 1,622 ✓ |
| J. Collier | Lib/Sdp | 692 |
| R. Davies | Conservative | 534 |
| C. Ridley | Ind Lab | 73 |