The council was under Labour majority control from 2011 until November 2024, when six councillors quit, thus making it a minority administration.

It was then governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Newcastle upon Tyne", generally known as the corporation or town council.

In 2024 a combined authority was established covering Newcastle, County Durham, Gateshead, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland, called the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.

It is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the North East and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area.

[3] Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[14] The role of Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne is largely ceremonial.

[41] The Civic Centre replaced Newcastle Town Hall, which had been built in 1863 in St Nicholas Square, and was subsequently demolished in 1973.