North Tyneside Council is elected "in thirds" which means one councillor from each three-member ward is elected each year for the first three years with a fourth year when the mayoral election takes place.
2004 was the first election after the wards in North Tyneside changed meaning that the whole council was up for election. Holystone, Monkseaton, North Shields and Seatonville were used for the last time in 2003, and replaced by 4 new wards; Killingworth, Monkseaton North, Monkseaton South and Preston.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Party political make-up of North Tyneside Council
! style="background:#ccc" rowspan="2" |
! style="background:#ccc" rowspan="2" | Party
! style="background:#ccc" colspan="3" | Seats
! style="background:#ccc" colspan="63" rowspan="2" | Council Composition 10 June 2004
|-
! style="background:#ccc" | 2002
! style="background:#ccc" | 2003
! style="background:#ccc" | 2004