2026 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election

2026 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election

←  2024 7 May 2026 (2026-05-07)
24 out of 72 seats to Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council 37 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Patrick Harley Adam Aston Pete Lowe Party Conservative Labour Black Country Party Last election 34 seats 34 seats Did not exist Seats before 33 24 6   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Ryan Priest None None Party Liberal Democrats Reform Independent Last election 3 seats 0 seats 0 seats Seats before 5 3 1
Results of the 2024 Election
Leader before election Patrick Harley Conservative Leader after election TBD

The 2026 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election is set to be held on Thursday 7 May 2026 to elect a third of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. It will be held alongside council elections across England. ^[1]

Background

History

The Local Government Act 1972 created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and districts covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire starting in 1974. Dudley was a district of the West Midlands metropolitan county. ^[2] The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan county councils, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs. The West Midlands Combined Authority was created in 2016 and began electing the mayor of the West Midlands from 2017, which was given strategic powers covering a region coterminous with the West Midlands metropolitan county. ^[3]

Dudley Council has variously been under Labour control, Conservative control and no overall control since it was established. The Conservatives controlled the council from the 2004 election until Labour gained control in the 2012 election. Labour lost overall control in the 2016 election but continued to lead the council until 2017, when the Conservatives led the council, still without a majority. In the 2021 elections, the Conservatives gained a majority on the council, which they kept in the 2023 election. ^{[4] [5]}

The Conservatives lost control of the council in the most recent election in 2024, with no party having an overall majority and Labour and the Conservatives ending up with the same number of seats. ^[6] After a week of negotiations between the Conservative and Labour groups, it was announced that the existing Conservative leader, Patrick Harley, would remain leader of the council (and therefore appoint the council's cabinet) while Labour would be in charge of the majority of the council's scrutiny committee chairmanships and the mayoralty. ^[7]

In 2025, six Labour councillors including former Labour group leader Pete Lowe left the party to form the Black Country Party. ^[8]

Electoral process

The council elects members in thirds every year except the 4th in a four-year cycle. ^[9] Due to a boundary review of the wards by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, all 72 seats to Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council were up in the previous election in 2024. ^{[10] [11]}

Previous council composition

After 2024 election			Before 2026 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Conservative	34		Conservative	33
	Labour	34		Labour	24
	Black Country Party	N/A		Black Country Party	6
	Liberal Democrats	3		Liberal Democrats	5
	Reform	0		Reform	3
	Independent	1		Independent	1

Changes 2024–2026:

• September 2024: Andrew Tromans (Labour) leaves party to sit as an independent ^[12]
• November 2024: Judy Foster (Labour) resigns – by-election held December 2024 ^[13]
• December 2024: Alex Dale (Conservative) gains by-election from Labour ^[14]
• February 2025: Steve Edwards (Labour) suspended from party ^[15]
• March 2025:
  • Matt Cook (Labour), Karl Denning (Labour), Peter Drake (Labour), Luke Hamblett (Labour), Pete Lowe (Labour), and Karen Westwood (Labour) leave party to sit as independents ^{[16] [17]}
  • Andrew Tromans (Independent) joins Liberal Democrats ^[18]
• April 2025: Luke Hamblett (Independent) joins Liberal Democrats ^[19]
• May 2025: Stuart Turner (Labour) leaves party to sit as an independent ^[20]
• June 2025:
  • Black Country Party formed – Matt Cook (Independent), Karl Denning (Independent), Peter Drake (Independent), Steve Edwards (Independent), Pete Lowe (Indepndent), and Karen Westwood (Independent) join party ^[21]
  • Shaun Keasey (Independent) joins Reform ^[22]
• November 2025: James Clinton (Conservative) and Jason Thorne (Conservative) join Reform ^[23]

References

1. Smith, Martyn (September 13, 2025). "Labour and Conservative leaders set out their big Dudley Council election issues". Birmingham Live.
2. Local Government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. p. 7. ISBN   0-11-750847-0.
3. "CONSTITUTION OF THE WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY" (PDF). Retrieved 4 December 2017.
4. Farrington, Dayna. "Full election results from Dudley Council as Conservatives gain power". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
5. "Dudley result - Local Elections 2023". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
6. ""Dudley Council election results in full: Tories lose control as they end up level with Labour"". Express and Star. 2024-05-03.
7. Smith, Martyn (15 May 2024). "Council remains Conservative-led after deal struck". BBC News . Retrieved 24 May 2024.
8. "Dudley 'Diggers' form new political party to 'be a voice for the alternative'". Dudley News. 2025-05-30. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
9. "Composition of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council". Open Councill Data UK. Archived from the original on 2 Jan 2024. Retrieved 2 Jan 2024.
10. "Local Government Boundary Review". www.dudley.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
11. LGBCE. "Dudley | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
12. Holder, Bev (26 September 2024). "Stourbridge Labour councillor quits party over lost hope and bullying claims". Stourbridge News. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
13. Smith, Martyn (5 November 2024). "Dudley Labour group deputy leader to quit council over safety fears". Dudley News. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
14. "Local Elections Archive Project — Brockmoor and Pensnett Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
15. Richards, Dan (7 February 2025). "Dudley councillor 'kicked out' of the Labour Party". Black Country Radio. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
16. Boothroyd, David. "Ready when you are, Ms McGill". LocalCouncils.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
17. Warburton, Olivia (22 March 2025). "Fifth Dudley councillor announces departure from Labour Party in a week". Stourbridge News. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
18. Holder, Bev (1 March 2025). "Independent councillor confirms he has joined the Lib Dems". Stourbridge News. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
19. Martyn, Smith (23 April 2025). "Ex-Labour councillor joins Lib Dems". Dudley News. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
20. Smith, Martyn (15 May 2025). "Labour councillor quits with savage attack on leadership". Dudley News. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
21. Smith, Martyn (30 May 2025). "Dudley 'Diggers' form new political party to 'be a voice for the alternative'". Dudley News. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
22. Smith, Martyn (23 June 2025). "Sedgley councillor Shaun Keasey joins Reform". Dudley News. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
23. Smith, Martyn (11 November 2025). "More Dudley councillors defect to Reform UK". Dudley News. Retrieved 30 December 2025.