Dudley Metropolitan Borough | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Balvinder Heran since 1 October 2024[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 72 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Motto | |
| Unity and Progress | |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Council House, Priory Road, Dudley, DY1 1HF | |
 | |
| Dudley Metropolitan Borough shown within West Midlands | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, also known asDudley Council, is thelocal authority for theMetropolitan Borough of Dudley in theWest Midlands, England. The town ofDudley had been aborough since the thirteenth century, being reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been ametropolitan borough council. It provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of theWest Midlands Combined Authority since 2016.
The council has been underno overall control since the2024 election, with the leader of the council being aConservative. It is based atDudley Council House.
The town of Dudley had been aseigneurial borough from the thirteenth century, under the control of thelord of the manor.[3] More modern forms of local government for the town began in 1791 when a body ofimprovement commissioners was established to pave, light and clean the streets, and supply water.[4] The commissioners were replaced in 1853 with an electedlocal board.[5]
The town was incorporated as amunicipal borough in 1865, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Dudley", generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council.[6] The old local board's functions passed to the new borough council, which also replaced the ancient borough corporation.[7]
When elected county councils were established in 1889, Dudley was considered large enough to provide its own county-level functions, and so it was made acounty borough, independent fromWorcestershire County Council, whilst remaining part of thegeographical county ofWorcestershire (despite being anexclave detached from the rest of the county).[8][9] TheCounty Borough of Dudley was enlarged on several occasions, notably in 1966 when it absorbed the majority of the abolishedurban districts ofBrierley Hill,Coseley andSedgeley, alongside boundary adjustments with several other neighbours. As part of the 1966 reforms the borough was transferred to the geographical county ofStaffordshire.[10][11][12]
The modernmetropolitan borough and its council were established in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, as one of seven boroughs in the newmetropolitan county of the West Midlands. The new borough covered the combined area of the old county borough of Dudley plus the municipal boroughs ofHalesowen andStourbridge (the latter having absorbed the main part of the abolishedAmblecote Urban District in the 1966 reforms). The enlarged district was named Dudley, and theborough status previously held by the county borough passed to the new district on its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Dudley's series of mayors dating back to at least the sixteenth century.[13][14]
From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by theWest Midlands County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the county's seven borough councils, including Dudley, with some services provided through joint committees.[15]
Since 2016 the council has been a member of theWest Midlands Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly electedMayor of the West Midlands since 2017. The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across the county, but Dudley Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.[16][17]
The council bid for the borough to be awardedcity status in 2011 and again in 2021, but was unsuccessful on both occasions.[18][19][20]
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council provides bothcounty-level anddistrict-level services, with some functions across the West Midlands provided via joint committees with the other West Midlands authorities, overseen by the combined authority and mayor. There are nocivil parishes in the borough, which is anunparished area.[21]
The council has been underno overall control since the2024 election, which saw the Conservatives lose their majority. They retained the leadership of the council, forming a minority administration.[22]
Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[23][24]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1980 | |
| No overall control | 1980–1982 | |
| Conservative | 1982–1984 | |
| No overall control | 1984–1986 | |
| Labour | 1986–1992 | |
| Conservative | May-Sep 1992 | |
| No overall control | 1992–1994 | |
| Labour | 1994–2003 | |
| No overall control | 2003–2004 | |
| Conservative | 2004–2012 | |
| Labour | 2012–2016 | |
| No overall control | 2016–2021 | |
| Conservative | 2021–2024 | |
| No overall control | 2024–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Dudley. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Jones[25][26][27] | Labour | 1 Apr 1974 | May 1975 | |
| Tom Clitheroe[27][28] | Labour | May 1975 | May 1976 | |
| Joe Rowley[28][29] | Conservative | May 1976 | May 1978 | |
| Jack Edmonds[29][30] | Conservative | May 1978 | May 1984 | |
| Fred Hunt[31][32][33] | Labour | May 1984 | May 1992 | |
| David Caunt | Conservative | May 1992 | September 1992 | |
| Fred Hunt | Labour | September 1992 | May 1998 | |
| Tim Sunter[34][35] | Labour | 21 May 1998 | May 2003 | |
| David Caunt[36][37] | Conservative | 15 May 2003 | 21 May 2009 | |
| Anne Millward[38][39] | Conservative | 21 May 2009 | May 2011 | |
| Les Jones[40][41] | Conservative | 19 May 2011 | May 2012 | |
| David Sparks[42][43][44] | Labour | 17 May 2012 | 1 Dec 2014 | |
| Pete Lowe[43][45] | Labour | 1 Dec 2014 | 18 May 2017 | |
| Patrick Harley[46][47] | Conservative | 18 May 2017 | 26 Sep 2018 | |
| Pete Lowe[48][49][50] | Labour | 26 Sep 2018 | 15 Nov 2018 | |
| Qadar Zada[50][51] | Labour | 15 Nov 2018 | May 2019 | |
| Patrick Harley[52] | Conservative | 16 May 2019 | ||
Following the 2024 election,[53] and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to November 2025, including the formation of a newBlack Country Party in May 2025,[54][55] the composition of the council was:[56][57]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 33 | |
| Labour | 24 | |
| Black Country Party | 6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | |
| Reform | 3 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Total | 72 | |
The next election is due in May 2026.[57]
The council has its main offices atDudley Council House on Priory Road, which was built in phases between 1928 and 1935 for the old county borough council.[58]
Since the last boundary changes in 2004 the council has comprised 72councillors representing 24wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected each time for a four-year term of office. Elections for the Mayor of the West Midlands are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[59] New ward boundaries are being prepared to take effect from the 2024 election, which will require all seats to be contested at that election.[60][61]
The 24 wards of the Dudley Borough are each represented by 3 councillors. The council groups wards together into 5 Community Forums to enable community engagement under the banner "Your home, your forum".[62]
| Community Forum | Ward name |
|---|---|
| Brierley Hill | Brierley Hill andWordsley South |
| Brockmoor andPensnett | |
| Kingswinford North andWall Heath | |
| Kingswinford South | |
| Wordsley North | |
| Stourbridge | Amblecote |
| Lye andStourbridge North | |
| Norton | |
| Pedmore andStourbridge East | |
| Wollaston andStourbridge Town | |
| Dudley | Castle and Priory |
| Netherton and Holly Hall | |
| Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood | |
| St. James's | |
| St. Thomas's | |
| Dudley North | Coseley |
| Gornal | |
| Sedgley | |
| Upper Gornal andWoodsetton | |
| Halesowen | Belle Vale |
| Cradley North andWollescote | |
| Halesowen North | |
| Halesowen South | |
| Hayley Green and Cradley South |
Following the2023 review of constituencies and the July2024 UK general election, the members ofparliament for constituencies within Dudley MBC area are:
| Constituency | Member of Parliament | Political Party |
|---|---|---|
| Dudley | Sonia Kumar | Labour |
| Stourbridge | Cat Eccles | Labour |
| Halesowen | Alex Ballinger | Labour |
| Kingswinford and South Staffordshire | Mike Wood | Conservative |
| Tipton and Wednesbury | Antonia Bance | Labour |
| Dates | Name |
|---|---|
| 1973–1986 | John Francis Mulvehill |
| 1986 | Leslie Thomas Barnfield |
| 1986–1988 | Tom Headley Meredith |
| 1988–1999 | Alistair Vivian Astling |
| 1999–2008 | Andrew Sparke |
| 2009–2015 | John Polychronakis |
| 2015–2019 | Sarah Norman |
| 2019–2024 | Kevin John O'Keefe |
| 2024–present | Balvinder Heran |
The Mayor presides over meetings of the full Council to ensure that business is carried out properly and efficiently, with due regard to the rights of Councillors and the interest of the Community.[63] The Mayor of the Borough is elected at the Annual Meeting of the Council (usually in May each year) from the existing elected councillors.
The Mayor also nominates charities they wish to support during their mayoral year[64] and hosts the annualMayors Ball and Civic Awards. The Civic Awards aim to recognise individuals and groups who make a difference in the borough. Each award is named for a local personality in that field.[65]
Dudley's coat of arms was designed in 1975.[6] It symbolises each of the authorities that came together to form the present borough. Key themes on the civic arms reflect the area's pride in its industrial past.
The council adopted "Unity and Progress" as its motto in 1974.[6]