2026 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election

2026 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election
7 May 2026 (2026-05-07)
25 out of 72 seats to Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (including 1 by-election)
37 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Patrick Harley None Adam Aston
Party Conservative Reform Labour
Last election 34 seats, 38.1% 0 seats, 1.9% 34 seats, 37.7%
Seats before 33 3 24[a]
Seats won 2 22 1
Seats after 27 23 15
Seat change Decrease 6 Increase 20 Decrease 9
Popular vote 21,879 41,775 16,049
Percentage 21.9% 41.9% 16.1%
Swing Decrease 16.2% Increase 40.0% Decrease 21.6%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Ryan Priest Pete Lowe None
Party Liberal Democrats Black Country Party Independent
Last election 3 seats, 7.6% Did not exist 0 seats, 0.5%
Seats before 5 6 1
Seats won 0 0 0
Seats after 4 3 0
Seat change Decrease 1 Decrease 3 Decrease 1
Popular vote 7,532 1,541 541
Percentage 7.6% 1.5% 0.5%
Swing Decrease 0.9% N/A Decrease 6.0%
Winner of each seat at the 2026 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election.
Leader before election

Patrick Harley
Conservative

 Leader after election

Patrick Harley
Conservative
No overall control[b]

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

Previous council composition

After 2024 election Before 2026 election
Party Seats Party Seats
Conservative 34 Conservative 33
Labour 34 Labour 23
Black Country Party N/A Black Country Party 6
Liberal Democrats 3 Liberal Democrats 5
Reform 0 Reform 3
Independent 1 Independent 1
Vacant N/A Vacant 1

The changes underlying the "Before 2026 election" column are detailed on the 2024 election article.

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]

Election result

2026 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election
Party This election Full council This election
Candidates Seats Net Seats % Other Total Total % Votes Votes % +/−
  Conservative {{{candidates}}} 2 Decrease 6 8.3 25 27 37.5 21,879 21.9 –16.2
  Reform {{{candidates}}} 22 Increase20 87.5 1 23 31.9 41,775 41.9 +40.0
  Labour {{{candidates}}} 1 Decrease 9 4.2 14 15 20.8 16,049 16.1 –21.6
  Liberal Democrats {{{candidates}}} 0 Decrease 1 0.0 4 4 5.6 7,532 7.6 –0.9
  Black Country Party {{{candidates}}} 0 Decrease 3 0.0 3 3 4.2 1,541 1.5 N/A
  Green {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 10,284 10.3 +3.6
  Independent {{{candidates}}} 0 Decrease 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 541 0.5 –6.0
  Freedom Alliance {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 61 0.1 –0.1
  TUSC {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 30 <0.1 –0.5
  Libertarian {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 25 <0.1 N/A

Incumbents

Ward Incumbent councillor Party Re-standing
Amblecote Kamran Razzaq Conservative Yes
Belle Vale Simon Phipps Conservative No
Brierley Hill &
Wordsley South		 Matthew Cook[c] Black Country Party No
Brockmoor & Pensnett Karen Westwood[c] Black Country Party Yes
Castle & Priory Karl Denning[c] Black Country Party Yes
Coseley Dave Roberts Labour Yes
Cradley North &
Wollescote		 Ethan Stafford Liberal Democrats Yes
Gornal Stuart Turner Independent No
Halesowen North Stuart Henley Conservative Yes
Halesowen South Thomas Russon Conservative Yes
Hayley Green &
Cradley South		 Bex Collins Conservative Yes
Kingswinford North &
Wall Heath		 Mark Webb Conservative Yes
Kingswinford South Luke Johnson Conservative Yes
Lye & Stourbridge North Ellen Cobb Labour Yes
Netherton & Holly Hall Shaneila Mughal Labour Yes
Norton Alan Hopwood Conservative Yes
Pedmore & Stourbridge East Jason Thorne[d] Reform Yes
Quarry Bank & Dudley Wood Ashley Smith Labour No
Sedgley Shaun Keasey[e] Reform Yes
St James's Caroline Reid Labour Yes
St Thomas's Adeela Qayyum Labour Yes
Upper Gornal & Woodsetton Mushtaq Hussain Labour Yes
Wollaston & Stourbridge Town Jason Griffin Labour Yes
Wordsley North Keith Archer Labour Yes

Ward results

Sitting councillors standing for re-election are marked with an asterisk (*).

Amblecote

Amblecote[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Wayne Lewis 1,685 40.1 N/A
Conservative Kamran Razzaq* 1,522 36.2 –14.4
Labour Benjamin McCloskey 435 10.4 –19.6
Green Adrian Mabe 325 7.7 +0.1
Liberal Democrats Ian Flynn 233 5.5 +0.3
Majority 163 3.9 N/A
Turnout 4,200 41.2 +9.6
Registered electors ~10,204
Reform gain from Conservative

Belle Vale

Belle Vale[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Angela Blythe 1,437 35.6 N/A
Conservative Peter Dobb* 1,263 31.3 –21.0
Labour Ben Pugh 736 18.2 –21.9
Green Steve Hilton 465 11.5 N/A
Liberal Democrats Richard Wanklin 137 3.4 –4.2
Majority 174 4.3 N/A
Turnout 4,038 41.1 +7.7
Registered electors ~9,827
Reform gain from Conservative

Brierley Hill & Wordsley South

Brierley Hill & Wordsley South[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Tony Dickenson 1,365 42.6 N/A
Conservative Shane Birch-Bastock 718 22.4 –18.2
Labour Karen Jones 408 12.7 –23.9
Green Andrew Bennett 355 11.1 –0.4
Black Country Party Wayne Lewis 237 7.4 N/A
Liberal Democrats Aneesa Nawaz 122 3.8 –2.0
Majority 647 20.1 N/A
Turnout 3,205 31.2 +4.9
Registered electors ~10,259
Reform gain from Black Country Party

Brockmoor & Pensnett

Brockmoor & Pensnett[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Joel Hyde 1,515 47.2 N/A
Black Country Party Karen Westwood* 761 23.7 N/A
Labour John Martin 452 14.1 –49.5
Conservative Matt Snell 362 11.3 –17.1
Liberal Democrats Jonathan Bramall 118 3.7 –4.3
Majority 754 23.4 N/A
Turnout 3,208 31.2 +7.9
Registered electors ~10,288
Reform gain from Black Country Party

Castle & Priory

Castle & Priory[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Jan McGeough 1,555 48.0 N/A
Labour Tony Middleton 696 21.5 –24.5
Green Ant Dugmore 377 11.6 N/A
Conservative Dan Dale 357 11.0 –32.0
Black Country Party Karl Denning* 172 5.3 N/A
Liberal Democrats David Bramall 84 2.6 –8.4
Majority 859 26.4 N/A
Turnout 3,241 33.5 +8.1
Registered electors ~9,686
Reform gain from Black Country Party

Coseley

Coseley[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Sat Sherwani 1,904 55.3 N/A
Labour Dave Roberts* 712 20.7 –39.0
Conservative Henry Oche 373 10.8 –16.5
Green Toni Baker 340 9.9 –3.1
Liberal Democrats Roxanne Holmes 86 2.5 N/A
Libertarian Martin Day 25 0.7 N/A
Majority 1,192 34.5 N/A
Turnout 3,440 35.6 +11.3
Registered electors ~9,657
Reform gain from Labour

Cradley North & Wollescote

Cradley North & Wollescote[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Caley Ashman 1,271 36.3 N/A
Liberal Democrats Ethan Stafford* 1,194 34.1 –15.0
Labour Matt Collins 382 10.9 –19.9
Green Bridget Hilton 256 7.3 N/A
Conservative Eric Perry 220 6.3 –11.2
Independent Abdul Qadus 183 5.2 N/A
Majority 77 2.2 N/A
Turnout 3,506 38.0 +4.6
Registered electors ~9,224
Reform gain from Liberal Democrats

Gornal

Gornal[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Chris Whitehouse 2,532 60.2 +44.7
Conservative Claire Sullivan 854 20.3 –15.3
Labour Jeff Ndlovu 382 9.1 –16.0
Green Kaz Evans 300 7.1 N/A
Liberal Democrats Stephen Holmes 140 3.3 N/A
Majority 1,678 39.7 N/A
Turnout 4,208 42.4 +12.0
Registered electors ~9,920
Reform gain from Independent Swing Increase30.0

Halesowen North

Halesowen North[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Stuart Henley* 1,347 34.4 –2.2
Labour Fiona Murray 1,182 30.2 –14.5
Reform Aveena Sherwani 792 20.2 N/A
Green Ash Flavin 482 12.3 +4.8
Liberal Democrats Tracey Gregg 114 2.9 –1.2
Majority 165 4.2 N/A
Turnout 3,917 40.4 +5.0
Registered electors ~9,691
Conservative hold Swing Increase6.2

Halesowen South

Halesowen South[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Andrew Barnfield 1,684 37.7 N/A
Conservative Thomas Russon* 1,287 28.8 –19.3
Labour Michael Hanley 770 17.2 –14.1
Green James Windridge 526 11.8 –2.8
Liberal Democrats Caroline Benton 199 4.5 –1.5
Majority 397 8.9 N/A
Turnout 4,466 47.36 +9.51
Registered electors ~9,430
Reform gain from Conservative

Hayley Green & Cradley South

Hayley Green & Cradley South[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Jon Mucklow 1,573 39.4 N/A
Conservative Bex Collins* 1,255 31.4 –22.1
Labour Julian Hammond-Miller 609 15.3 –22.9
Green Zach Beed 381 9.5 N/A
Liberal Democrats Alison Hunt 173 4.3 –4.0
Majority 318 8.0 N/A
Turnout 3,991 43.5 +8.7
Registered electors ~9,183
Reform gain from Conservative

Kingswinford North & Wall Heath

Kingswinford North & Wall Heath[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mark Webb* 1,983 41.1 –1.8
Reform Stephen Cole 1,913 39.7 N/A
Labour Jacqueline Foster 456 9.5 –9.8
Green Ninette Harris 318 6.6 N/A
Liberal Democrats Charlie Passmore 150 3.1 –1.1
Majority 70 1.4 N/A
Turnout 4,820 50.4 +11.0
Registered electors ~9,565
Conservative hold

Kingswinford South

Kingswinford South[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Graham Howes 1,888 42.6 N/A
Conservative Luke Johnson* 1,415 31.9 –10.2
Labour Simon Daniel 525 11.8 –18.8
Green Dom Palermo 430 9.7 +3.3
Liberal Democrats Simon Hanson 173 3.9 +0.6
Majority 473 10.7 N/A
Turnout 4,431 44.8 +10.1
Registered electors ~9,888
Reform gain from Conservative

Lye & Stourbridge North

Lye & Stourbridge North[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Lisa Clinton 1,348 38.8 N/A
Labour Ellen Cobb* 695 20.0 –20.6
Liberal Democrats Naz Ahmed 477 13.7 –5.5
Conservative Julia Savage 448 12.9 –18.1
Green Danny Hussain 342 9.8 +0.7
Black Country Party Matt Cook 163 4.7 N/A
Majority 653 18.7 N/A
Turnout 3,473 36.6 +2.6
Registered electors ~9,497
Reform gain from Labour

Netherton & Holly Hall

Netherton & Holly Hall[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Jack Thompson 1,622 49.7 N/A
Labour Shaneila Mughal* 691 21.2 –29.1
Green Manjit Kaur 423 13.0 –1.8
Conservative James Tye 375 11.5 –14.2
Liberal Democrats Richard Priest 150 4.6 –4.6
Majority 931 28.3 N/A
Turnout 3,261 32.0 +6.0
Registered electors ~10,207
Reform gain from Labour

Norton

Norton[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Phil Boaler 1,691 35.4 N/A
Conservative Alan Hopwood* 1,350 28.3 –19.3
Green Stephen Price 1,030 21.6 +3.3
Labour Matt Broad 492 10.3 –17.2
Liberal Democrats Lee Furness 215 4.5 –2.2
Majority 341 7.1 N/A
Turnout 4,778 52.0 +10.1
Registered electors ~9,194
Reform gain from Conservative

Pedmore & Stourbridge East

Pedmore & Stourbridge East[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Jason Thorne 1,482 32.6 N/A
Conservative Dave Borley 1,370 30.1 –15.6
Liberal Democrats Nigel Kirkham 638 14.0 –1.7
Labour Mark Kent 560 12.3 –16.5
Green Beth Scrimshaw 496 10.9 +1.0
Majority 112 2.5 N/A
Turnout 4,546 49.0 +6.8
Registered electors ~9,270
Reform hold

Quarry Bank & Dudley Wood

Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Rob Clinton 1,891 56.9 N/A
Labour Co-op Jules Singh 489 14.7 –34.4
Green Simon Ballinger 400 12.0 N/A
Conservative Errol Lawson 386 11.6 –28.6
Liberal Democrats Faye Stafford 160 4.8 –6.0
Majority 1,402 42.0 N/A
Turnout 3,326 33.9 +9.2
Registered electors ~9,814
Reform gain from Labour

Sedgley

Sedgley[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Shaun Keasey* 2,664 55.9 N/A
Conservative Bill Etheridge 1,002 21.0 –18.9
Labour Tremaine Herbert 505 10.6 –12.0
Green Colin Drewery 432 9.1 –1.1
Liberal Democrats John Slim 166 3.5 N/A
Majority 1,662 34.8 N/A
Turnout 4,769 45.0 +11.7
Registered electors ~10,607
Reform hold

St James’s

St James’s[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Ivor Robinson 1,630 48.9 +35.8
Labour Caroline Reid* 727 21.8 –21.0
Conservative Carole Blackmore 462 13.9 –16.3
Green Katherine Poole 355 10.6 +2.8
Liberal Democrats Mollie Priest 130 3.9 –2.3
TUSC David Reynolds 30 0.9 N/A
Majority 903 27.0 N/A
Turnout 3,334 32.9 +4.3
Registered electors ~10,146
Reform gain from Labour Swing Increase28.4

St Thomas’s

St Thomas's[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Adeela Qayyum* 1,415 37.1 –9.4
Reform Chris Chivers 1,224 32.1 N/A
Green Zia Ur Rehman Qari 399 10.5 +4.7
Independent Shakeela Bibi 358 9.4 –10.2
Conservative Muhammad Najeeb 295 7.7 –10.1
Liberal Democrats Rob Johns 120 3.1 –2.7
Majority 191 5.0 N/A
Turnout 3,811 35.8 +2.5
Registered electors ~10,657
Labour hold

Upper Gornal & Woodsetton

Upper Gornal & Woodsetton[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Marco Longhi 2,533 64.9 +47.7
Labour Mushtaq Hussain* 506 13.0 –36.9
Conservative Zoe Bradley 429 11.0 –15.9
Green Charlie Hilken 320 8.2 N/A
Liberal Democrats Elaine Sheppard 115 2.9 –3.1
Majority 2,027 51.8 N/A
Turnout 3,903 39.91 +11.76
Registered electors ~9,780
Reform gain from Labour Swing Increase42.3

Wollaston & Stourbridge Town

Wollaston & Stourbridge Town (2 seats)[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Kam Macleod 1,464 30.0 N/A
Reform Andrew Southall 1,324 27.1 N/A
Liberal Democrats Lois Bramall 1,202 24.6 +14.6
Liberal Democrats David Sheppard 1,083 22.2 +12.2
Conservative Richard Prosser 894 18.3 –19.7
Labour Jason Griffin* 856 17.5 –38.9
Conservative Steve Hancock 856 17.5 –14.4
Labour Marie Fields 814 16.7 –24.9
Green Linda Foster 636 13.0 +3.9
Green Ruth Battersea 576 11.8 +2.7
Freedom Alliance Ken Moore 61 1.2 –2.6
Turnout ~4,883 49.04 +7.08
Registered electors ~9,957
Reform gain from Labour
Reform gain from Labour

The ward elected two councillors after Cat Eccles (Labour), who had also served as MP for Stourbridge since July 2024, confirmed in February 2026 that she would not seek re-election as a councillor; she had deliberately delayed standing down to avoid triggering a separate, costlier by-election, and her seat fell vacant ahead of the May 2026 poll.[14]

Wordsley North

Wordsley North[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Samuel Hussey 1,788 43.8 N/A
Conservative Matt Rogers 1,056 25.9 –25.0
Labour Keith Archer* 554 13.6 –22.8
Green Alex Hughes 320 7.8 –0.7
Black Country Party Dave Woolley 208 5.1 N/A
Liberal Democrats Christopher Bramall 153 3.8 –0.5
Majority 732 18.0 N/A
Turnout 4,079 41.9 +9.3
Registered electors ~9,744
Reform gain from Labour

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes the vacant seat in Wollaston & Stourbridge Town last held by Labour.
  2. ↑ Conservative minority.
  3. 1 2 3 Originally elected as Labour, but defected to the Black Country Party in June 2025.
  4. ↑ Originally elected as a Conservative, but defected to Reform in November 2025.
  5. ↑ Originally elected as a Conservative, but defected to Reform in June 2025.

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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 "Local Election Results 2026". online.dudley.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 "Statement of persons nominated and notice of poll" (PDF). Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "MP confirms she's standing down as a councillor". Stourbridge News. 25 February 2026. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
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