2023 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election

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.^[3] The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, 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 former West Midlands metropolitan county.^[4]

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.^[5] In the most recent elections in 2022, the Conservatives held steady at 46 seats while Labour won 26 seats at the expense of two Independents.^[6]

Positions up for election in 2023 were last elected in 2019. In that election the Conservatives won 13 seats and Labour won 11.^[7]

In March 2023, the former council leader and mayor of Dudley Anne Millward was deselected.^[8] On 17 April 2023, Councillor Mark Westwood reigned from the Conservative Party amid allegations of bullying and harassment against his family.^[9]

The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election in the fourth year.^[10][11] The election will take place by first-past-the-post voting, with wards generally being represented by three councillors, with one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Dudley aged 18 or over will be entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters will be able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.