2026 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election
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7 May 2026
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24 out of 72 seats to Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council 37 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results of the 2024 Election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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]
| 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 | ||
Changes 2024–2026:
- September 2024: Andrew Tromans (Labour) leaves party to sit as an independent[2]
- November 2024: Judy Foster (Labour) resigns – by-election held December 2024[3]
- December 2024: Alex Dale (Conservative) gains by-election from Labour[4]
- February 2025: Steve Edwards (Labour) suspended from party[5]
- March 2025:
- April 2025: Luke Hamblett (Independent) joins Liberal Democrats[9]
- May 2025: Stuart Turner (Labour) leaves party to sit as an independent[10]
- June 2025:
- November 2025: James Clinton (Conservative) and Jason Thorne (Conservative) join Reform[13]
- February 2026: Cat Eccles (Labour) resigns – seat left vacant until 2026 election[14]
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.[15] 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.[16]
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.[17][18]
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.[19] 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.[20]
In 2025, six Labour councillors including former Labour group leader Pete Lowe left the party to form the Black Country Party.[21]
Electoral process
The council elects members in thirds every year except the 4th in a four-year cycle.[22] 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.[23][24]
Summary
Election result
| 2026 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | This election | Full council | This election | |||||||
| Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− | ||
| Conservative | 25 | |||||||||
| Labour | 15 | |||||||||
| Black Country Party | 3 | |||||||||
| Liberal Democrats | 4 | |||||||||
| Reform | 1 | |||||||||
| Independent | 0 | |||||||||
| Green | 0 | |||||||||
