Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
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Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, also known as Dudley Council, is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. The town of Dudley had been a borough since the thirteenth century, being reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority since 2016.
The council has been under no overall control since the 2024 election, with the leader of the council being a Conservative. It is based at Dudley Council House.
History
The town of Dudley had been a seigneurial borough from the thirteenth century, under the control of the lord of the manor.<ref name=VCH>Template:Cite book</ref> More modern forms of local government for the town began in 1791 when a body of improvement commissioners was established to pave, light and clean the streets, and supply water.<ref>Dudley Town Act 1791</ref> The commissioners were replaced in 1853 with an elected local board.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The town was incorporated as a municipal 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.<ref name="Dudley book" /> The old local board's functions passed to the new borough council, which also replaced the ancient borough corporation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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 a county borough, independent from Worcestershire County Council, whilst remaining part of the geographical county of Worcestershire (despite being an exclave detached from the rest of the county).<ref>Local Government Act 1888</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The County Borough of Dudley was enlarged on several occasions, notably in 1966 when it absorbed the majority of the abolished urban districts of Brierley Hill, Coseley and Sedgeley, alongside boundary adjustments with several other neighbours. As part of the 1966 reforms the borough was transferred to the geographical county of Staffordshire.<ref>Local Government Act 1958</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The modern metropolitan borough and its council were established in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as one of seven boroughs in the new metropolitan county of the West Midlands. The new borough covered the combined area of the old county borough of Dudley plus the municipal boroughs of Halesowen and Stourbridge (the latter having absorbed the main part of the abolished Amblecote Urban District in the 1966 reforms). The enlarged district was named Dudley, and the borough 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.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the West 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.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>
Since 2016 the council has been a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Mayor 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.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The council bid for the borough to be awarded city status in 2011 and again in 2021, but was unsuccessful on both occasions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Governance
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council provides both county-level and district-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 no civil parishes in the borough, which is an unparished area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Political control
The council has been under no overall control since the 2024 election, which saw the Conservatives lose their majority. They retained the leadership of the council, forming a minority administration.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:<ref name=compositions>Template:Cite web (Put "Dudley" in search box to see specific results.)</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Party name with colour | 1974–1976 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 1976–1980 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 1980–1982 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 1982–1984 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 1984–1986 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 1986–1992 | |
| Conservative | May-Sep 1992 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 1992–1994 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 1994–2003 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 2003–2004 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 2004–2012 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 2012–2016 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 2016–2021 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 2021–2024 | |
| Template:Party name with colour | 2024–present | |
Leadership
Template:Also The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Dudley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Jones<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=WES6May1975/> | Template:Party name with colour | 1 Apr 1974 | May 1975 | |
| Tom Clitheroe<ref name=WES6May1975>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=WES7May1976/> | Template:Party name with colour | May 1975 | May 1976 | |
| Joe Rowley<ref name=WES7May1976>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=WES13May1978>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | May 1976 | May 1978 | |
| Jack Edmonds<ref name=WES13May1978/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | May 1978 | May 1984 | |
| Fred Hunt<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | May 1984 | May 1992 | |
| David Caunt | Conservative | May 1992 | September 1992 | |
| Fred Hunt | Labour | September 1992 | May 1998 | |
| Tim Sunter<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 21 May 1998 | May 2003 | |
| David Caunt<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 15 May 2003 | 21 May 2009 | |
| Anne Millward<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 21 May 2009 | May 2011 | |
| Les Jones<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 19 May 2011 | May 2012 | |
| David Sparks<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=1Dec2014/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 17 May 2012 | 1 Dec 2014 | |
| Pete Lowe<ref name=1Dec2014>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 1 Dec 2014 | 18 May 2017 | |
| Patrick Harley<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 18 May 2017 | 26 Sep 2018 | |
| Pete Lowe<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=15Nov2018/> | Template:Party name with colour | 26 Sep 2018 | 15 Nov 2018 | |
| Qadar Zada<ref name=15Nov2018>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 15 Nov 2018 | May 2019 | |
| Patrick Harley<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Party name with colour | 16 May 2019 | ||
Composition
Following the 2024 election,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to June 2025, including the formation of a new Black Country Party in May 2025,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the composition of the council was:<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Thorncliffe>Template:Cite web</ref>
The next election is due in May 2026.<ref name=Thorncliffe/>
Premises
The council has its main offices at Dudley Council House on Priory Road, which was built in phases between 1928 and 1935 for the old county borough council.<ref name=listed1>Template:NHLE</ref>
Elections
Template:Also Since the last boundary changes in 2004 the council has comprised 72 councillors representing 24 wards, 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.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> New ward boundaries are being prepared to take effect from the 2024 election, which will require all seats to be contested at that election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Wards
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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Community Forum | Ward name |
|---|---|
| Brierley Hill | Brierley Hill and Wordsley South |
| Brockmoor and Pensnett | |
| Kingswinford North and Wall Heath | |
| Kingswinford South | |
| Wordsley North | |
| Stourbridge | Amblecote |
| Lye and Stourbridge North | |
| Norton | |
| Pedmore and Stourbridge East | |
| Wollaston and Stourbridge 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 and Woodsetton | |
| Halesowen | Belle Vale |
| Cradley North and Wollescote | |
| Halesowen North | |
| Halesowen South | |
| Hayley Green and Cradley South |
Members of parliament
Following the 2023 review of constituencies and the July 2024 UK general election, the members of parliament 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 |
Chief Executives
| 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 |
Mayor of Dudley and Civic Awards
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and hosts the annual Mayors 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The Frank Foley award for community spirit
- The William Shenstone award for environment
- The Duncan Edwards award for sport
- The Cedric Hardwicke award for arts
- The Thomas Attwood award for education
- The Mike Holder award for business
Civic arms and motto
Dudley's coat of arms was designed in 1975.<ref name="Dudley book">Template:CitationDudley's little book of history</ref> 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.<ref name="Dudley book"/>