Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

Local government body in England

For the individual settlement, see Dudley. For the borough, see Metropolitan Borough of Dudley.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough

Type
Type|

Metropolitan borough council

Leadership

Mayor

Hilary Bills,
Labour
since 16 May 2024[1]

Leader

Patrick Harley,
Conservative
since 16 May 2019

Chief Executive

Balvinder Heran
since 2024

Structure
Seats| 72 councillors

Political groups

Administration (35)
Conservative (35)
Other parties (37)
Labour (32)
Liberal Democrats (3)
Independent (2)
Elections

Voting system

| 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.gov.uk

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

[edit]

The town of Dudley had been a seigneurial borough from the thirteenth century, under the control of the lord of the manor.[2] 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.[3] The commissioners were replaced in 1853 with an elected local board.[4]

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.[5] The old local board's functions passed to the new borough council, which also replaced the ancient borough corporation.[6]

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).[7][8] 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.[9][10][11]

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.[12][13]

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.[14]

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.[15][16]

The council bid for the borough to be awarded city status in 2011 and again in 2021, but was unsuccessful on both occasions.[17][18][19]

## Governance

[edit]

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.[20]

### Political control

[edit]

The council has been under no overall control since 2024.

Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[21][22]

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
| 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

### Leadership

[edit]

See also: Mayor of Dudley

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Dudley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1998 have been:[23]

Councillor | Party | From | To

|
|
|

Tim Sunter |  | Labour | 1998 | 15 May 2003
David Caunt |  | Conservative | 15 May 2003 | 21 May 2009
Anne Millward |  | Conservative | 21 May 2009 | 8 May 2011
Les Jones |  | Conservative | 19 May 2011 | 17 May 2012
Dave Sparks |  | Labour | 17 May 2012 | 1 Dec 2014
Pete Lowe |  | Labour | 1 Dec 2014 | 18 May 2017
Patrick Harley |  | Conservative | 18 May 2017 | 26 Sep 2018
Pete Lowe |  | Labour | 26 Sep 2018 | 15 Nov 2018
Qadar Zada |  | Labour | 15 Nov 2018 | 16 May 2019
Patrick Harley |  | Conservative | 16 May 2019 |

### Composition

[edit]

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was Conservative 34, Labour 34, Liberal Democrats 3 and Independent 1.[24] Following the election, after a week of negotiation it was announced that Patrick Harley would remain leader of the council while Labour would be in charge of the majority of scrutiny committee chairmanships and the mayoralty.[25] As Leader of the Council, Cllr Harley was in charge of appointing the Council's cabinet, meaning Dudley Council became a Conservative minority administration. The appointed cabinet was decided on 16 May 2024.[26] It was subsequently criticised by the council's Labour councillors for a lack of diversity, with only one woman in its line-up and no councillors from ethnic minorities.[27]

There have subsequently been some by-elections. The current make-up of the council is:

Party  | Councillors

|

| Conservative | 35
| Labour | 32
| Liberal Democrats | 3
| Independent | 2
Total  | 72

## Premises

[edit]

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.[28] The main customer services reception is in a converted shop in the town centre at 259 Castle Street.[29]

## Elections

[edit]

See also: Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council elections

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.[30] New ward boundaries are being prepared to take effect from the 2024 election, which will require all seats to be contested at that election.[31][32]

### Wards

[edit]

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'.[33]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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 (interim)

## Mayor of Dudley and Civic Awards

[edit]

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.[34] 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[35] 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.[36]

* 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

[edit]

Dudley's coat of arms was designed in 1975.[5] 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.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Former headteacher named as new Mayor". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
2. ^ A History of the County of Worcester: Volume 3. London: Victoria County History. 1913. pp. 90–105. Retrieved 14 February 2024.90-105&rft.pub=Victoria+County+History&rft.date=1913&rft_id=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/worcs/vol3/pp90-105#h3-0004&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Dudley+Metropolitan+Borough+Council" class="Z3988">
3. ^ Dudley Town Act 1791
4. ^ Public Health Supplemental Act 1853 (No. 1). 1853. p. 217. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
5. ^ a b c Dudley's Little Book of History (Heritage open days booklet published by Dudley MBC)Dudley's little book of history
6. ^ "Dudley: Local Board of Health". Birmingham Daily Post. 8 June 1865. p. 8. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
7. ^ Local Government Act 1888
8. ^ "Diagram of Worcestershire, 1899". The National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
9. ^ Local Government Act 1958
10. ^ "Dudley Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
11. ^ "Staffordshire: Diagram showing administrative boundaries, 1966". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
12. ^ "The Metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/137, retrieved 14 February 2024
13. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
14. ^ "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
15. ^ "The West Midlands Combined Authority Order 2016", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2016/653, retrieved 11 June 2024
16. ^ "Understand how your council works". gov.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
17. ^ "Dudley fails to get Queen's Diamond Jubilee city status". BBC News. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
18. ^ "Dudley – A City In The Making". www.dudley.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
19. ^ Vukmirovic, James. "Disappointment as Dudley misses out on city status". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
20. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
21. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
22. ^ "Local elections 2019: What happens when councils change hands?". BBC News. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
23. ^ "Council minutes". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
24. ^ "Dudley election result". BBC News.
25. ^ Smith, Martyn (15 May 2024). "Council remains Conservative-led after deal struck". BBC News. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
26. ^ Annual Meeting of the Council Thursday, 16th May, 2024 at 6.00pm (Report). Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
27. ^ Smith, Martyn (17 May 2024). "First spat on hung Dudley council after cabinet revealed". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
28. ^ Historic England. "Council House (1393758)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
29. ^ "Contact us". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
30. ^ "The Borough of Dudley (Electoral Changes) Order 2003", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2003/2767, retrieved 14 February 2024
31. ^ "Dudley". Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
32. ^ "Local Government Boundary Review". www.dudley.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
33. ^ "Community Forums". www.dudley.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
34. ^ "Dudley MBC, Mayor of Dudley". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council.
35. ^ "Charities | Dudley | Mayor Of Dudley". mayorofdudley. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
36. ^ "Mayor's Ball and Civic Awards | Dudley | Mayor Of Dudley". mayorofdudley. Retrieved 22 February 2022.

* v
* t
* e

Local authorities in the West Midlands

* Birmingham
* Coventry
* Dudley
* Sandwell
* Solihull
* Walsall
* Wolverhampton

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template