2023 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election

2023 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election
24 out of 72 seats to Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council; 37 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	27.4%
	Map of the results
Leader before election; Patrick Harley; Conservative	Leader after election ; Patrick Harley; Conservative

The 2023 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023. One third of councillors— 24 out of 72 —on the Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council were elected. The election was held alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The Conservatives retained their majority on the council.^[1]^[2]

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.^[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]

Electoral process

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.

Summary

Election result

2023 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	13	1	54.2	14	27	37.5	29,061	43.8	+1.4
	Conservative	11	1	45.8	33	44	61.1	28,165	42.4	–6.2
	Independent	0		0	1	1	1.39	978	1.5	+1.2
	Liberal Democrats	0		0	0	0	0	3,859	5.8	–0.1
	Green	0		0	0	0	0	3,506	5.3	+4.0
	Reform UK	0		0	0	0	0	495	0.7	+0.6
	TUSC	0		0	0	0	0	257	0.4	+0.1
	Libertarian	0		0	0	0	0	89	0.1	–0.9

Ward results

An asterisk indicates an incumbent councillor.

Amblecote

Amblecote (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pete Lee*	1,341	52.1	-4.5
	Labour	Luke Hamblett	935	36.4	+2.4
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Flynn	159	6.2	+0.5
	Green	Adrian Mabe	125	4.9	+1.1
Majority			406	15.8	-7.0
Rejected ballots			12	0.5
Turnout			2,572	26.14	-2.9
Registered electors			9,839
	Conservative hold		Swing

Belle Vale

Belle Vale (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Phipps*	1,636	54.1	+6.6
	Labour	Savannah Southorn	1,150	38.0	-2.9
	Green	Deanne Brettle	119	3.9	-2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Furhuraire	110	3.6	-2.0
Majority			486	16.1	+9.5
Rejected ballots			11	0.4
Turnout			3,026	30.2	-1.5
Registered electors			10,020
	Conservative hold		Swing

Brierley Hill

Brierley Hill (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wayne Little	1,007	44.3	+4.4
	Labour	Ridha Ahmed*	927	40.8	-6.2
	Green	Mark Percox	127	5.6	N/A
	Reform UK	Trevor Bunn	107	4.7	+1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Mollie Priest	97	4.3	-5.1
Majority			80	3.5	+10.6
Rejected ballots			11	0.4
Turnout			2,276	22.6	-1.4
Registered electors			10,071
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Brockmoor and Pensnett

Brockmoor and Pensnett (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karen Westwood	1,095	58.0	-6.9
	Conservative	Sue Greenaway*	601	31.8	-3.3
	Reform UK	Austin Ward	92	4.9	N/A
	Green	Lawrence Rowlett	55	2.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Tracey Gregg	34	1.8	N/A
Majority			494	26.2	-3.6
Rejected ballots			11	0.6
Turnout			1,888	19.1	-4.8
Registered electors			9,884
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Castle and Priory

Castle and Priory (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karl Denning	1,330	60.2	-3.7
	Conservative	Sat Nawabzada	600	27.2	-8.9
	Green	Ant Dugmore	114	5.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	David Bramall	110	5.0	N/A
	TUSC	Nicola Fisher	47	2.1	N/A
Majority			730	33.0	+5.3
Rejected ballots			9	0.4
Turnout			2,210	19.8	-4.1
Registered electors			11,161
	Labour hold		Swing

Coseley East

Coseley East (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Drake*	1,130	61.8	-1.7
	Conservative	Richard Tasker	465	25.4	-10.1
	Green	Sam Oakley	210	11.5	N/A
Majority			665	36.4	+9.2
Rejected ballots			24	1.3
Turnout			1,829	19.7	-3.1
Registered electors			9,284
	Labour hold		Swing

Cradley and Wollescote

Cradley and Wollescote (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Body*	1,061	38.7	-0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Ryan Priest	1,040	37.9	+7.1
	Conservative	Jason Thorne	517	18.9	-11.5
	Green	Kash Khan	89	3.3	N/A
	TUSC	Siobhan Friel	24	0.9	N/A
Majority			21	0.8	-7.2
Rejected ballots			10	0.4
Turnout			2,738	29.0	-2.5
Registered electors			9,441
	Labour hold		Swing

Gornal

Gornal (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Claire Sullivan	930	35.5	-30.4
	Independent	Anne Millward*	705	26.9	N/A
	Labour	Mushtaq Hussain	606	23.1	-11.0
	Reform UK	Nathan Hunt	176	6.7	N/A
	Green	Dan Spear	99	3.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Tilly	95	3.6	N/A
Majority			225	8.6	-23.2
Rejected ballots			11	0.4
Turnout			2,622	26.2	-2.3
Registered electors			10,008
	Conservative hold		Swing

Halesowen North

Halesowen North (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Parmjit Singh Sahota*	1,637	53.6	–3.3
	Conservative	Jeff Hill	1,207	39.5	+1.7
	Green	Ash Flavin	143	4.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Abdul Qadus	56	1.8	–3.0
Majority			430	14.1
Rejected ballots			14	0.5
Turnout			3,057	31.8	–2.0
Registered electors			9,613
	Labour hold		Swing

Halesowen South

Halesowen South (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Taylor*	1,661	53.9	+5.1
	Labour	Donella Russell	988	32.0	+7.7
	Green	James Windridge	209	6.8	–5.1
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Campbell	204	6.6	–2.3
Majority			673	21.9
Rejected ballots			22	0.7
Turnout			3,084	32.7	–3.6
Registered electors			9,431
	Conservative hold		Swing

Haley Green and Cradley South

Haley Green and Cradley South (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Bevan	1,408	52.7	–5.0
	Labour	Tony Barnsley	1,106	41.4	+5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Ethan Stafford	156	5.8	–0.4
Majority			302	11.6
Rejected ballots			13	0.5
Turnout			2,683	29.7	–2.9
Registered electors			9,033
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kingswinford North and Wall Heath

Kingswinford North and Wall Heath (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Webb	1,885	60.3	–2.1
	Labour	Michael Mitchell	894	28.8	–2.2
	Green	Andrew Bennett	169	5.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Bramall	154	5.0	–1.1
Majority			991	31.5
Rejected ballots			25	0.8
Turnout			3,127	32.6	–4.5
Registered electors			9,592
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kingswinford South

Kingswinford South (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Miller*	1,677	57.4	–1.6
	Labour	Simon Daniel	1,137	38.9	+9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Saima Furhuraire	107	3.7	–7.4
Majority			540	18.5
Rejected ballots			22	0.8
Turnout			2,943	29.8	–3.1
Registered electors			9,875
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lye and Stourbridge North

Lye and Stourbridge North (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mohammed Hanif*	1,285	51.8	+6.6
	Conservative	Shazad Mahmood	800	32.3	–3.8
	Green	Naz Ahmed	207	8.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Johns	187	7.5	–1.8
Majority			485	19.5
Rejected ballots			18	0.7
Turnout			2,497	27.5	–4.9
Registered electors			9,080
	Labour hold		Swing

Netherton, Woodside and St. Andrew's

Netherton, Woodside and St. Andrew's (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Qadar Zada*	1,354	63.1	+1.5
	Conservative	Victoria Faraji	527	24.6	–13.8
	Green	Mark Binnersley	265	12.3	N/A
Majority			827	38.5
Rejected ballots			19	0.9
Turnout			2,165	21.3	–3.9
Registered electors			10,164
	Labour hold		Swing

Norton

Norton (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Steve Clark	1,596	46.5	–7.0
	Labour	Madeleine Cowley	963	28.1	–3.6
	Green	Stephen Price	590	17.2	+11.0
	Liberal Democrats	David Sheppard	174	5.1	–3.5
	Independent	Ken Moore	107	3.1	N/A
Majority			633	18.4
Rejected ballots			9	0.3
Turnout			3,439	37.2	–1.2
Registered electors			9,245
	Conservative hold		Swing

Pedmore and Stourbridge East

Pedmore and Stourbridge East (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Kettle*	1,798	53.8	–1.1
	Labour	Jason Griffin	1,100	32.9	+1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Hanson	250	7.5	–3.4
	Green	Catherine Maguire	197	5.9	N/A
Majority			698	20.9
Rejected ballots			27	0.8
Turnout			3,372	36.2	–1.2
Registered electors			9,315
	Conservative hold		Swing

Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood

Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jackie Cowell*	947	50.9	–0.9
	Conservative	Muhammad Ali	640	34.4	–5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Priest	144	7.7	–0.8
	Green	Pam Archer	131	7.0
Majority			307	16.5
Rejected ballots			19	1.0
Turnout			1,881	19.2	–4.3
Registered electors			9,796
	Labour hold		Swing

Sedgley

Sedgley (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matt Dudley	1,566	56.1	–8.9
	Labour	Joanne Morgan	845	30.3	–1.5
	Green	Colin Drewery	160	5.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Caroline Benton	133	4.8	N/A
	Independent	Brad Simms	56	2.0	N/A
	Libertarian	Martin Day	31	1.1	–2.1
Majority			721	25.8
Rejected ballots			16	0.6
Turnout			2,807	30.2	–2.4
Registered electors			9,295
	Conservative hold		Swing

St James's

St. James's (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Cathryn Bayton*	1,209	53.9	+7.8
	Conservative	Rab Rana	912	40.6	–5.8
	Liberal Democrats	Benjamin France	124	5.5	–2.0
Majority			297	13.3
Rejected ballots			13	0.6
Turnout			2,258	22.5	–3.9
Registered electors			10,036
	Labour hold		Swing

St Thomas's

St Thomas's (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Adeela Qayyum	1,609	57.6
	Labour	Shanella Mughal*	1,556	55.7
	Conservative	Sajid Hanif	1,209	43.3
	Conservative	Najeeb Muhammad	684	24.5
	Liberal Democrats	John Slim	190	6.8
	TUSC	Lee Robertson	186	6.7
	Green	Zia Qari	155	5.5
Rejected ballots			13	0.2
Turnout				29.1	–2.9
Registered electors
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Upper Gornal and Woodsetton

Upper Gornal and Woodsetton (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Adam Aston*	1,308	57.1	+4.9
	Conservative	Lynette Corfield	871	38.1	–9.7
	Independent	Greg Markowski	110	4.8	N/A
Majority			437	19.0
Rejected ballots			10	0.4
Turnout			2,299	23.6	–3.3
Registered electors			9,741
	Labour hold		Swing

Wollaston and Stourbridge

Wollaston and Stourbridge (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Andrew Tromans	1,789	48.0	–1.1
	Conservative	Lisa Clinton	1,382	37.1	–3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Bramall	258	6.9	+0.1
	Green	Andi Mohr	239	6.4	N/A
	Libertarian	Maxim Lowe	58	1.6	+0.6
Majority			407	10.9
Rejected ballots			8	0.2
Turnout			3,734	37.1	–3.1
Registered electors			10,064
	Labour Co-op gain from Conservative		Swing

Wordsley

Wordsley (1)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matt Rogers*	1,245	47.1	–8.0
	Labour	Sarah Daniel	1,100	41.6	+4.3
	Reform UK	Bill Harman	120	4.5	N/A
	Green	Jennifer Slater-Reid	103	3.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Elaine Sheppard	77	2.9	–4.7
Majority			145	6.5
Rejected ballots			2	0.1
Turnout			2,647	27.3	–2.4
Registered electors			9,695
	Conservative hold		Swing

By-elections

Cradley and Wollescote

Cradley and Wollescote: 3 August 2023
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ryan Priest	1,321	52.4	+14.5
	Labour	Rachael Gardener	771	30.6	–8.1
	Conservative	Steve Hill	353	14.0	–4.9
	Green	Kash Khan	69	2.7	–0.6
	TUSC	Siobhan Friel	5	0.2	–0.7
Majority			550	21.8
Turnout			2,526	26.7	-2.3
Registered electors			9,484
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	+11.3

St James's

St James's: 24 August 2023^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Caroline Reid	816	48.0	–5.9
	Conservative	Rab Rana	719	42.3	+1.7
	Independent	Richard Tasker	84	4.9	+4.9
	Green	Christian Kiever	50	2.9	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Abdul Qadus	32	1.9	-3.6
Majority			97	5.7
Turnout			1,701
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

References

^ Stubbings, David (5 May 2023). "Full Dudley Council election results as mayors past and present lose seats". Express and Star. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
^ "Dudley: Labour defiant despite Tories keeping stronghold". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
^ Local Government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. p. 7. ISBN 0-11-750847-0.
^ "CONSTITUTION OF THE WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY" (PDF). Retrieved 4 December 2017.
^ Farrington, Dayna. "Full election results from Dudley Council as Conservatives gain power". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
^ "Dudley MBC Live Local Election Results 2021". online.dudley.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
^ "Dudley MBC Live Local Election Results 2019". online.dudley.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
^ Parkes, Thomas. "Former council leader and Dudley mayor de-selected by Tories ahead of election". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
^ "Conservative infighting in Dudley as local elections loom". Halesowen News. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
^ "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
^ "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — St James's Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

[1] Stubbings, David (5 May 2023). "Full Dudley Council election results as mayors past and present lose seats". Express and Star. Retrieved 19 May 2023.

[2] "Dudley: Labour defiant despite Tories keeping stronghold". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.

[guide-3] Local Government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. p. 7. ISBN 0-11-750847-0.

[4] "CONSTITUTION OF THE WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY" (PDF). Retrieved 4 December 2017.

[5] Farrington, Dayna. "Full election results from Dudley Council as Conservatives gain power". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

[6] "Dudley MBC Live Local Election Results 2021". online.dudley.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2023.

[7] "Dudley MBC Live Local Election Results 2019". online.dudley.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2023.

[8] Parkes, Thomas. "Former council leader and Dudley mayor de-selected by Tories ahead of election". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 3 April 2023.

[9] "Conservative infighting in Dudley as local elections loom". Halesowen News. Retrieved 24 April 2023.

[10] "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.

[11] "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).

[12] "Local Elections Archive Project — St James's Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

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See also: Wards Boundary changes