2022 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election

The 2022 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election is currently taking place as of 5 May 2022. One third of councillors—24 out of 72—on Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council will be elected, with 1 ward (Halesowen South) electing 2 councillors. The election will take place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.

2022 Dudley Council election
5 May 2022
24 of 72 seats on Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
37 seats needed for a majority
 
Leader Patrick Harley Qadar Zada None
Party Conservative Labour Independent
Last election 46 seats, 56.9% 24 seats, 33.5% 2 seats, 0.2%
Incumbent council control


Conservative


In the previous council election in 2021, the Conservatives gained a majority on the council, holding 46 seats after the election with Labour holding 24 of the others, with two independent councillors.

Background

History
Result of the council election when these seats were last contested in 2018
Result of the most recent council election in 2021

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.[1] 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.[2]

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 most recent election in 2021, the Conservatives gained twelve seats at the expense of Labour and the UK Independence Party to hold an overall majority of seats, with 46 of the 72 total. Labour held 24 of the remaining seats, and there were two independents.[3]

Positions up for election in 2022 were last elected in 2018. In that election the Conservatives won 14 seats and Labour won 10.[4]

Council term

The Labour Party suspended the councillor Zahir Islam in March 2022.[5] The Labour Against Antisemitism campaign had submitted a complaint against him in September 2021 over social media posts.[6]

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.[7][8] 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.

Campaign

Peter Walker, the political correspondant for The Guardian, wrote that Labour would want to "show progress" in the council.[9] The Conservative council leader Patrick Harley said he was confident that his party would gain seats in the election.[10]

Previous council composition
After 2021 election Before 2022 election
Party Seats Party Seats
Conservative 46 Conservative 45
Labour 24 Labour 23
Independent 2 Independent 3

Changes:

  • February 2022: David Vickers (Conservative) dies; seat left vacant until 2022 election[11]
  • March 2022: Zafar Islam suspended from Labour[12]

Results by ward

An asterisk indicates an incumbent councillor.

Amblecote
Amblecote[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Paul Bradley*
Liberal Democrats Ian Flynn
Green Adrian Mabe
Labour Rhianna Parsons
Majority
Turnout

Belle Vale
Belle Vale[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Peter Dobb*
Liberal Democrats Sarah Furhuraire
Green John Payne
Labour Savannah Southorn
Majority
Turnout

Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ben Corfield
Libertarian Wayne Lewis
Labour John Martin
Reform UK Austin Ward
Majority
Turnout

Brockmoor and Pensnett
Brockmoor and Pensnett[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Judy Foster*
Conservative Mark Webb
Majority
Turnout

Castle and Priory
Castle and Priory[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Keiran Casey
Conservative Mick Wolohan
Majority
Turnout

Coseley East
Coseley East[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Matt Cook
Labour Marian Howard
Majority
Turnout

Cradley and Wollescote
Cradley and Wollescote[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tim Crumpton*
Liberal Democrats Ryan Priest
Conservative Jason Thorne
Majority
Turnout

Gornal
Gornal[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Bryn Challenor*
Labour Karl Denning
Majority
Turnout

Halesowen North
Halesowen North[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Hilary Bills
Conservative Mitch Bolton
Liberal Democrats Mollie Priest
Majority
Turnout

Halesowen South
Halesowen South[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Jonathan Elliott
Liberal Democrats Tracey Gregg
Labour Mahdi Mutahar
Labour Donella Russell
Conservative Thomas Russon
Independent Tim Weller
Green James Windridge
Majority
Turnout

Hayley Green and Cradley South
Hayley Green and Cradley South[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tony Barnsley
Conservative Andrea Goddard*
Liberal Democrats Ethan Stafford
Majority
Turnout

Kingswinford North and Wall Heath
Kingswinford North and Wall Heath[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Jonathan Bramall
Labour Sarah Daniel
Conservative Edward Lawrence*
Majority
Turnout

Kingswinford South
Kingswinford South[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Simon Daniel
Liberal Democrats Elizabeth Geeves
Conservative Patrick Harley*
Majority
Turnout

Lye and Stourbridge North
Lye and Stourbridge North[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lisa Clinton
Libertarian Gary Farmer
Labour Pete Lowe*
Liberal Democrats Abdul Qadus
Majority
Turnout

Netherton, Woodside and St Andrew's
Netherton, Woodside and St Andrew's[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lynette Corfield
Labour Elaine Taylor*
Majority
Turnout

Norton
Norton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ellen Cobb
Conservative Tony Creed
Green Andi Mohr
Liberal Democrats David Sheppard
Majority
Turnout

Pedmore and Stourbridge East
Pedmore and Stourbridge East[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jason Griffin
Liberal Democrats Simon Hanson
Conservative Angus Lees*
Libertarian Glen Wilson
Majority
Turnout

Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood
Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Chris Barnett*
Liberal Democrats Richard Priest
Conservative Claire Sullivan
Majority
Turnout

Sedgley
Sedgley[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Freya Ashworth
Libertarian Martin Day
Conservative Shaun Keasey*
Majority
Turnout

St James's
St James's[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Khurshid Ahmed*
Conservative Sara Bothul
Liberal Democrats Allie Miller
Majority
Turnout

St Thomas's
St Thomas's[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
TUSC Nicola Fisher
Conservative Sajid Hanif
Labour Maz Qari
Majority
Turnout

Upper Gornal and Woodsetton
Upper Gornal and Woodsetton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Adrian Hughes
Conservative Chris Neale*
Majority
Turnout

Wollaston and Stourbridge Town
Wollaston and Stourbridge Town[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nicolas Barlow*
Liberal Democrats Chris Bramall
Labour Cat Eccles
Libertarian Max Lowe
Freedom Alliance Ken Moore
Majority
Turnout

Wordsley
Wordsley[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Keith Archer
Conservative Donna Harley*
Liberal Democrats Elaine Sheppard
Majority
Turnout

References
  1. Local Government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. p. 7. ISBN 0-11-750847-0.
  2. "CONSTITUTION OF THE WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY" (PDF). Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  3. Farrington, Dayna. "Full election results from Dudley Council as Conservatives gain power". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  4. "Local Elections 2018". www.dudley.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  5. O'Brien, Lisa. "Labour suspends Dudley councillor for six months after disciplinary investigation". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  6. Storer, Rhi (9 February 2022). "Dudley councillor yet to be suspended by Labour over alleged antisemitism". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  7. "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  8. "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).
  9. Walker, Peter (30 March 2022). "UK local elections: what is up for grabs, and what might we learn?". The Guardian.
  10. "Tory leaders confident of gains in May local elections". The Guardian. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  11. Holder, Bev (7 February 2022). "Sadness as Dudley Council's deputy leader dies, aged 73". Dudley News.
  12. Storer, Rhi (30 March 2022). "Dudley Labour councillor suspended over anti-Semitic tweets". Dudley News. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  13. "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
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