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2022 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election
25 out of 72 seats to Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council; 37 seats needed for a majority
	Winner of each seat at the 2022 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election
Council control before election; ; Conservative	Council control after election ; ; Conservative

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

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

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 correspondent 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			After 2022 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Conservative	46		Conservative	45		Conservative	46
	Labour	24		Labour	23		Labour	26
	Independent	2		Independent	3		Independent	0

Changes:

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

Results

2022 Dudley Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	13		52.0	33	46	63.9	36,015	48.6	-8.3
	Labour	12	2	48.0	14	26	36.1	31,452	42.4	+8.9
	Liberal Democrats	0		0	0	0	0	4,360	5.9	+1.7
	Green	0		0	0	0	0	965	1.3	-1.3
	Libertarian	0		0	0	0	0	729	1.0	+0.5
	TUSC	0		0	0	0	0	224	0.3	+0.2
	Independent	0	2	0	0	0	0	204	0.3	+0.1
	Reform UK	0		0	0	0	0	89	0.1	-0.1
	Freedom Alliance	0		0	0	0	0	88	0.1	+0.1

Seat change includes Halesowen South, which was last elected in 2021.

Results by ward

An asterisk indicates an incumbent councillor.

Amblecote

Amblecote^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Bradley*	1,644	56.7	−1.3
	Labour	Rhianna Parsons	982	33.9	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Flynn	164	5.7	+2.2
	Green	Adrian Mabe	111	3.8	+0.1
Majority			662	22.8
Turnout			2,901	29.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Belle Vale

Belle Vale^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Dobb*	1,516	47.5	−2.3
	Labour	Savannah Southorn	1,305	40.9	+6.4
	Green	John Payne	190	6.0	−2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Furhuraire	179	5.6	+1.9
Majority			211	6.6
Turnout			3,190	31.74
	Conservative hold		Swing

Brierley Hill

Brierley Hill^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Martin	1,132	47.0	+12.2
	Conservative	Ben Corfield	960	39.9	−18.4
	Libertarian	Wayne Lewis	226	9.4	N/A
	Reform UK	Austin Ward	89	3.7	+0.4
Majority			172	7.1
Turnout			2,407	24.0
	Labour hold		Swing

The incumbent councillor, Zafar Islam, was elected for the Labour Party but suspended in March 2022.^[15]

Brockmoor and Pensnett

Brockmoor and Pensnett^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Judy Foster*	1,527	64.9	+30.6
	Conservative	Mark Webb	826	35.1	−9.9
Majority			701	29.8
Turnout			2,353	23.88
	Labour hold		Swing

Castle and Priory

Castle and Priory^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Keiran Casey	1,700	63.9	+15.6
	Conservative	Mick Wolohan	962	36.1	−10.9
Majority			738	27.7
Turnout			2,662	23.85
	Labour hold		Swing

Coseley East

Coseley East^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Marian Howard	1,333	63.5	+10.6
	Conservative	Matt Cook	765	36.5	−6.0
Majority			568	27.1
Turnout			2,098	22.82
	Labour hold		Swing

Cradley and Wollescote

Cradley and Wollescote^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tim Crumpton*	1,153	38.8	±0.0
	Liberal Democrats	Ryan Priest	915	30.8	+19.9
	Conservative	Jason Thorne	905	30.4	−13.6
Majority			238	8.0
Turnout			2,973	31.46
	Labour hold		Swing

Gornal

Gornal^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bryn Challenor*	1,882	65.9	−2.5
	Labour	Karl Denning	972	34.1	+8.7
Majority			910	31.8
Turnout			2,854	28.48
	Conservative hold		Swing

Halesowen North

Halesowen North^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hilary Bills	1,850	57.1	+14.4
	Conservative	Mitch Bolton	1,231	38.0	−16.3
	Liberal Democrats	Mollie Priest	157	4.8	+1.8
Majority			619	19.1
Turnout			3,238	33.77
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Halesowen South

Halesowen South^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jonathan Elliott	1,806	52.7	−10.9
	Conservative	Thomas Russon	1,696	49.5	−14.1
	Labour	Mahdi Mutahar	904	26.4	+3.4
	Labour	Donella Russell	874	25.5	+2.5
	Green	James Windridge	437	12.7	+6.9
	Liberal Democrats	Tracey Gregg	330	9.6	+5.6
	Independent	Tim Weller	204	5.9	N/A
Majority			792	23.1
Turnout			3,429	36.28
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

|} Ray Burston, the outgoing incumbent, was elected as a Conservative but had the whip withdrawn in December 2020.^[16]

Hayley Green and Cradley South

Hayley Green and Cradley South^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrea Goddard*	1,686	57.7	−8.4
	Labour	Tony Barnsley	1,056	36.1	+10.4
	Liberal Democrats	Ethan Stafford	180	6.2	+0.4
Majority			630	21.6
Turnout			2,922	32.57
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kingswinford North and Wall Heath

Kingswinford North and Wall Heath^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Lawrence*	2,244	62.9	+5.0
	Labour	Sarah Daniel	1,107	31.0	+3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Bramall	219	6.1	−0.8
Majority			1,137	31.8
Turnout			3,570	37.08
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kingswinford South

Kingswinford South^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Harley*	1,933	59.0	+0.6
	Labour	Simon Daniel	979	29.9	+3.3
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Geeves	363	11.1	−3.9
Majority			954	29.1
Turnout			3,275	32.93
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lye and Stourbridge North

Lye and Stourbridge North^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Pete Lowe*	1,334	45.2	+10.5
	Conservative	Lisa Clinton	1,066	36.1	−8.3
	Libertarian	Gary Farmer	280	9.5	+1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Abdul Qadus	274	9.3	+1.9
Majority			268	9.1
Turnout			2,954	32.38
	Labour hold		Swing

Netherton, Woodside and St Andrew's

Netherton, Woodside and St Andrew's^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elaine Taylor*	1,556	61.6	+18.7
	Conservative	Lynette Corfield	971	38.4	−10.0
Majority			585	23.1
Turnout			2,527	25.23
	Labour hold		Swing

Norton

Norton^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Creed	1,953	53.5	−9.1
	Labour	Ellen Cobb	1,157	31.7	+12.2
	Liberal Democrats	David Sheppard	312	8.6	+1.7
	Green	Andi Mohr	227	6.2	−2.7
Majority			796	21.8
Turnout			3,649	38.74
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

The incumbent councillor, Colin Elcock, was elected for the Conservative Party but was expelled in November 2020.^[17]

Pedmore and Stourbridge East

Pedmore and Stourbridge East^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angus Lees*	1,953	54.9	−7.9
	Labour	Jason Griffin	1,132	31.8	+7.4
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Hanson	386	10.9	+6.6
	Libertarian	Glen Wilson	86	2.4	−0.7
Majority			821	23.1
Turnout			3,557	37.36
	Conservative hold		Swing

Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood

Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris Barnett*	1,165	51.8	+16.9
	Conservative	Claire Sullivan	892	39.7	−18.8
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Priest	190	8.5	+5.6
Majority			273	12.1
Turnout			2,247	22.52
	Labour hold		Swing

Sedgley

Sedgley^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Shaun Keasey*	1,979	65.0	−8.5
	Labour	Freya Ashworth	967	31.8	+9.2
	Libertarian	Martin Day	98	3.2	−0.6
Majority			1,012	33.2
Turnout			3,044	32.58
	Conservative hold		Swing

St James's

St James's^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sara Bothul	1,218	46.4	−7.4
	Labour	Khurshid Ahmed*	1,211	46.1	+6.5
	Liberal Democrats	Allie Miller	196	7.5	+1.0
Majority			7	0.3
Turnout			2,625	26.36
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

St Thomas's

St Thomas's^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Maz Qari	1,637	49.6	−1.7
	Conservative	Sajid Hanif	1,441	43.6	+2.4
	TUSC	Nicola Fisher	224	6.8	+3.5
Majority			196	5.9
Turnout			3,302	31.95
	Labour hold		Swing

Upper Gornal and Woodsetton

Upper Gornal and Woodsetton^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Adrian Hughes	1,368	52.2	+6.7
	Conservative	Chris Neale*	1,254	47.8	−0.7
Majority			114	4.3
Turnout			2,622	26.94
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Wollaston and Stourbridge Town

Wollaston and Stourbridge Town^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Cat Eccles	1,983	49.1	+11.4
	Conservative	Nicolas Barlow*	1,654	40.9	−7.9
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Bramall	276	6.8	+3.1
	Freedom Alliance	Ken Moore	88	2.2	N/A
	Libertarian	Max Lowe	39	1.0	−3.5
Majority			329	8.1
Turnout			4,040	40.24
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Wordsley

Wordsley^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Donna Harley*	1,578	55.1	−17.4
	Labour	Keith Archer	1,068	37.3	+20.3
	Liberal Democrats	Elaine Sheppard	219	7.6	+2.4
Majority			510	17.8
Turnout			2,865	29.71
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

^ 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.
^ "Local Elections 2018". www.dudley.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
^ O'Brien, Lisa. "Labour suspends Dudley councillor for six months after disciplinary investigation". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
^ Storer, Rhi (9 February 2022). "Dudley councillor yet to be suspended by Labour over alleged antisemitism". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
^ "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
^ "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).
^ Walker, Peter (30 March 2022). "UK local elections: what is up for grabs, and what might we learn?". The Guardian.
^ "Tory leaders confident of gains in May local elections". The Guardian. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
^ Holder, Bev (7 February 2022). "Sadness as Dudley Council's deputy leader dies, aged 73". Dudley News.
^ Storer, Rhi (30 March 2022). "Dudley Labour councillor suspended over anti-Semitic tweets". Dudley News. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x Madeley, Peter (6 May 2022). "Dudley Council election results in full as seats swap hands and one is decided by seven votes". Express and Star. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
^ O'Brien, Lisa (24 March 2022). "Labour suspends Dudley councillor for six months after disciplinary investigation". Express and Star. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
^ Attwood, Helen (31 December 2020). "Leader takes action against Halesowen councillor who called for people to ignore Covid rules". Halesowen News. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
^ "Dudley councillor Colin Elcock breached conduct code with Islam tweets". BBC News. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2022.

[guide-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.

[nomin-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 8 April 2022.

[res-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x Madeley, Peter (6 May 2022). "Dudley Council election results in full as seats swap hands and one is decided by seven votes". Express and Star. Retrieved 11 May 2022.

[15] O'Brien, Lisa (24 March 2022). "Labour suspends Dudley councillor for six months after disciplinary investigation". Express and Star. Retrieved 14 May 2022.

[16] Attwood, Helen (31 December 2020). "Leader takes action against Halesowen councillor who called for people to ignore Covid rules". Halesowen News. Retrieved 14 May 2022.

[17] "Dudley councillor Colin Elcock breached conduct code with Islam tweets". BBC News. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2022.

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2022 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council election