Tories set to stay in control of Dudley council

Dudley Council looks set to remain a Conservative-run authority in the wake of a dramatic local election night.

Reform UK made big gains on May 7  and now have 23 councillors but there were not enough seats up for grabs in the 2026 election to allow the new kids on the political block to take overall control in the borough.

The Tories remain the largest group on the 72-seat council with 27 elected members, ten short of the amount needed for an overall majority.

Negotiations are under way between group leaders to shape the council for the next 12 months with Tory group leader, Cllr Patrick Harley, continuing as council leader.

Cllr Harley said: “It’s got to be sensible, there has got to be collaboration between the parties.

“No-one is in a position where they can say ‘I’m not working with you’, it’s in our interests to work together, as difficult as that might be. 

“It is about getting round the table and having those conversations, if people can be mature enough to do that we can have a successful year.

“It is in our interests to do what’s best for the people of the borough.”

Reform’s new group leader, Cllr Marco Longhi says his group is going to do things differently with an eye on next year’s election, when his party hopes to win enough seats to take outright control in Dudley.

Cllr Longhi said: “We’ve got new councillors looking to do their best for the people they represent and every one of them is on a learning curve, as time goes by I’m sure they will rapidly get more effective.

“We have got our own objectives, at the moment we are the official opposition and we will oppose in a professional way.

“Reform doesn’t do any deals, we are elected with a significant mandate to stop what has been going on for a very long time in places like Dudley where the baton has been passed from one party to the next only to fail in the same miserable way.”

Cllr Longhi added his councillors will be digging into every area of the council to ask questions and develop policies.

He said: “We want to foster good relationships with everybody, particularly officers who we will be working closely with, and see where that takes us.”

Labour is the third largest group on the council  with 15 seats, the Liberal Democrats have four councillors and The Black Country Party has three.

Negotiations between groups will settle the make-up of the council’s cabinet, who is in charge of vital watchdog scrutiny committees and who will be mayor and deputy mayor for the coming year.

Cllr Harley was quick to stress the importance of collaboration in a chamber where no party has overall control – and the consequences of political inertia.

He said: “If there is a party that doesn’t want to be involved and agree on anything I think they will be quickly found out by the electorate and punished next May.

“If it is opposing for opposing’s sake the council still has to operate as normal – the day-to-day running has got to happen.

“If there is stalemate, what does that say to investors from outside the borough? We are almost there with some really key projects so it’s got to be sensible.

“When reality hits I think people will get round the table and talk.”

The shape of the new council will be confirmed at a full meeting of the authority on May 28.