Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for

Dudley metropolitan borough The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stourb ...

. It is more commonly known as Dudley Council or Dudley MBC. The present authority was formed as a result of further reorganisation of local government in 1974. It incorporates the areas of

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

Brierley Hill Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, 2.5 miles south of Dudley and 2 miles north of Stourbridge. Part of the Black Country and in a heavily industrialised area, it has a popu ...

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

and

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...

History

The council’s origins are from 1865 when it was incorporated as a municipal borough which allowed the development of an elected town council. This consisted of a mayor, alderman and councillors. In 1888 Dudley Council became a county borough and so the council took responsibility for neighbouring towns and districts. In April 1966, under the West Midlands order of the borough, Dudley was extended to take in former Brierley Hill and Sedgley Urban Districts as well as parts of the Coseley Urban District.

Governance

Dudley Council has its main offices in

town centre (where

Dudley Council House Dudley Council House is a municipal building in Priory Road, Dudley, West Midlands, England. The Council House, which is the meeting place of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council is a Grade II listed building. History The first town hall in Du ...

is located), along with additional smaller offices throughout the borough. The council is made up of 72 councillors representing 24 wards. On its formation in 1974, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley was controlled by the Labour Party. Since then the controlling party has frequently changed, sometimes with no political party having a clear majority. The Tories currently have control of Dudley Council as a majority run administration. After a no overall control result in the previous local elections the Tories gained control of Dudley council in the 2021 local elections.

Wards

The 24 wards of the Dudley Borough are each represented by 3 councillors. The council groups wards together into 10 Community Forums to enable community engagement.

Members of parliament

Current members of

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for constituencies within Dudley MBC area are:

Chief Executives

Mayor of Dudley and Civic Awards

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. 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 and hosts the annua
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. * The

Frank Foley Major Francis "Frank" Edward Foley CMG (24 November 1884 – 8 May 1958) was a British Secret Intelligence Service officer. As a passport control officer for the British embassy in Berlin, Foley " bent the rules" and helped thousands ...

award for community spirit * The

William Shenstone William Shenstone (18 November 171411 February 1763) was an English poet and one of the earliest practitioners of landscape gardening through the development of his estate, '' The Leasowes''. Biography Son of Thomas Shenstone and Anne Penn, ...

award for environment * The

Duncan Edwards Duncan Edwards (1 October 1936 – 21 February 1958) was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and the England national team. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid ...

award for sport * The

Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...

award for arts * The Thomas Attwood award for education * The Mike Holder award for business

Civic arms and motto

Dudley’s coat of arms was designed in 1975.Dudley's little book of history 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.

City status bid

In 2021, the council proposed the borough (rather than simply the town) of Dudley become a city, as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The bid was unsuccessful, having also been unsuccessful in 2011.

References

{{Reflist Local authorities in the West Midlands (county) Metropolitan district councils of England 1974 establishments in England

Borough Council A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...