Dudley goes to the polls on May 7 with crucial seats up for grabs in local council elections. The authority is made up of 72 councillors, and 25 places in the council chamber will be decided by voters across the borough.
Key Details of the Election
Each of Dudley's 24 wards has three councillors, and one from each is up for election along with a vacant seat. The council is currently run by the Conservative Party, which has the most councillors (33) but not enough for an overall majority. Labour has 23 councillors and is the largest opposition group. The Black Country Party next has six elected members, although they were all elected as Labour councillors before leaving to form their current party.
The Liberal Democrats currently have five councillors and have supported the Conservatives in key votes like the budget for the last two years. Reform UK has three councillors, two Conservative defectors and one formerly independent councillor who has also served as a Tory member of the authority. The picture is completed by an independent councillor, and one seat is currently vacant after Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles stood down from the authority.
Polling Stations and Voter Information
A total of 161 polling stations will be open around the borough from 7am until 10pm on polling day. Voters can only cast their vote in the polling station shown on the voting card delivered to their house around a month before polling day. People can find out more about which polling station to use and who the candidates are for their ward by putting their postcode into the Voting and Elections page on The Electoral Commission website.
People voting in person are required to produce a valid form of photo identification. Among documents accepted by election officers are passports, photo driving licences, older person's bus passes funded by the UK government and a voter authority certificate. Votes cast during polling day will be counted along with postal votes already received, and results will be declared throughout the night and into the early hours of May 8.
