New cabinet announced as Tories retain leadership of Dudley Council, despite gains by Reform

The Conservatives retained the leadership of Dudley Council at last night’s annual meeting, despite an attempt by Reform UK to remove them.

Councillors voted 44-27 in favour of retaining Councillor Patrick Harley as council leader on Thursday night (May 28), and approving his appointments to the council’s cabinet.

Newly elected leader of the council’s opposition Reform group, Councillor Marco Longhi had called for a vote on Councillor Harley’s leadership following this month’s local elections, which saw Reform gain 20 seats to become the second largest party on the council.

The Conservatives lost six seats, but remain the largest group, with Labour now in third place, holding 15 seats.

Councillor Harley admitted the past 18 months had been difficult as the authority fought off the threat of effective bankruptcy.

He pledged to work with other parties in the best interests of the people of Dudley.

He cited the recently opened Pens Meadow school for pupils with special needs as one of the authority’s achievements, giving youngsters the environment and education they deserved.

“Over the past 18 months this administration has had to make difficult decisions to establish strong foundations, including financial sustainability, to protect services and ensure a long-term future for this council,” he said

“At the same time, we have put some much needed investment into key areas such as services for adults and children.

“Just weeks ago the Care Quality Commission rated our adult social care services ‘good,’ a testament to us delivering good services for people who need them most.

“We will be working to build on these successes in the coming year.

“With no overall control, we will work with other parties throughout the year and while our politics may differ, we are all here to serve our residents.

“This is a cabinet which will be delivering for Dudley.”

Councillor Paul Bradley will continue as deputy leader, and Councillor Andrea Goddard remains in charge of adult social care and public health.

The main change is that Councillor Daniel Bevan replaces Councillor Phil Atkins as cabinet member for development and regulation.

Otherwise, Councillor Wayne Little continues as cabinet member for children and young people, Councillor Simon Phipps in charge of economy and infrastructure, Councillor Ian Bevan, cabinet member for housing and homelessness, and Councillor Damian Corfield as cabinet member for neighbourhoods, including waste collections, recycling and street cleaning.

Councillor Steve Clark retains his role as cabinet member for resources, in charge of the council’s finances and performance, while Councillor Ed Lawrence continues as member for transformation, overseeing service modernisation, business intelligence and technology.

The Reform shadow cabinet will see Councillor Longhi as group leader, with Councillor Shaun Keasey as his deputy, also shadowing the economy and infrastructure brief.

Councillor Andrew Southall will be the party’s spokesman on adult social care, Councillor Angela Blythe for children and young people, and Councillor Andrew Barnfield for development and regulation.

Councillor James Clinton, who defected from the Conservatives in November last year, will be shadow cabinet member for housing and homelessness, while Councillor Rob Clinton has been given the neighbourhoods role.

Councillor Jason Thorne, who defected at the same time as Councillor James Clinton, will be shadow member for public health, while Councillor Sat Sherwani will be the party’s spokesman for resources, and Councillor Jan McGeough for transformation.

Councillor Shaukat Ali will lead the Labour group, succeeding Councillor Adam Aston who has been appointed deputy mayor.

Councillor Qasim Mughal will be deputy leader of the Labour group, also holding the resources brief, with Councillor Hilary Bills the party’s spokesman on adult social care and Councillor Parmjit Sahota, Economy and Infrastructure.

Councillor Pete Lowe of the Black Country Party will serve as mayor, while Councillor Ryan Priest remains leader of the Liberal Democrat group.