Reform UK tipped to sweep Dudley wards in 2026 as council leader vows to hold seats

Dudley Council has 72 councillors with three representatives in each of its 24 constituencies which are called wards.

On Thursday May 7, 2026, voters will have their say on who will be those councillors with a third of the seats scheduled to be on ballot papers.

In mid-December, election prediction website Electoral Calculus forecast Reform would win every ward in Dudley borough if a general election was held now; however, unsurprisingly, council leader, Conservative Cllr Patrick Harley has other ideas.

Cllr Harley said: “We are defending nine seats, I am confident with the normal campaign we do and the hard work our candidates and foot soldiers do, we will defend all nine.”

With more options for voters, it is possible seats could be won and lost by very small margins, something Cllr Harley is well aware of.

He added: “Reform could actually help us, if we get our core vote out in some of these seats and the Labour vote goes to the Lib Dems, Reform or Greens, we could come through.”

“Even if we don’t gain any more seats we will be by far the largest party.”

At the time of writing, the council was made up of 33 Conservative councillors, 24 from Labour, six Black Country Party members, five Liberal Democrats, three from Reform UK and one independent.

In May, along with nine Conservative seats to be defended, Labour will also defend nine seats, there will be three Black Country Party seats on the ballot papers, one Reform UK seat and independent Stuart Turner’s seat will also be up for grabs.

The number of seats to be filled could also include councillors who are not scheduled to stand in 2026 but who stand down or if a councillor dies.

Whether the polls predicting a Reform UK landslide are accurate or not, the party seems sure to have an impact on how the council looks on May 8.

Reform UK Cllr Shaun Keasey said: “Dudley needs a fresh start, the stale ideas of the past need to be swept aside.”