3 hours ago We take an in-depth look at the political situation in Dudley ahead of the borough's 2021 election in May. Subscribe to our daily newsletter! Sign Up Dudley Profile Politics Control of this classic marginal authority has switched repeatedly since 1973. The Conservatives currently run the council, although they have one less seat than Labour. The borough has swung towards the Tories in recent years, and now has four Conservative MPs in Mike Wood, Marco Longhi, Suzanne Webb and James Morris. History Originally a municipal borough, Dudley became a county borough in 1889 based around the main town centre, along with the suburbs of Netherton and Woodside. Although surrounded by Staffordshire, the borough was associated with Worcestershire for non-administrative purposes, forming an exclave of the county until 1966, when it was transferred to Staffordshire after an expansion of the borough boundaries. Following local government reorganisation in 1974, Dudley took in the boroughs of Halesowen and Stourbridge to form the present-day Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the newly formed West Midlands county.