New Dudley labour leader aims to unify fractured councillor group

Cllr Adam Aston was appointed to the top job by the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) to replace ex-leader Cllr Pete Lowe who quit Labour after becoming disillusioned with Sir Keir Starmer’s government.

Cllr Aston believes he can bring the remaining 25 Labour councillors together to form an effective opposition.

Cllr Aston said: “It’s been a turbulent time for the Labour group over the last few months; there is no denying that, particularly with the loss of senior members.

“The most important thing we need to do as the biggest opposition group in the council is to come together and be an effective team to hold to account the Conservative administration.

“I’m going to stress the point we need to be a cohesive team with one message, our priority must be the people we represent and standing up for our communities.”

Cllr Aston was among a number of possible candidates for the leadership and there are already rumours that some Labour councillors are unhappy there was no election.

He said: “The NEC process isn’t unusual, there was a process of applications and interviews as per the Labour Party NEC normal process.

“The Labour Party took ownership of the process, there is precedence for that – it does happen.”

Despite savage criticism of the national government by some of his former colleagues, Cllr Aston has faith Labour is moving in the right direction.

He said: “Labour inherited an economy resembling a burning skip, it was inevitable there were going to be some difficult decisions to be made by the government in order to get Britain back on track.”

There are no local elections in Dudley until May 2026, but Labour’s new leader already has one eye on making gains, although he is aware Reform UK may have a part to play.

Cllr Aston said: “Next May’s elections are very important, judging by the numbers at the general election there is support for Reform across the borough, our job is to put our case forward and to speak to as many people as possible to convince them that Labour are the best people to run Dudley Council.

“My approach will be a positive campaign based on our plans for Dudley dovetailed with what the government is doing.”

In the meantime Cllr Aston will be looking to form constructive relationships with opposition groups to put his priorities at the forefront of debates.

He said: “The financial sustainability of the council remains my biggest concern, Dudley still finds itself in a bad financial position.

“As a Labour group we voted against the budget and some of the cuts that fell on some of the most vulnerable in our society, we would have made some different decisions.

“The Labour Party in Dudley has been such a huge part of my life, never for a minute did I believe I would be leading the group, it’s a huge honour.”

“We will work night and day to hold to account Patrick Harley and the Conservative administration in Dudley.”