Hilary Bills had been councillor for Halesowen North and was well respected in her ward. She lost out to Conservative candidate Stuart Henley at the local elections last week, with the ex-UKIP councillor polling 1,906 votes compared to Hilary s 1,698. The 73-year-old married mum-of-two daughters and grandmother-of-four said she will continue in her myriad of community roles including secretary of Halesowen In Bloom, on the friends of Hurst Green Park and with Shell Corner Partnership. She will also continue as governor of Leasowes and Halesbury schools. Hilary said people were voting along party lines, rather than for individuals and what they had done as councillors, and blamed the national Boris Bounce for her defeat.
Cllr Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Council. DUDLEY S Conservative Group has turned the borough overwhelmingly blue this morning after giving Labour a beating at the polls. The Tories now hold 46 seats on Dudley Council and have finally gained the majority that has eluded them in recent election battles. Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley s Conservative Group and Dudley Council, described the results as unbelievable and he added: It s been a long-time coming. Just three Labour councillors managed to hang onto their seats after voters went to the polls for the 2021 local election yesterday (Thursday May 6), while the Tories won a whopping 23.