Mayor of Bedford

The Mayor of Bedford is a directly elected mayor responsible for the executive function, and ceremonial duty of Bedford Borough Council in Bedfordshire. The incumbent is Tom Wootton of the Conservative Party, elected in May 2023.

Mayor of Bedford
Incumbent
Tom Wootton
since 4 May 2023
StyleMr. Mayor
AppointerElectorate of Bedford
Term lengthFour years
Inaugural holderFrank Branston
WebsiteMayor of Bedford

History
Main article: List of mayors of Bedford (England)

The first known reference to a Mayor of Bedford in England was in 1264.

Prior to the Municipal Corporations Act, 1835, the Mayor of Bedford came into office on 29 September. The first Mayor of the reformed Corporation came into office on 1 January 1836, and subsequent Mayors on 9 November. After the Local Government Act, 1948, and the Local Government Act, 1972, the Mayors from 1949 onwards came into office in May. The civic mayor was replaced by a directly elected mayor in 2002.

Since April 2009 the Borough of Bedford is a unitary authority, with the executive having the powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county.

Referendum

Bedford held a referendum on 21 February 2002 on whether to introduce a directly elected mayor after a petition was signed by at least 5% of the electorate. The move was approved with 11,316 voting in favour and 5,357 against on a turnout of 15.5%.[1]

Mayor of Bedford referendum
21 February 2002
Choice Votes  %
Referendum passed Elected Mayor 11,316 66.78
Cabinet System 5,537 33.22
Valid votes 16,843 99.60
Invalid or blank votes 34 0.40
Total votes 16887 100.00
Registered voters/turnout 108,817 15.54
Source: Bedford Borough Council[2]

Elections

The first mayoral election on 17 October 2002 saw independent Frank Branston elected as mayor.[3]

2002
Bedford Mayoral Election 17 October 2002 [4][5]
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Better Bedford Party Frank Branston 9,557 34.5% 2,521 12,078 63.4%
​​
Liberal Democrats Christine McHugh 4,711 17.0% 2,253 6,964 36.6%
​​
Conservative Charles Rose 4,661 16.8%
​​
Labour Apu Bagchi 4,114 14.8%
​​
Independent Ian Clifton 1,893 6.8%
​​
Independent Arthur Foster 1,826 6.6%
​​
Green Mark Powell 735 2.7%
​​
Independent Gurminder Dosanjh 218 0.8%
​​
Better Bedford Party win

2007

In 2007 Frank Branston was re-elected as mayor.

Bedford Mayoral Election 3 May 2007 [6]
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Better Bedford Party Frank Branston 15,966 36.7% 3,732 19,698 59.7%
​​
Conservative Nicky Attenborough 10,710 24.6% 2,603 13,313 40.3%
​​
Liberal Democrats Christine McHugh 10,533 24.2%
​​
Labour Randolph Charles 4,758 10.9%
​​
Green Justina McLennan 1,538 3.5%
​​
Better Bedford Party hold

2009 By-Election

A by-election took place on 15 October 2009 after the death of the previous incumbent, Frank Branston in August 2009.[7] The by-election was won by the Liberal Democrat, Dave Hodgson.[7]

Bedford Mayoral By-Election 15 October 2009 [8]
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Liberal Democrats Dave Hodgson 9,428 26.8% 4,127 13,555 54.0%
​​
Conservative Parvez Akhtar 9,105 25.9% 2,438 11,543 46.0%
​​
Independent Apu Bagchi 7,631 21.7%
​​
Independent Tony Hare 4,316 12.3%
​​
Labour James Valentine 3,482 9.9%
​​
Green Eve Robinson-Morley 1,183 3.4%
​​
Liberal Democrats gain from Better Bedford Party

2011

Dave Hodgson was elected to a full term as mayor on 5 May 2011 after being elected to finish the term of Frank Branston in 2009.

Bedford Mayoral Election 5 May 2011 [9]
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Liberal Democrats Dave Hodgson 19,966 37.7% 4,325 24,291 55.7%
​​
Conservative John Guthrie 17,501 33.0% 1,824 19,325 44.3%
​​
Labour Michelle Harris 11,197 21.1%
​​
Independent Tony Hare 3,133 5.9%
​​
Green Greg Paszynski 1,211 2.3%
​​
Liberal Democrats hold

2015

The 2015 mayoral election took place on 7 May 2015, the same day as elections of Bedford Borough Councillors, and the UK General Election. Hodgson was re-elected.

Bedford Mayoral Election 7 May 2015 [10]
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Liberal Democrats Dave Hodgson 25,282 31.4% 10,020 35,302 57.1%
​​
Conservative Jas Parmar 19,417 24.1% 7,096 26,513 42.9%
​​
Labour Tim Douglas 15,931 19.8%
​​
Independent Steve Lowe 12,883 16.0%
​​
UKIP Adrian Haynes 7,060 8.8%
​​
Liberal Democrats hold

2019

The 2019 mayoral election took place on 2 May 2019, the same day as the 2019 Bedford Borough Council election, as part of the 2019 United Kingdom local elections.

Bedford Mayoral Election 2 May 2019 [11]
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Liberal Democrats Dave Hodgson 17,596 36.0% 3,820 21,416 54.2%
​​
Conservative Giovanni Carafano 15,778 32.3% 2,327 18,105 45.8%
​​
Labour Jenni Jackson 9,677 19.8%
​​
Green Adrian Spurrell 3,239 6.6%
​​
UKIP Adrian Haynes 2,627 5.4%
​​
Liberal Democrats hold

2023

The 2023 mayoral election took place on 4 May 2023, the same day as the 2023 Bedford Borough Council election, as part of the 2023 United Kingdom local elections. The candidates were Saqhib Ali (Labour Party), the incumbent Dave Hodgson (Liberal Democrats), Adrian Spurrell (Green Party), Alberto Thomas (Heritage Party), and Tom Wootton (Conservative Party).[12]

The result was declared on the night of 5 May, with Wootton defeating Hodgson by 145 votes. Unlike previous elections, this election did not provide for transfer votes due to the passing of the Elections Act 2022, which mandated that mayoral elections in England should be conducted using first-past-the-post rather than the supplementary vote system.

Bedford Mayoral Election 4 May 2023 [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tom Wootton 15,747 33.1 Increase0.8
Liberal Democrats Dave Hodgson 15,602 32.8 Decrease3.2
Labour Saqib Ali 11,568 24.3 Increase4.5
Green Adrian Spurrell 3,795 8.0 Increase1.4
Heritage Alberto Thomas 887 1.9 New
Majority 145 0.3
Turnout 47,599
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats Swing

References
  1. Parker, Simon (22 February 2002). "Bedford wants a mayor". guardian.co.uk. London. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  2. "Referendum on an elected Mayor for Bedford Borough council". Bedford Borough Council. 21 February 2002. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  3. Sherman, Jill (19 October 2002). "Maverick mayors add to Labour's embarrassment". The Times. London. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  4. "Still In the Hunt! Bedford Mayor Election: First Round Result". North Bedfordshire Liberal Democrats. 17 October 2002. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  5. "Bedford Borough Council Mayoral Election". Bedford Borough Council. 17 October 2002. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  6. "Bedford Borough Council Mayoral Election". Bedford Borough Council. 3 May 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  7. "Lib Dems claim victory in Bedford mayor race". 24dash.com. 16 October 2009. Archived from the original on 20 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  8. "Bedford Borough Council Mayoral Election". Bedford Borough Council. 15 October 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  9. "Bedford Borough Council Mayoral Election". Bedford Borough Council. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  10. "Bedford Borough Council Mayoral Election". Bedford Borough Council. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  11. "STATEMENT AS TO FIRST AND SECOND PREFERENCE VOTES" (PDF). Bedford Borough Council. Bedford Borough Council. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  12. Church, Laura (5 April 2023). "Statement As To Persons Nominated". Bedford Borough Council. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  13. "Election results - 4 May 2023 | Bedford Borough Council".
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