Mayor of Bedford

Last updated

Mayor of Bedford
Incumbent
Tom Wootton
since 4 May 2023
Style Mr. Mayor
AppointerElectorate of Bedford
Term length Four years
Inaugural holder Frank Branston
Website 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.

Contents

History

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
ChoiceVotes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Elected Mayor11,31666.78
Cabinet System5,53733.22
Valid votes16,84399.60
Invalid or blank votes340.40
Total votes16887100.00
Registered voters/turnout108,81715.54
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]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Better Bedford Party Frank Branston 9,55734.5%2,52112,07863.4%
Liberal Democrats Christine McHugh4,71117.0%2,2536,96436.6%
Conservative Charles Rose4,66116.8%
Labour Apu Bagchi4,11414.8%
Independent Ian Clifton1,8936.8%
Independent Arthur Foster1,8266.6%
Green Mark Powell7352.7%
Independent Gurminder Dosanjh2180.8%
Better Bedford Party win

2007

In 2007 Frank Branston was re-elected as mayor.

Bedford Mayoral Election 3 May 2007 [6]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Better Bedford Party Frank Branston 15,96636.7%3,73219,69859.7%
Conservative Nicky Attenborough10,71024.6%2,60313,31340.3%
Liberal Democrats Christine McHugh10,53324.2%
Labour Randolph Charles4,75810.9%
Green Justina McLennan1,5383.5%
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]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Liberal Democrats Dave Hodgson 9,42826.8%4,12713,55554.0%
Conservative Parvez Akhtar9,10525.9%2,43811,54346.0%
Independent Apu Bagchi7,63121.7%
Independent Tony Hare4,31612.3%
Labour James Valentine3,4829.9%
Green Eve Robinson-Morley1,1833.4%
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]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Liberal Democrats Dave Hodgson 19,96637.7%4,32524,29155.7%
Conservative John Guthrie17,50133.0%1,82419,32544.3%
Labour Michelle Harris11,19721.1%
Independent Tony Hare3,1335.9%
Green Greg Paszynski1,2112.3%
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]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Liberal Democrats Dave Hodgson 25,28231.4%10,02035,30257.1%
Conservative Jas Parmar19,41724.1%7,09626,51342.9%
Labour Tim Douglas15,93119.8%
Independent Steve Lowe12,88316.0%
UKIP Adrian Haynes7,0608.8%
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]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Liberal Democrats Dave Hodgson 17,59636.0%3,82021,41654.2%
Conservative Giovanni Carafano15,77832.3%2,32718,10545.8%
Labour Jenni Jackson9,67719.8%
Green Adrian Spurrell3,2396.6%
UKIP Adrian Haynes2,6275.4%
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]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Tom Wootton 15,747 33.1 Increase2.svg0.8
Liberal Democrats Dave Hodgson 15,60232.8Decrease2.svg3.2
Labour Saqib Ali11,56824.3Increase2.svg4.5
Green Adrian Spurrell3,7958.0Increase2.svg1.4
Heritage Alberto Thomas8871.9New
Majority1450.3
Turnout 47,599
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats Swing

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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. 1 2 "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".