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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.

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%.

Mayor of Bedford referendum
21 February 2002

Choice	Votes	%
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

Elections

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

2002

2007

In 2007 Frank Branston was re-elected as mayor.

2009 By-Election

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

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.

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.

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.

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).

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

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Wootton	15,747	33.1	0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Dave Hodgson	15,602	32.8	3.2
	Labour	Saqib Ali	11,568	24.3	4.5
	Green	Adrian Spurrell	3,795	8.0	1.4
	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. P J Simpkins (4 April 2019). "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Retrieved 15 July 2024.
13. Church, Laura (5 April 2023). "Statement As To Persons Nominated". Bedford Borough Council. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
14. "Election results - 4 May 2023 | Bedford Borough Council".

• Directly elected mayors of places in England
• Mayors of places in Bedfordshire
• Borough of Bedford