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All 46 seats to Bedford Borough Council 24 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 34.9% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Winner of each seat at the 2023 Bedford Borough Council election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2023 Bedford Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023, electing members of Bedford Borough Council in Bedfordshire, England. An election for the borough's directly-elected mayor took place at the same time. [1] This was the same day as other local elections.
The whole council was up for election on new ward boundaries. The total number of seats increased by 6, from 40 to 46. [2] Issues being debated by the candidates include the route of East West Rail through the town, with Government confirmation on the route still awaited at the time of the election. [3]
The council remained under no overall control after the election. The Conservative candidate, Tom Wootton, won the mayoralty, defeating the Liberal Democrat incumbent, Dave Hodgson, who had held the post since 2009. [4]
2023 Bedford Borough Council election (new boundaries) | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidates | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
Labour | 45 | 14 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
31.1 | 29.4 | 24,563 | +1.8 | |
Conservative | 45 | 13 | 0 | 1 | ![]() |
28.9 | 27.9 | 23,316 | –3.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | 46 | 13 | 0 | 2 | ![]() |
28.9 | 27.7 | 23,194 | –2.6 | |
Green | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
6.7 | 8.1 | 6,786 | +1.7 | |
Independent | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
4.4 | 6.5 | 5,479 | +2.8 | |
Reform UK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
0.0 | 0.4 | 310 | New | |
TUSC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
0.0 | <0.1 | 6 | New | |
Communist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
0.0 | <0.1 | 5 | New | |
Vacant | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
2.2 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Official results were published by Bedford Borough Council as the count progressed. [5] They were also reported live by the Bedford Independent [6] and also reported by the Bedford Times and Citizen newspaper, initially through its website. [7]
The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Bedford Borough Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023. [8]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Jon Gambold* | 442 | 44.4 | ||
Green | Adrian Spurrell | 423 | 42.5 | ||
Labour | Christopher Howes | 90 | 9.0 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Stelios Mores | 40 | 4.0 | ||
Majority | 19 | 1.9 | |||
Turnout | 995 | 41.4 | |||
Registered electors | 2,406 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Charles Royden* | 1,208 | 50.3 | –11.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Wendy Rider* | 1,201 | 50.0 | –11.5 | |
Conservative | Gill Scott | 645 | 26.8 | +8.4 | |
Conservative | Sharon Thompson | 609 | 25.3 | +11.1 | |
Labour | Elizabeth Pugsley | 380 | 15.8 | +4.7 | |
Labour | Warwick Mackie | 352 | 14.6 | +4.4 | |
Green | Stephen Bywater | 232 | 9.7 | +0.8 | |
Turnout | 2,403 | 36.8 | –6.8 | ||
Registered electors | 6,531 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | |||||
Liberal Democrats hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Rigby | 1,061 | 47.2 | ||
Conservative | Dylan Simmons | 1,055 | 46.9 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Richard Jones | 449 | 20.0 | ||
Labour | Gordon Charlton | 419 | 18.6 | ||
Labour | Ashley Frith | 383 | 17.0 | ||
Green | Kathryn Hill | 320 | 14.2 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Stephen Rutherford | 230 | 10.2 | ||
Reform UK | Kathy Wallis | 194 | 8.6 | ||
Turnout | 2,248 | 39.0 | |||
Registered electors | 5,764 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Lucy Bywater* | 1,689 | 63.3 | ||
Green | Paul Edmonds | 1,157 | 43.3 | ||
Labour | Sam Blacklaws | 626 | 23.4 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Hilde Hendrickx* | 566 | 21.2 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Tom Pattinson | 348 | 13.0 | ||
Conservative | Simon Briggs | 295 | 11.0 | ||
Conservative | Josh Walker | 284 | 10.6 | ||
Turnout | 2,670 | 44.6 | |||
Registered electors | 5,986 | ||||
Green win (new seat) | |||||
Green win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Fouzia Atiq* | 1,331 | 62.1 | +15.0 | |
Labour | Abu Sultan* | 1,137 | 53.1 | +2.9 | |
Labour | Harish Thapar | 1,127 | 52.6 | N/A | |
Conservative | Suresh Sunda | 498 | 23.2 | –2.4 | |
Conservative | Spenser Groves | 433 | 20.2 | N/A | |
Conservative | Ionut Milea | 388 | 18.1 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Charlotte Bagnall | 279 | 13.0 | –3.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Eve McGrath | 240 | 11.2 | –3.1 | |
Green | Susan Throssell | 224 | 10.5 | –3.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Tristan Steyn | 173 | 8.1 | N/A | |
Turnout | 2,142 | 26.0 | –3.0 | ||
Registered electors | 8,238 | ||||
Labour hold | |||||
Labour hold | |||||
Labour win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Jane Walker* | 1,101 | 55.5 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Abbott* | 808 | 40.7 | ||
Conservative | Phillipa Simms | 795 | 40.1 | ||
Liberal Democrats | John Manning | 539 | 27.2 | ||
Labour | June McDonald | 200 | 10.1 | ||
Labour | Thoufique Ali | 175 | 8.8 | ||
Green | Lynne Gray | 163 | 8.2 | ||
Turnout | 1,985 | 37.9 | |||
Registered electors | 5,328 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Henry Vann* | 1,044 | 55.4 | –2.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | David Sawyer* | 968 | 51.4 | –4.1 | |
Conservative | Jason Gordon | 369 | 19.6 | –5.5 | |
Conservative | Freddie Linsley | 347 | 18.4 | –4.1 | |
Labour | Shaun Bowman | 322 | 17.1 | +5.1 | |
Labour | Mohammad Islam | 268 | 14.2 | +3.9 | |
Green | Harrison Marley | 230 | 12.2 | N/A | |
Turnout | 1,884 | 35.3 | –5.1 | ||
Registered electors | 5,338 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | |||||
Liberal Democrats hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Timothy Caswell* | 792 | 45.6 | +8.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Christine McHugh* | 729 | 42.0 | +6.0 | |
Labour | Shane Kelly | 578 | 33.3 | –0.8 | |
Labour | Cathrine Ward | 505 | 29.1 | –1.6 | |
Conservative | Bernard Jones | 257 | 14.8 | +3.1 | |
Green | Philippa Fleming | 136 | 7.8 | +2.2 | |
Reform UK | Adrian Haynes | 116 | 6.7 | N/A | |
Turnout | 1,736 | 29.3 | –4.4 | ||
Registered electors | 5,925 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | |||||
Liberal Democrats hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Phillippa Martin-Moran-Bryant* | 781 | 69.9 | +15.8 | |
Green | Toby Waltham | 160 | 14.3 | ±0.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Malcolm Smith | 103 | 9.2 | –13.7 | |
Labour | Harvey Stimson | 73 | 6.5 | –2.1 | |
Majority | 621 | 55.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,117 | 40.9 | +2.0 | ||
Registered electors | 2,752 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Jim Weir* | 623 | 57.1 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Joanna Szaub-Newton | 295 | 27.0 | ||
Labour | Mohammad Teahleel | 132 | 12.1 | ||
Green | Tim Crowhurst | 42 | 3.8 | ||
Majority | 328 | 30.1 | |||
Turnout | 1,092 | 34.8 | |||
Registered electors | 3,158 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Ben Foley* | 274 | 36.2 | ||
Labour | Sudesh Rani | 223 | 29.5 | ||
Independent | Syedur Rahman | 144 | 19.0 | ||
Conservative | Karen Boyes | 67 | 8.9 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Nigel Spencer | 43 | 5.7 | ||
TUSC | Paul Mannion | 6 | 0.8 | ||
Majority | 51 | 6.7 | |||
Turnout | 757 | 26.5 | |||
Registered electors | 2,898 | ||||
Green win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Colleen Atkins* | 1,178 | 60.3 | +2.9 | |
Labour | Zara Layne | 977 | 50.0 | +1.8 | |
Conservative | Steve Spring | 302 | 15.4 | +2.0 | |
Conservative | Elizabeth Akinwande | 276 | 14.1 | +2.3 | |
Independent | David Allen | 258 | 13.2 | –5.4 | |
Green | Jonathan Westwood | 165 | 8.4 | N/A | |
Green | Barry Freeman | 160 | 8.2 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Martin Kavanagh | 158 | 8.1 | –7.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Patricia Wood | 128 | 6.5 | –5.4 | |
Turnout | 1,955 | 30.4 | –4.0 | ||
Registered electors | 6,431 | ||||
Labour hold | |||||
Labour hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alison Foster* | 789 | 60.6 | –7.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | James Thomson | 190 | 14.6 | +8.8 | |
Labour | David Bevan | 164 | 12.6 | +6.1 | |
Green | Niamh Lynch | 160 | 12.3 | –7.7 | |
Majority | 599 | 46.0 | |||
Turnout | 1,303 | 40.9 | |||
Registered electors | 3,209 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Mohammed Nawaz* | 907 | 46.4 | –3.1 | |
Labour | Caroline White | 875 | 44.8 | –9.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Jas Parmar | 612 | 31.3 | +20.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Louise Crofts | 429 | 21.9 | +14.2 | |
Conservative | Joseph Johnson | 276 | 14.1 | –18.6 | |
Conservative | Simran Nahar | 224 | 11.5 | –13.0 | |
Green | Mark Brown | 170 | 8.7 | N/A | |
Turnout | 1,920 | 28.5 | –2.7 | ||
Registered electors | 6,737 | ||||
Labour hold | |||||
Labour hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Sue Oliver* | 665 | 64.8 | +17.5 | |
Conservative | Elizabeth Hedison | 233 | 22.7 | –17.5 | |
Green | Laura Fitzgerald | 78 | 7.6 | –0.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Bipinchandra Shah | 50 | 4.9 | +0.3 | |
Majority | 432 | 42.1 | |||
Turnout | 1,026 | 32.0 | –4.1 | ||
Registered electors | 3,228 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Carl Meader* | 902 | 82.8 | –0.7 | |
Conservative | Barry Ryan | 113 | 10.4 | –2.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Janet Trengrove | 44 | 4.0 | +0.6 | |
Green | Sanjay Patel | 31 | 2.8 | N/A | |
Majority | 789 | 72.4 | |||
Turnout | 1,090 | 33.5 | –3.9 | ||
Registered electors | 3,256 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | James Valentine* | 615 | 68.6 | +16.5 | |
Conservative | Elizabeth Wootton | 191 | 21.3 | –19.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Paramjeet Kaur | 60 | 6.7 | –0.5 | |
Green | James Long | 26 | 2.9 | N/A | |
Communist | Markus Keaney | 5 | 0.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 424 | 47.3 | |||
Turnout | 897 | 28.9 | –2.9 | ||
Registered electors | 3,119 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Dean Crofts* | 879 | 39.5 | –1.6 | |
Labour | Ralley Rahman | 805 | 36.1 | +1.4 | |
Labour | Mashuk Ullah | 776 | 34.8 | +5.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Henna Khanum | 701 | 31.5 | –10.1 | |
Conservative | Caroline Fensome | 405 | 18.2 | +5.5 | |
Conservative | Sharanjit Sira | 309 | 13.9 | N/A | |
Green | Nick Meek | 187 | 8.4 | –1.7 | |
Turnout | 2,227 | 29.9 | –0.3 | ||
Registered electors | 7,448 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | |||||
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Michael Headley* | 1,638 | 62.1 | –1.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Max Royden* | 1,380 | 52.3 | +2.5 | |
Conservative | Katherine Groves | 581 | 22.0 | –4.7 | |
Conservative | Martin MacPherson-Lawley | 495 | 18.8 | –0.6 | |
Labour | Wendie Harvey | 336 | 12.7 | +3.9 | |
Labour | Geoffrey Pearce | 275 | 10.4 | +2.4 | |
Green | Jen Feneley | 245 | 9.3 | +1.8 | |
Turnout | 2,638 | 40.6 | –5.0 | ||
Registered electors | 6,498 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | |||||
Liberal Democrats hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Nesreen Akhtar* | 1,604 | 50.4 | +1.6 | |
Labour | Mohammed Masud* | 1,484 | 46.6 | +4.8 | |
Labour | Mohammed Din | 1,433 | 45.0 | N/A | |
Independent | Mohammad Rafi | 1,349 | 42.4 | N/A | |
Independent | Zaffar Iqbal | 1,042 | 32.7 | N/A | |
Independent | Gulam Monowar | 803 | 25.2 | N/A | |
Independent | Ishtiaq Ahmed | 248 | 7.8 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Sydney Campbell | 193 | 6.1 | +2.6 | |
Conservative | Jennifer Wootton | 182 | 5.7 | –7.0 | |
Conservative | Peter Davis | 163 | 5.1 | –1.3 | |
Green | Kelvin Plomer | 146 | 4.6 | –3.9 | |
Conservative | Verity Wootton | 146 | 4.6 | –3.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | James Baggaley | 133 | 4.2 | +1.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Rashid Rogers | 73 | 2.3 | N/A | |
Turnout | 3,184 | 48.8 | –1.0 | ||
Registered electors | 6,524 | ||||
Labour hold | |||||
Labour hold | |||||
Labour win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Nicola Gribble | 564 | 49.6 | ||
Conservative | Fiona Cardinale | 397 | 34.9 | ||
Labour | Melanie Purves | 98 | 8.6 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Conrad Longmore | 78 | 6.9 | ||
Majority | 167 | 14.7 | |||
Turnout | 1,137 | 37.0 | |||
Registered electors | 3,081 | ||||
Independent win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Martin Towler* | 865 | 62.1 | +1.6 | |
Labour | Min Rodruguez | 265 | 19.0 | –6.9 | |
Green | Joanne Hill | 142 | 10.2 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Lorna Marchant | 121 | 8.7 | –4.9 | |
Majority | 600 | 43.1 | |||
Turnout | 1,393 | 44.0 | +6.1 | ||
Registered electors | 3,212 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Billy Thompson | 524 | 55.4 | ||
Conservative | John Robertson | 223 | 23.6 | ||
Labour | Neil Mann | 143 | 15.1 | ||
Green | Daniel Stachowiak | 56 | 5.9 | ||
Majority | 300 | 31.8 | |||
Turnout | 946 | 32.3 | |||
Registered electors | 2,943 | ||||
Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Doug McMurdo* | 946 | 67.0 | +2.9 | |
Conservative | Douglas Hansen-Luke | 252 | 17.9 | –7.8 | |
Labour | Thomas McEwan | 123 | 8.7 | +4.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Paul Stekelis | 90 | 6.4 | +0.6 | |
Majority | 694 | 49.1 | |||
Turnout | 1,411 | 44.6 | –5.3 | ||
Registered electors | 3,185 | ||||
Independent hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Leigh Coombs | 652 | 41.7 | ||
Conservative | Sarah-Jayne Gallagher* | 605 | 38.7 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Stephen Bowering | 529 | 33.8 | ||
Conservative | Sam Holland | 419 | 26.8 | ||
Labour | Ali Akbor | 253 | 16.2 | ||
Labour | Mansoor Nasir | 204 | 13.1 | ||
Green | Richard Baker | 170 | 10.9 | ||
Turnout | 1,563 | 30.9 | |||
Registered electors | 5,059 | ||||
Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Graeme Coombes* | 1,307 | 45.0 | ||
Conservative | Marc Frost | 1,129 | 38.9 | ||
Conservative | Andrea Spice | 969 | 33.4 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Linda Jack | 918 | 31.6 | ||
Liberal Democrats | John Symonds | 868 | 29.9 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Sachdev Goldi | 829 | 28.5 | ||
Labour | Steve Conway | 516 | 17.8 | ||
Labour | Terri Conway | 511 | 17.6 | ||
Labour | Amir Khan | 448 | 15.4 | ||
Independent | Lee Melville | 269 | 9.3 | ||
Turnout | 2,905 | 31.4 | |||
Registered electors | 9,252 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Wheeler* | 885 | 43.7 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Susan Abood | 858 | 42.4 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Peter Stephens | 848 | 41.9 | ||
Conservative | Tristan Tyerman | 652 | 32.2 | ||
Labour | John Dawson | 296 | 14.6 | ||
Labour | Hamayun Shaid | 268 | 13.2 | ||
Turnout | 2,025 | 30.6 | |||
Registered electors | 6,616 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Tom Wootton* | 878 | 76.0 | +4.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Thomas Townsend | 156 | 13.5 | –15.0 | |
Labour | Ian Nicholls | 121 | 10.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 722 | 62.5 | |||
Turnout | 1,155 | 40.6 | –1.5 | ||
Registered electors | 2,875 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ![]() |
Note: since Wootton had been elected Mayor of Bedford the result was a vacant seat. [9]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Julie Cox | 610 | 63.1 | –12.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Thomas Townsend | 323 | 33.4 | +19.9 | |
Labour | Ian Nicholls | 34 | 3.5 | –7.0 | |
Majority | 287 | 29.7 | |||
Turnout | 967 | 33.8 | -6.8 | ||
Registered electors | 2,860 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | -16.4 |
In November 2023, Mohammed Mahboob Din, elected as a Labour councillor, left the party to sit as an independent. [10]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Hilde Hendrickx | 579 | 57.3 | +1.9 | |
Conservative | Natalie Christian-John | 249 | 24.7 | +1.1 | |
Labour | Warwick Mackie | 130 | 12.9 | -2.2 | |
Green | Emma Smart | 52 | 5.1 | -0.8 | |
Majority | 330 | 32.6 | |||
Turnout | 1,010 | 34.3 | +2.0 | ||
Registered electors | 2,953 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | +0.4 |
The Riverfield by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Billy Thompson. [12]