Bedford Elections: Conservative candidate says he's ready for 'pure hard work to get things done'

A Conservative candidate for Wootton and Kempston Rural said there’s no point complaining if you’re not prepared to try to make changes.

Tristan Tyerman is standing alongside John Wheeler (the current Wootton councillor. Boundary changes mean that this ward will have two councillors to represent it on the borough council.

Tristan, who has been a borough resident for over four and a half years, said: “I wanted to get a bit more involved and there’s no point complaining about things if you’re not going to at least make an effort to get involved to try to change things yourself.

“That, and just being able to help people and give back to the community, ” he said.

Tristan moved to Wootton around 18 months ago, and soon noticed the village’s sense of community.

“I used to live in London and there people don’t even know their neighbour’s name, they never speak,” he said.

“Wootton and Kempston Rural is a very different sort of environment, I want to really try to push for more community events, draw people into the community so they all talk to their neighbours.

A keen cyclist, Tristan has noticed a lack of cycling lanes, and public transport in rural parts of the borough.

“I do a lot of cycling between Bedford normally Bedford Station and Wootton but there’s not the best cycle infrastructure on the way and some cars come quite close,” he said.

“So I really want to try and push safe cycling by having more cycle lanes. And more public transport as well, more buses will encourage people to rely less on their cars.”

This is Tristan’s first taste of local politics, but he said he has plenty of life experience to help him to fulfil his role as a councillor – if elected.

“I did a few years in the army reserves,” he said. “Here you learn about discipline, and about getting involved with the community and having that drive to help others.

“I am someone who works hard to get stuff done,” he added.

“When I was 13 I was a paperboy at school, at 16 I started working weekends while still in school. After leaving school at 18 I went to college while working full-time. I’ve always just been a very hard-working individual.

“So I think just having that work ethic and knowing that I’m going to put in as much effort as I can, you know, pure hard work to get stuff done would make me a good councillor for the community,” he said.

Residents can contact Tristan on 07935 974449 to find out more about his campaign, and his leaflets will start to be delivered later this week.

Other candidates standing in the Wootton and Kempston Rural Ward can be found here.