Bedford Elections: Who has been elected to Bedford Borough Council and who is the mayor?

Voters flocked to the polls yesterday (May 4) to make their voice heard in this year’s Bedford Borough Council and mayoral election.

Forty-six seats across 28 wards were being fought by 174 candidates. And while other parts of the country held their counts well into the night, here in Bedford the count took place on May 5 at the John Bunyan Sports Centre.

The new mayor is Conservative Tom Wootton.

Bedford Borough Council now has:

13 Conservative councillors

3 Green councillors

2 Independent councillors

14 Labour councillors

13 LibDem councillors

Here are the results in full:

Mayoral Election

Tom Wootton (Conservative) has been elected as the mayor of Bedford borough.

Bedford's new mayor says town's best days are yet to come

Biddenham

Jon Gambold (Conservative) 442 – Elected | Adrian Spurrell (GreenParty) 423 | Christopher Howes (Labour) 90 | Stelios Mores (LibDem) 40

Jon Gambold (Conservative Party) has been elected as the first councillor for the new Biddenham Ward. Cllr Gambold was the ward councillor for the Bromham & Biddenham Ward. This is a new ward following boundary changes by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

The turnout was 41.4 per cent.

Bromham

Robert Rigby and Dylan Simmons (both Conservative Party) are the first two councillors to be elected to represent the new Bromham Ward.

The turnout was 39.0 per cent.

Brickhill

Wendy Rider MBE and Charles Royden (both Liberal Democrat) have been re-elected to represent Brickhill Ward.

The turnout was 36.8 per cent

Castle and Newnham

Green Party candidates Lucy Bywater and Paul Edmonds have been elected to represent the new Castle and Newnham Ward.

The turn out was 44.6 per cent

Cauldwell

Fouzia Atiq and Abu Sultan (both Labour Party) have been re-elected to represent Cauldwell Ward. Due to boundary changes, this ward now has three councillors, with Harish Thapar (Labour Party) completing the set.

The turnout was 26 per cent.

Clapham and Oakley

The new Clapham and Oakley ward will be represented by Jonathan Abbott (Liberal Democrat), who was the councillor for the former Oakley ward, and Jane Walker (Conservative Party), who was the councillor for the old Clapham ward.

The turnout was 39.9 per cent.

De Parys

Henry Vann and David Sawyer (both Liberal Democrats) have been re-elected to represent De Parys ward.

The turnout was 35.3 per cent.

Goldington

Christine McHugh and Timothy Caswell (both Liberal Democrat) have been re-elected to represent Goldington ward.

The turnout was 29.3 per cent

Great Barford

Phillippa Martin-Moran-Bryant (Conservative) 781 – Elected | Toby Waltham (Green Party) 160 | Malcolm Smith (LibDem) 103 | Harvey Stimson (Labour) 73

Phillippa Martin-Moran-Bryant (Conservative Party) has been re-elected as the ward councillor for Great Barford.

The turnout was 40.9 per cent.

Great Denham

Jim Weir (Conservative) 623 – Elected | Joanna Szaub-Newton (LibDem) 295 | Mohammad Teahleel (Labour) 132 | Tim Crowhust (Green Party) 42

Jim Weir has been elected to represent the new Great Denham Ward. He was the ward councillor for the Kempston Rural ward.

The turnout was 34.8 per cent.

Greyfriars

Ben Foley (Green Party) has been elected as the first ever councillor for the new Greyfriars ward.

The turnout was 26.5 per cent.

Harpur

Colleen Atkins (Labour Party) has been re-elected to represent Harpur Ward. She will be joined by Zara Layne (Labour Party).

Former Harpur councillor Louise Jackson stood down at this election.

The turnout 30.4 per cent

Harrold

Alison Foster (Conservative) 789 – Elected | James Thomson (LibDem) 190 | David Bevan (Labour) 164 | Niamh Lynch (Green Party) 160

Alison Foster (Conservative Party) has been re-elected to represent Harrold Ward.

The turnout was 40.9 per cent.

Kempston Central and East

Mohammed Nawaz (Labour Party) has been re-elected to represent the Kempston Central & East Ward, and will be joined by Caroline White (Labour Party).

The former Labour councillor, Kay Burley, has retired.

The turnout was 28.5 per cent.

Kempston North

Sue Oliver (Labour) 665 – Elected | Elizabeth Hedison (Conservative) 233 | Laura Fitzgerald (Green Party) 78 | Bipinchandra Shah (LibDem) 50

Sue Oliver (Labour Party) has been re-elected to represent the Kempston North ward.

The turnout was 32 per cent.

Kempston South

Carl Meader (Labour) 902 – Elected | Barry Ryan (Conservative) 113 | Janet Trengrove (LibDem) | Sanjay Patel (Green Party) 31

Carl Meader (Labour Party) has been re-elected to represent Kempston South, winning 82.7 per cent of the votes cast.

The turnout was 33.5 per cent.

Kempston West

James Valentine (Labour) 615 – Elected | Elizabeth Wootton (Conservative) 191 | Paramjeet Kaur (LibDem) 60 | James Long (Green Party) 26 | Markus Keaney (Communist Party of Britain) 5

James Valentine (Labour Party) has been re-elected to represent Kempston West.

The turnout was 28.9 per cent.

Kingsbrook

Dean Crofts (Liberal Democrat) has been re-elected to represent the Kingsbrook Ward.

He will be joined by Ralley Rahman (Labour Party).

This ward was represented by Patrick Solomon who died in February.

The turnout was 29.9 per cent.

Putnoe

Michael Headley and Max Royden (both Liberal Democrat) have been re-elected to represnt Putnoe ward.

The turnout was 40.6 per cent.

Queens Park

Nesreen Akhtar and Mohammed Masud (both Labour Party) have been returned as councillors to represent Queen's Park. This ward now has three seats and they will be joined by Mahboob Din (Labour Party).

The turnout was 48.8 per cent.

Renhold and Ravensden

Nicola Gribble (Independent) 563 – Elected | Fiona Cardinale (Conservative) 397 | Melanie Purves (Labour) 98 | Conrad Longmore (LibDem) 78

Nicola Gribble (Independent) has been elected to represent the new Renhold and Ravensden Ward.

The turnout was 37 per cent.

Riseley

Martin Tower (Conservative) 865 – Elected | Min Rodriquez 265 | Joanne Hill (Green Party) | Lorna Marchant (LibDem) 121

Martin Towler (Conservative Party) has been re-elected to represent Riseley Ward.

The turnout was 44 per cent.

Riverfield

Billy Thompson (LibDem) 524 – Elected | John Robertson (Conservative) 223 | Neil Mann (Labour) 143 | Daniel Stachowiak (Green Party) 56

Billy Thompson (Liberal Democrat) has been elected as the first councillor for the new Riverfield ward.

The turnout was 32.3 per cent.

Sharnbrook

Doug McMurdo (Independent) 946 – Elected | Douglas Hansen-Luke (Conservative) 252 | Thomas McEwan (Labour) 123 | Paul Stekelis (LibDem) 90

Doug McMurdo (Independent) has been re-elected to represent Sharnbrook, with 67 per cent of the votes cast.

The turnout was 44.6 per cent.

Shortstown

Leigh Coombes (Liberal Democrats) and Sarah-Jayne Gallagher (Conservative Party) have been elected to represent this new ward.

Sarah-Jayne was the councillor for the former Eastcotts ward.

The turnout was 30.9 per cent.

Wixams and Wilstead

The first three councillors for the new Wixams and Wilstead ward are all Conservative, Graeme Coombes, Marc Frost and Andrea Spice.

Graeme Coombes was the councillor for the former Wilshamstead ward.

The turnout was 31.4 per cent.

Wootton and Kempston Rural

The new Wootton and Kempston Rural ward will be represented by Susan Abood (Liberal Democrat) and John Wheeler (Conservative Party). John was the former Wootton ward councillor.

The turn out was 30.6 per cent.

Wyboston

There will be a by-election in the Wyboston Ward as the winner, Tom Wootton (Conservative Party) has been elected Bedford mayor.

The returning officer said the by-election will take place within the statutory period.

The turnout was 40.6 per cent.