Bedford’s new mayor said he’d rather have it “look bad” by standing in two elections than to quickly select someone to stand in the “plum seat” of Wyboston.
The Wyboston Ward councillor seat immediately became vacant at the local election earlier this month as the candidate with the most votes, Tom Wootton, had already been elected as Bedford mayor.
During the mayoral election campaign, the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked mayor Wootton if he was standing in both elections because he wasn’t confident in becoming mayor.
He replied that he didn’t intend to stand for both, but the unexpected death of Stephen Moon (the then Conservative councillor for Great Barford) put the Conservative Party’s election plans in “turmoil”.
“What do you do?” he asked. “This isn’t just an ordinary seat, this is a plum seat, a very, very good seat.
“I just couldn’t bear to give it away and [put in a] paper candidate.
“I said I’ll stand, I know it looks bad, but I’d rather have it look bad than have somebody who is not going to look after something that has been very, very personal to me.
“But I’d rather [stand and] have something amiss now, and when I win there will be a by-election and we will have time to sort it out.
“We’ll have time measured time to find a candidate for that ward,” he said.
The Representation of the People Act 1983 states that the cost of local elections are met from the local authority’s budgets.
The council did not respond when asked for its estimate for the cost to local taxpayers to hold this by-election.
Councillor Carl Meader, leader of Bedford Borough Labour Group, said: “It is a shame a by-election for Wyboston Ward has to be held.
“But it is important those residents have a councillor in place to represent them as soon as possible, and also that the council has its full complement of councillors.”
A spokesperson for Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats said: “Having an extra election so soon after the last could be frustrating for residents.
“However, this by-election is now an ideal opportunity for voters in Wyboston to elect a new Liberal Democrat champion living in the ward and standing up for all the villages.
“With the Conservatives now taking 100 per cent control of the council executive, it’s vitally important to have someone who is not beholden to the mayor and can speak out and be an independent voice for Wyboston ward on the council, not the mayor’s representative in the villages.
“As a local resident Tom Townsend will be an excellent champion for the area,” they said.
Conservative Group leader councillor Graeme Coombes, said: “Tom [Wootton] has served as an active local councillor for many years prior to becoming mayor and dedicated much of his time and energy to the residents of Wyboston.
“His extensive knowledge, years of experience and devotion to his ward made him the best candidate at the time.
“Wyboston deserved our best and our best at the time was Tom – we would not put up a paper candidate or our second choice as this would be unfair to the residents.
“After a successful campaign and winning the mayoralty both Tom and the Conservative Group immediately began screening candidates to ensure we selected the strongest possible representative for Wyboston.
“We have the utmost confidence in our selected candidate, Julie Cox, who shares Tom’s positive, can-do attitude and looks forward to representing residents and addressing local issues.
“We will be introducing our promising new candidate for Wyboston soon,” he said.
The full candidate list will be published on Monday, 5 June, and the by-election will take place on Thursday, 29 June.
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
