16 May 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all.
Mayoral maybe
Real Bedford FC owner Peter McCormack made headlines today by launching his big, bold Project Bedford vision. Whether you love it, loathe it, or are still trying to figure out if it’s a crypto-backed lifestyle brand, you’ve got to admire the ambition.
Read: Peter McCormack sets out bold vision for Bedford sparking 2027 mayoral questions
He has said he’s not running for Mayor in 2027 (although he has also not ruled it out) and insists he wants to remain politically neutral.
This would be easier to believe if he hadn’t immediately taken to social media to praise the current mayor.
It’s not the first time someone’s claimed to be above politics while offering a glowing review of the people currently in charge. If I had a pound for every time someone said “I’m staying out of politics” before giving a party-political thumbs up, I’d be a Bitcoin millionaire too.
Let’s be honest, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve the town. In fact, more people should. But if you put your ideas in the public arena, don’t be surprised when people ask where you stand.
Political policing
The actual mayor got a few column inches himself this week, what with letters to the Chief Constable about crime across Bedford Borough towns and the reduction of council committees.
Read: Mayor says Bedford town centres ‘under siege’ by crime in letter to police chief constable
It’s great that the person at the top is holding accountable those who deliver public services like our police force, but the irony of a Conservative mayor attacking a heavily understaffed police force hasn’t been lost on some local people.
In 2018, leaked Home Office figures showed that austerity-related cuts to budgets and officer numbers may have increased crime.
OK, so they did try to make up for it the last few years of their leadership by funding 20,000 officers, but this wasn’t an increase in numbers; it was to help fill a hole that the cuts had created.
Despite this, there are still fewer police officers than there were in 2010, and we likely won’t see any improvement in those figures (if they do actually materialise) until 2026.
So, while there must indeed be answers locally, it might also be a good idea to look a little higher up and consider whether the problem could have been avoided in the first place.
Scrutiny scrapped?
Staying with the mayor, Bedford Borough’s Liberal Democrats were in a huff this week at the prospect of two council committees being disbanded.
The Conservative mayor says that he’s just trying to give the council officers a break from all the meetings they have to attend, but the Lib Dems are worried that this will further reduce the chance for local people to have their say over the things that affect them.
Read: Plans to scrap two Bedford Borough Council committees spark democracy concerns
Other cllrs have defended the move, saying that the council’s executive is taking up the work of the committees and that it’ll just be a more streamlined process.
However, as the mayor’s position will soon have powers that mean whoever is in the role can ignore their own executive (Bedford Ian, 7 March 2025), the Lib Dems may have a point.
Star nonsense
Well, it didn’t take long. Just as we’re all getting used to the idea of Universal Studios coming to Bedfordshire, along comes the Daily Star, flapping around the edges of the story.
This time, it’s a headline featuring Paddy Doherty of Big Fat Gypsy wedding fame promising a fight over how the proposed theme park might affect the established council-run caravan park nearby.
Read: Traveller site on Ampthill Road “not impacted” by plans say Universal Studios
Travellers have every right to speak up, especially about how significant developments might affect their communities, and I support their right to be heard.
That’s why they were actively involved in the company’s public engagement programme last summer, but that’s not the issue with this story.
The issue is that while Paddy (who doesn’t live here) may well want to support his community, this is a red-top rag writing tabloid bait, plain and simple.
While their first story on this may have highlighted genuine concerns by the local community, The Star knows Bedford is trending because of Universal, and this follow-up is just lazy and opportunistic, using a bit of reality TV notoriety to get a few extra clicks.
Some journalists really don’t help the fight to raise trust in journalism.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, tell us at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
Update: This column was updated at 14:36 on 23 May 2025 to remove elements that may have been confusing regarding the nature of the committees that Bedford Borough Council may scrap. We have since been informed that the committees themselves do not serve as scrutiny committees.
