28 November 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all…
Petty politics
Bravo to Cllr Jim Weir (Conservative, Great Denham) for saying out loud what thousands of Bedfordians have been thinking for months (years?).
His public apology on Facebook after Wednesday’s (26 November) Full Council meeting, which dragged on until midnight, cut through the political noise.
“I would like to begin with a sincere apology to our residents and officers who may have watched or attended Wednesday evening’s Full Council meeting,” he wrote. “The way the Council was [re]presented by some members was not what our community deserves.”
He went on, “Instead of being a forum for respectful debate and thoughtful policy discussion, too often it became a stage for point-scoring and ‘gotcha’ moments.
“That is not politics at its best; it is politics at its weakest, and it shows a troubling disregard for the people who elected us.”
He’s not wrong, is he?
While Bedford Borough Council is trying to find £11.5 million of savings, cutting staff posts, squeezing voluntary services, reviewing libraries and looking down the barrel of some very ugly choices, parts of the chamber were treating it like open-mic night.
Cllr Weir also pointed out that he has even tried in the past to set up a cross-party policy forum so everyone could feed into decisions before they kicked off in public. “Unfortunately,” he said, “the proposal received no support.”
So, that’s where we are. A council on the financial edge, and a political culture that can’t even agree to sit in a room and talk like adults.
And that’s before we take into account criticism from former council employee Mike Hyden, who didn’t pull any punches; in fact, he threw them all at once.
Read: Council’s “inward-looking culture” to blame for financial mess claims former employee
At the same meeting, he talked about an “inward-looking culture” and about missed opportunities to save “millions of pounds”.
How Bedford ended up paying through the nose for temporary accommodation and supported housing, while other councils quietly offloaded their problems onto us.
“The councillors didn’t seem to notice, didn’t intervene, and didn’t act,” he said. “It would be convenient to call this incompetence.”
Then the killer blow.
“Many of you will lose your seats to Reform at the next election… You did not fix the system, and have recently seemed too busy squabbling.”
Again, hard to argue, but this isn’t coming out of nowhere.
Back in 2023, this newspaper’s own editor wrote that unless councillors of all colours stopped the petty games, started doing proper scrutiny and actually worked together, people would switch off – or worse, turn to parties trading on anger and disgust.
Read: Bedford Borough councillors, please grow up
At the time, some said he was overreacting and that this is just how local politics is. Looking at the last few months, he might have actually been too kind.
After the last elections, there was a tiny window where things could have gone differently. Labour promised tough, fair scrutiny. The Lib Dems pledged to hold the new administration to account.
The Mayor even admitted he’d have to work with people who, in his words, “wouldn’t put him out if he was on fire.”
For a brief moment, you could almost believe we were about to see grown-up politics in Bedford Borough.
Instead, we’ve had Labour largely silent, the Lib Dems obsessing over typos, and the Conservatives blaming most of the council’s problems on everyone else.
It’s no wonder one of the Borough’s longest serving (and respected) councillors is so ashamed he felt the need to apologise.
Politicians across the country keep saying they can’t understand why so many voters are attracted to the likes of Reform.
Well, as three people with very different perspectives have now highlighted, the reason has been right under their noses all along.
If politicians want people to believe in democracy, they have to offer something better than name-calling, point-scoring, late-night theatrics, and the blame game.
And speaking directly to our own local councillors, you have to show you understand the mess we’re in, and that you’re willing to do the hard, tedious, serious work to fix it – even if that means partnering up with those from other parties.
It’s time to do better and work together. Or don’t act surprised when voters decide they’ve had enough of you.
Crossing catch-up
Isn’t it lovely when the world finally catches up?
Back in June, I wrote about Bedford’s unique local hobby: placing zebra crossings so close to junctions that even the Highway Code winces.
And The Embankment/High Street/St Mary’s Street masterpiece was the poster child, a crossing so snug to the corner it felt like a trust exercise between pedestrians and motorists.
At the time, some people shrugged; it wasn’t a problem, “the crossing has always been there,” they said. But that was before the right turn was reinstated.
Fast forward to this week’s Full Council meeting and suddenly, shock horror, councillors are saying precisely what I said months ago.
Read: Embankment right turn onto zebra crossing “an accident waiting to happen”
Cllr Carl Meader (Labour, Kempston South) has now declared the new crossing “an accident waiting to happen”, citing near-misses, stressed drivers, and pedestrians who’ve been lulled into a “false sense of security”.
He’s suggested moving it closer to the Swan Hotel, but, of course, the response from the Executive was that it’s “complicated”. When is it not?
Move the crossing, and people will still cross where they currently cross, they said. Install railings, and pedestrians will feel “trapped”.
So it looks like it’ll just be left where it is, and we’ll cross our fingers and hope for the best.
Classic Bedford.
Birthday surprise
The Bedford Independent turned seven yesterday, and the team here was so busy reporting the news, they didn’t notice in time to celebrate.
It’s been seven years since a small team launched this newspaper’s website on 27 November 2019, with a simple promise: honest, transparent, regulated yet independent journalism for Bedford Borough.
Read: Bedford Independent is live and we’ve hit the ground running
In those seven years, there have been ups, downs, lessons learned, and the occasional existential sigh, but look at what’s come out of it.
- Over 11,000 stories.
- Hundreds of exclusives.
- Dozens of Everyday Heroes celebrated.
- Multiple national and international journalism careers launched.
- Recognition from across the UK media industry.
- And around 130,000 readers every month who trust this paper enough to come back again and again.
That’s not luck. That’s graft, care, and respect for the Borough they serve.
Seven years in, the Bedford Independent is still fiercely independent, still asking the awkward questions, still giving Bedfordians a voice, and still doing it without the safety net of big money, big owners or big spin.
Read: Bedford Independent’s live election coverage shortlisted for national media award
It’s safe to say the team here is doing something right. So, please join me in wishing them a happy birthday.
And personally? I can’t wait to see what the next seven years bring, for the newsroom, for the readers, and for Bedford.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, let us know at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
