19 December 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all…
Greyfriars grudge
On Tuesday, Bedford Borough Council calmly announced that the Greyfriars Junction scheme had been agreed. Funded. Signed off. Part of a long-planned Town Deal programme.
Read: Greyfriars Junction overhaul to create ‘better gateway’ into Bedford town centre
Start date set for January 2026. Public engagement promised. Italian statue to be lovingly restored and rehomed.
All very grown-up, until barely an hour later, Cllr Frost, one of the council’s own senior Conservative councillors and portfolio holders took to social media to declare the whole thing an impending transport apocalypse.
Not a mild disagreement or a “we’ll keep a close eye on this”. A full-blown, 578-word rant about gridlock, ideology, fantasy transport planning, empty bus lanes, stolen bikes, condensation-riddled buses and car parks that seemed to offend him on a spiritual level.
This wasn’t a resident venting on a Facebook group. This was a member of the Bedford Borough Council’s Executive, the people at the top who are supposed to be showing a united front as they try to work out how to stop the Borough going bankrupt.
Now, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Democracy would be dreadfully dull without them, and this column too would be very short indeed.
But there’s a difference between healthy debate and publicly torching your own side’s agreed policy before the ink’s even dry on the press release.
The Bedford Town Deal Board exists to work with the council, not to be undermined by it.
Once a decision is taken, particularly on something this big, the basic expectation is that you either support it publicly (even if it’s begrudgingly) or raise concerns through the channels that exist for precisely that purpose.
In democracy we may not agree with what the majority decides but we stand by the decision or it falls apart.
Maybe Bedford’s Conservative Party, and in particular the exective of Bedford Borough Council, needs to get its house in order before suggesting the recent warnings from their own Cllr Weir about professionalism in public office don’t extend to them.
Read: Bedford Ian writes… (05 December)
Truss issues
The podcast merry-go-round was in full effect last week, with podcaster and social media-botherer Peter McCormack appearing on Liz Truss’ new YouTube show after she appeared on his titular pod less than a year ago.
Reviews of the MAGA-funded show, which was seemingly filmed in a cupboard, were fairly scathing. So, to make sure my record of the broadcast is balanced, I scoured the internet to find something positive to include, and… I couldn’t find any.
In the first episode, the former PM and potential MP agree on most things, notably “the march towards Communism”, “woke ideology” and “the anti-family trans agenda”.
They both seemed very concerned about what they perceived as the rampant rise of Communism in the UK, so I ran the figures.
The combined membership of the three major Communist parties is 4,578, out of a population of 69.3 million. Reform has 268,000 members.
Some might say it’s not that end of the political spectrum we need to be too worried about… but then that narrative wouldn’t fit with Truss’ apparent agenda.
So, if you’re looking for a new internet show and find fact-checking, journalistic push-back, and political debate annoying, then you’re in the right place, as there’s none of that here.
On yer bike
I know cycle theft is a problem, but chaining your bike to a signpost on a busy roundabout seems an extreme measure.
Rollercoaster spin
Universal Studios getting planning permission should have been one of those rare, uncomplicated moments of shared celebration.
Read: Breaking news: Green light given for Bedford Universal Studios theme park
Instead, within hours, we were treated to a masterclass in amateur political spin.
Yes, the Government made a mistake by not briefing the MP who’s constituency the park will be built within at the same time as others. But, it was corrected quickly and a formal apology was issued on the floor of the House within a few hours.
And yet, that didn’t stop whoever writes for the Bedford & Kempston Conservatives social media pages getting overexcited and triumphantly declaring the apology “long overdue”.
Five hours (apx). From error to apology. If that counts as “long overdue”, then every theme park queue is apparently a human rights violation.
This is the problem with politics-by-caption. Everything has to be framed as a “win”, even when it’s barely a footnote. No nuance, no proportion, just a rush to plant a flag before anyone else.
Universal Studios is a once-in-a-generation investment for the area. Thousands of jobs, global attention, and genuine long-term opportunity. It deserved better than being reduced to a rushed social media gotcha.
Sometimes, the spin is far more embarrassing than the mistake itself.
Pub etiquette
For regular pub-goers, the arrival of the once-a-year tipplers with little understanding of the rules of engagement can be annoying and make a Grinch of anyone.
Step forward the team at the Wellington ‘Welly’ Arms, who have published their annual pub rules, to give first-timers and the ignorant a few pointers on the ways of the bar, including “get in a round” and “don’t start drinking at 4pm, you’ll be puking by 9”.
The rules were first published by the Stoke Inn in Plymouth, but have been adopted by Liz and her team as a friendly reminder that waving your cash in the face of the bar person will not get you served next.
You’re also not going to make any friends if your group of amateur drinkers all order and pay for their drinks individually.
Of course, it’s all a bit of festive tongue-in-cheek banter, and they can’t wait to welcome everyone through their door this festive season, just as long as you “order your f**king Guinness first”.
That’s it for 2025, it’s been a blast and I can’t wait to see what nonsense worthy on an eye-roll 2026 will bring. For now have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, let us know at news@BedfordI
