Bedfordians will not be given the chance to vote on whether to scrap the directly elected mayoral system after councillors overwhelmingly rejected a motion to hold a borough-wide referendum.
Members of Bedford Borough Council voted against the proposal by 25 votes to 16, during an extraordinary full council meeting on Wednesday night (16 September).
Referendum defeated
Four abstentions have been confirmed so far; two councillors were also absent.
Read the latest: Bedford Borough Council rejects £375k mayoral referendum as Conservative group members abstain
The decision means the current governance arrangement will remain in place, preventing a potential shift to the leader-and-cabinet model used by neighbouring authorities in Luton and Central Bedfordshire.
Ahead of the vote, councillors from across the chamber delivered speeches on the support of the elected mayoral system, or a referendum to change.
Speakers emphasised that the vote was strictly focused on the principle of the governance model rather than an assessment of any individual officeholder, with several members stressing that the decision was not a personal vote.
Read: Bedford Ian writes, mayoral vote special…
During the debate, Labour councillors asked how much a by-election would cost should a serving councillor run for mayor, citing this as one of the problems with the current system.
Council officers were asked for the cost of the Wootton by-election in 2023 as a reference to this potential cost
As reported by the Bedford Independent in July, the cost of that by-election was £12,366.74.
Read: Cost of Wyboston by-election revealed
In doing so, they revealed how much a referendum to abolish or keep the current mayoral system might cost.
With 28 wards of varying sizes across Bedford Borough, a referendum on the mayoral role could cost Bedford Borough taxpayers between £350,000 and £375,000, plus officer time.
Governance debated
The motion was proposed by Cllr Abu Sultan (Labour/Cauldwell), who argued that constitutional arrangements should be reviewed periodically to match changing expectations across the borough.
Speaking on the purpose of the motion, Cllr Abu Sultan said: “The borough council adopted the directly elected executive mayor model after a referendum held in 2002.
“Good governance should be accountable, transparent, collaborative and responsive to the communities it serves.
“Effective local government depends on robust scrutiny, sound decision-making, strong democratic accountability and meaningful involvement from councillors.
“It’s good democratic practice to review constitutional and governance arrangements periodically.
“The purpose of any such model is to deliver the best possible outcomes for residents through effective leadership, openness, responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources and public confidence in local democracy.”
System history
Cllr Sultan’s proposal called for chief officers to prepare a referendum asking local people whether the borough should retain the directly elected executive mayor model or adopt a leader-and-cabinet structure.
The motion noted that any final decision on the governance system should rest directly with local residents.
Read: How the mayors of Bedford Borough have left their mark
The meeting agenda explicitly noted that the motion was not a reflection on any individual mayor, previous mayor or political administration.
Bedford Borough has operated under a directly elected mayor since residents first approved the governance model in a 2002 referendum.
Bedford’s current mayor, Conservative Tom Wootton, was elected in May 2023 after defeating Liberal Democrat incumbent Dave Hodgson by 145 votes.
This is a breaking news story and information may be added or updated. Further details of the debate and comments from councillors may follow.
