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9 November 2026
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Politics

All the latest Political and politics news from across Bedford Borough. Everything you need to keep you up to date with what’s happening in Bedford Borough on your mobile or desktop via the Bedford Independent.

The Bedford Independent was founded to provide the people of Bedford Borough with a modern news desk that would give them easy access to genuine and unbiased Bedford news. We are independent in ownership and opinion.

Our mission is to inform and inspire the people of Bedford. To do this we will work hard to bring them the news that matters to them from our town centre to the most rural of the Borough’s villages.

Our editorial team are NCTJ trained and follows a standards code set out by the independent press regulator IMPRESS Standards.

Bedfordshire Police rural crime van in Shortstown.

Monthly column: Equitable policing means tackling rural as much as urban crime

Whether you live in a town, village or isolated rural community, you are entitled to the services of an effective police force. This is a simple principle. It is one that I strongly believe in...
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A group of council staff with an Improvement East Inclusion Award

Bedford Borough Council pick up two prizes at the Improvement East Inclusion Awards

Bedford Borough Council are celebrating two prizes at the Improvement East Inclusion Awards this week. The 'Team Around the School' pilot scheme won the 'Early Intervention' award...
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Cllr Abu Sultan leader of Bedford Borough Labour Group

Monthly column: Bedford Borough’s future demands better leadership, not more political division

Bedford Borough Council is at a crossroads. Two major developments in recent weeks have brought some difficult questions into focus: the damning Best Value Inspection report...
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Doctor's desk and stethoscope. Image: Summit Art Creations/Shutterstock

Monthly column: Positive progress on GPs and what’s the deal with devolution

Ask residents what matters most in their community, and seeing a GP close to home is often high on the list. Which makes perfect sense; local surgeries, after all, provide essential care...
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Sign showing the direction to public toilets at a picnic area (generic) and Cllr Oliver Image SnapTPhotography Shutterstock Bedford & Kempston Labour Group

Borough Council defends toilet closures, saying spending a penny costs over £25 per flush

Teenage footballers and families visiting Kempston's largest park have been left without public toilet facilities after the council shut them down, citing an unsustainable cost of £25.30 per flush...
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Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, officially known as the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Image Nigel J. Harris Shutterstock

Devolution deal in deadlock as Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes miss deadline

No agreement has been reached yet about a devolution deal for Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes (BLMK), after a government deadline passed earlier this week... Divided opinions about the best arrangements for a strategic mayoral authority for the region have left uncertainty surrounding a potential £186m annual pledge from central government.
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A tattoo artist working on an arm tattoo.

Kempston tattooist ordered to pay £7,300 fine for bogus accreditation claims

The owner of a tattoo business in Kempston has appeared in court and been ordered to pay over £7,300 for illegal trading and selling fraudulent training courses...
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Illustrative view of the emerging 'land north of Clapham' proposal looking towards Clapham High Street. Image: Hallam Land.

Petition launched against 570-home Clapham development

A village petition in Clapham is gathering pace against Hallam Land's proposals for 570 homes, with neighbours challenging developer promises and warning the area cannot...
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Bedford Borough Hall Bedford Borough council signage and entrance

Bedford Borough mayor’s assistant refutes government findings and denies undermining council finance officers

Bedford mayor's assistant Trevor Roff has hit back at a Whitehall inspection report, rejecting claims of overreach and refusing to be made a scapegoat while defending his scrutiny of spending...
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Bedford's elected mayor, Tom Wotton, pictured by Riverside Square

Bedford mayor pushes for wider South Midlands authority to safeguard rural voices

Bedford Borough is defying a Whitehall ultimatum to join a four-council devolution deal with Luton and Milton Keynes, warning rural communities will be sidelined by large urban neighbours...
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