Bedford’s razor-thin mayoral election result in 2023 has been thrown into sharper focus after the government confirmed it is scrapping First Past the Post (FPTP) for mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections in England.
The change, announced as part of the new English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill, will see the more representative Supplementary Vote (SV) system reinstated, the same system used for mayoral contests before 2023.
Under SV, voters can mark a first and second choice. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the first-choice votes, all but the top two candidates are eliminated, and second-choice votes are counted, ensuring the winner has broader support.
2023’s Bedford mayoral election saw Conservative Tom Wootton unseat long-standing Liberal Democrat mayor Dave Hodgson by just 145 votes under FPTP.
Wootton’s 15,747 votes to Hodgson’s 15,602 represented just a third of the total vote share on a turnout of just 35%, sparking questions at the time over whether FPTP was the right system for a role with such significant powers.
Read: Bedford Borough Council and Mayoral Elections 2023 results in full
“Damaging impact”
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS), which campaigned vigorously against the government’s 2022 decision to impose FPTP for mayoral and PCC elections, welcomed this U-turn, calling it “a big win in the fight for a fairer democracy.”
Since its introduction, the ERS has chronicled how FPTP allowed mayors and PCCs to take office with ever-smaller mandates, some winning with just 25–31% of the vote in recent contests.
The ERS argued that this trend was particularly concerning given the growing powers and influence of elected mayors, saying it undermined trust in democracy when leaders wielded significant authority without majority support.
In a statement, the ERS said: “This is good news for voters who will have more choice and more ways to ensure their vote counts. SV raises the bar for politicians, who will again have to secure broad backing from voters to win power.”
The organisation also praised ministers for listening to public concerns, adding, “[This shows] what can be achieved when we persevere and work together to make the case for a stronger democracy.”
