Bedford Borough Labour Group has declared it has “no confidence” in Conservative Mayor Tom Wootton’s leadership, as pressure mounts from opposition councillors calling for him to resign.
The move comes after a series of petitions launched by opposition councillors in recent weeks, signalling what they describe as growing concern about the mayor’s handling of the council’s financial crisis and government intervention.
Labour’s group leader, Cllr Abu Sultan, said the party’s position was triggered by the mayor’s response to the Government’s decision to send Best Value inspectors to Bedford Borough Council.
“Rather than welcoming this as support to fix the Borough’s perilous financial position, Mayor Tom Wootton instead issued a press release blaming senior council officers and demanding the resignation of the Chief Executive.
“This is an appalling way to behave,” he said.
“The Mayor and his administration should be shouldering the blame for the financial situation we are now facing rather than blaming officers.”
Cllr Sultan also said the mayor had “not worked collaboratively with other groups across the council to try to gain any consensus or backing for his decisions”, adding that he had won the mayoralty “through a very slender majority”.
Calls for a referendum
Alongside their declaration of no confidence, Labour is also calling for a change to the way Bedford’s mayor is elected, suggesting the public should be asked whether to keep the current directly elected mayoral model.
Their petition, launched this morning, calls for “…elected councillors to recognise this position and to explore, at the earliest lawful opportunity, the option of holding a referendum to review and potentially change the current Executive Mayor system…”
Deputy Labour group leader Cllr Sue Oliver said a referendum could be held alongside the May 2027 elections.
“I wasn’t in favour of a directly elected Mayor but the decision to adopt this system was taken 25 years ago in 2002 and it is time local people had their say on whether they want to stay with this model of Local Government,” she said.
Deputy leader Cllr Carl Meader said a petition was a “more responsible and realistic route” than simply calling on the mayor to go.
“In the case of a directly elected Mayor, the only democratic way to remove him is via the ballot box,” he said.
Second budget vote tonight
The Labour statement comes ahead of tonight’s Full Council meeting at Borough Hall, where councillors are due to vote on whether to approve or reject the executive’s second budget proposal.
Speaking to Andy Collins on BBC Three Counties Radio this morning, Mayor Wootton was asked about calls for him to resign and whether he would step down if the budget was not approved.
“Well, if the budget doesn’t go through, we have another one last chance of a full council meeting before a date has got to be set. We’ve got to legally set a budget,” he said.
“And quite frankly, ducking out, resigning is not what it is about, because it’s about actually leading and sorting things out. And if they’re saying, well, you’ve made a problem, isn’t it my job to sort it out?
“I’m really pleased that we, you know, we’ve got these inspectors to help us. But also that we’re gonna get a chance tonight to debate it again.”
Multiple petitions
Calls for Mayor Wootton to resign have intensified in recent weeks, with opposition councillors across the chamber publicly registering a lack of confidence in his leadership.
A petition launched by the Liberal Democrats last week (13 February) was followed this week by Bedford’s Green group, as criticism has grown over the council’s financial position and the administration’s direction.
Read: Councillors launch joint petition calling for Bedford Borough mayor to resign
Independent councillor Doug McMurdo (Sharnbrook) has also launched his own identical petition, telling the Bedford Independent, “I have no confidence in Mayor Tom Wootton and call on him to resign.”
Read: Bedford Borough councillors launch two more petitions calling for mayor’s resignation
Meanwhile, fellow independent, Cllr Nicola Gribble (Renhold and Ravensden), who sits on the mayor’s cabinet as the portfolio holder for the environment, told the Bedford Independent that she would not support the opposition parties’ calls for the mayor’s resignation.
“As an Independent councillor, my sole priority is serving the residents of Bedford Borough and delivering the responsibilities entrusted to me. I will not be participating in anything that distracts from that duty.”
The political fallout has developed alongside the Government’s decision to launch a Best Value inspection of Bedford Borough Council, focusing on governance, leadership, use of resources, service delivery, culture, and continuous improvement.
Read: Government inspectors to examine Bedford Borough Council as financial pressures continue
Despite the furore surrounding the petitions and their potential to signal a feeling of ‘no confidence’ in mayor Tom Wootton, they will have no formal power to remove him from office.
