Concerns over transparency and leadership at Bedford Borough Council have intensified after it was revealed that the Mayor and all Conservative Executive Members failed to attend a key scrutiny meeting last night (12 June), choosing instead to attend a private dinner with Conservative MP Sir James Cleverly.
The Budget and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee went ahead without them, despite mounting questions about how the council plans to tackle a £4.9m overspend from last year and a projected £10m budget gap for 2025/26.
Executive members are required to attend scrutiny meetings, but the entire Conservative frontbench was missing.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Michael Headley (Liberal Democrat/Putnoe), who chairs the committee, accused the Mayor and his Executive of “failing in their duty” to residents.
“Residents should be under no illusion that the council is in a financial crisis,” said Cllr Headley. “At this time of highest risk, the Conservatives cancel their own Executive meeting and then want to delay vital scrutiny of the Council’s failing budget.”
“Failing residents”
He added: “Feeble attempts to justify their non-attendance won’t wash with residents… This episode has made their priorities clear to see.
“The Mayor is just asleep at the wheel when he should be addressing the financial problems of his own making.”
According to Bedford Borough Council, the meeting date had been set in January and formally confirmed by Full Council on 14 May.
While Democratic Services received a request to reschedule the meeting on 28 May, the Constitution states that only the committee itself can change the date. No formal follow-up was received.
A council spokesperson confirmed that the correct procedures were followed and that “executive members are obliged to attend.”
In a statement to the Bedford Independent, the Mayor’s Office said that the dinner with Sir James Cleverly MP had been “planned months in advance” and that the committee chair was fully aware of the clash.
“It’s disappointing that the Liberal Democrats chose to proceed, prioritising political point-scoring over cross-party engagement,” the statement read. “The absence of the team was due to a prior commitment… not a matter of unwillingness.”
The Mayor’s Office added, “We requested the meeting to be rescheduled before any formal invitations to the scrutiny meeting had been sent. Despite this advance notice, no reason was given for the request’s denial.
“Instead, Members were invited just four days before the meeting – an unreasonable expectation given the prior notice and with full knowledge that no Conservative members would be able to attend.”
“This wasn’t last minute”
They added that the Mayor’s team had “explored whether our Independent Executive could attend, but they were committed elsewhere.”
The Mayor’s absence has drawn particular attention, given his own recent criticism of Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner for missing a public panel meeting in May due to a pre-planned event.
At the time, the Mayor said: “The public expect attendance, not excuses.”
Asked whether at least one Executive Member should have attended the Budget Scrutiny meeting in light of growing concern over the council’s financial position, and if, at the very least, the mayor should be leading by example, the Mayor’s Office did not respond directly.
Instead, they reiterated that the situation “could have been avoided” if the meeting had been moved.
“We remain committed to transparency and constructive scrutiny, but call on the Liberal Democrats to work with us in good faith for the benefit of residents across Bedford Borough, as this issue could have easily been resolved.”
