Columns

The Bedford Independent carries regular columns submitted by various political leaders and organisations that work within Bedford Borough.

For 2026, columns will be each month as follows:

Week one*

  • Monday: Bedford Borough Mayor’s office (Conservative)**
  • Tuesday: Bedford Borough Council opposition (shared between Labour and Liberal Democrats)**
  • Wednesday: Bedford Borough Council opposition (shared between Greens and Independents)**
  • Thursday: Bedford Borough charitable organisations arranged by Pritti Sagi, Creating Memories
  • Friday: Bedfordshire PCC (Labour)

Week two

  • Monday: Bedford & Kempston MP (Labour)
  • Tuesday: North Bedfordshire MP (Conservative) – offered but no response
  • Wednesday: Bedford Borough communities arranged by Queen’s Park Community Organisation
  • Thursday: Mid Bedfordshire MP (Conservative)
  • Friday: Beds GOVET (Environmental).

 

These columns are published unedited and do not reflect the views of Progress Publishing, its staff or its publications.

If you have an idea for a regular column, please email news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.

*From the first full week of the month
**So that the number of columns reflects the size of each party on Bedford Borough Council, the number of columns per party is as follows: Conservative (current council leadership) x 12, Liberal Democrats x 6, Labour x 6, Green Party x 4, Independents x 1 (each).

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...

Column: Journalism is a vital part of our national infrastructure

Too much power in this country has flowed one way: towards Westminster. This must change. But with greater local power must come local accountability. And that is why local journalism matters...

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...

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...

Bedford Ian writes…

30 October 2026: Horror hack, Slasher stare, and Dead man walking. Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings-on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all…

Bedford Ian writes…

23 October 2026: Bedford Ian for mayor, Deliberate deliberation, Bunyan balls-up, Jump scare, What a(i) disaster, and Fall back. Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings-on...

Bedford Ian writes…

16 October 2026: Shape up or ship out, Happy hedgehog, and Insightfully inciting. Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings-on across Bedford Borough...

Monthly column: Our testing programme goes from strength to strength

Now in our fourth year, BedsGOVET has evolved and grown its reputation for providing invaluable data through our ongoing water testing in the River Great Ouse, from Turvey as it enters...

Monthly column: Conference season showed the Conservatives are the only party with a serious plan

Another party conference season is over, and the message was clear: if you want a country where hard work is rewarded, businesses can thrive, our borders are controlled, and people...

Monthly column: Bedford Hindu Temple brings Bedford together through faith, culture and community service

Bedford Hindu Temple and Community Trust celebrated its fifth anniversary on 3 October with an evening of music, dance and community spirit at Clapham Village Hall...

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