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: Celebrating our markets

Bedford is known for its markets and thanks to £60,000 in funding from the Town Centre Priority Fund, Bedford Borough's Charter Market stalls have seen a recent, specialist...

Monthly column: Health Secretary’s plans are “a sticking plaster on the crisis in the NHS”

You’d be forgiven for thinking Thérèse Coffey, the fourth Tory Health and Social Care Secretary in just over a year, had not been a stalwart of the Conservative front bench for over...

Legal advice: Strike out of a wrongful dismissal claim

Did the High Court make an error of law in striking out part of a wrongful dismissal claim, when the Employer could have simply dismissed the Employee with pay in lieu of his basic...

Monthly column: Cost of Living Crisis – the Government needs to take action

We have recently seen the shocking news that almost one in four adults will not switch their heating on this winter. A survey of over 2,000 adults found 23% would do without...

Monthly Column: Why we need a proper energy policy, now

As the energy price cap is set to rise for the second time this year, I am hearing increasingly from constituents across the political spectrum who are looking to the future and are genuinely...

Legal Advice: Menopause in the workplace – understanding your rights

It is a condition that affects 50% of the world’s population and can result in severe physical symptoms and mental anguish that can last for many years. And yet, women going through...

Monthly column: Supporting our Ukrainian guests

It has now been more than 22 weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine and whilst it has dropped off the front pages the conflict continues. Bedford Borough is now home to nearly 300...

Monthly column: NHS waiting times

A record 6.6 million people are waiting for care, and they are waiting longer than ever before. Waiting times for ambulance and emergency department care are a symptom of the...

Legal advice: Every day’s a school day…

One of the most emotive areas of law the Regulatory team undertake is in relation to those impacting on children, parents and guardians under Education law, writes Mike Hayward, head of...

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