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).

Taking pride in Bedford’s history

August: A number of recent visits I’ve hosted in the Mayor’s Parlour in the Old Town Hall have served as powerful reminders of how fortunate we are to live in a town and a Borough with such...

What happens to your business if you are incapacitated?

It is important for business owners to consider what would come of their business if they become incapacitated by an illness or injury. There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)...

Mental Health support in schools doesn’t go far enough

JULY: Earlier this month, the Education Secretary Damien Hinds announced a £9.3m for an early intervention programme in schools to help teachers work more closely with the NHS. A 4-year roll-out...

Transporting Bedford and cutting congestion

July: Network Rail’s closure of Bromham Road Bridge is doubly hard to stomach. Not only will it continue to cause disruption until they complete the bridge replacement next spring, we...

Tory cuts are a deadly combination which we must reverse

Theresa May is frantically trying to rush through policies on mental health and climate change to try to ensure she leaves a legacy – any legacy that isn’t a catalogue of abject failure. Her...

Clarity over medical cannabis is needed to prevent further suffering

MAY: Few of us can forget the powerful campaign by Hannah Deacon who waged a public battle to save her son Alfie Dingley’s life. The now 8-year-old, suffers a rare...

Cuts to police and public services correlates to the rise in violent crime

APRIL: This month, the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, made another speech about rising violent crime among young people. In what some interpreted as a leadership bid...

Increased economic activity needs the infrastructure to support it

April: The proportion of people in employment in Bedford Borough has increased rapidly in recent years, emphatically outstripping the regional and national growth rates...

I’m encouraging everyone to have their say on East West Rail

March: The Government invests too little, too rarely in our infrastructure, so when major upgrades do happen, they need to be of as much benefit as possible for our communities.

77% back council tax increase to recruit more Bedfordshire police officers

March: Earlier this year, I consulted residents of Bedfordshire and asked for your opinion on whether or not you would be prepared to contribute an extra £2 per month...

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