# Bedford Borough Council elections

Bedford Borough Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. Until 1 April 2009 it was a non-metropolitan district. Since 2002 it has also had a directly elected mayor.

## Council elections
### Non-metropolitan district elections

* 1973 Bedford District Council election
* 1976 North Bedfordshire Borough Council election
* 1979 North Bedfordshire Borough Council election
* 1983 North Bedfordshire Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)
* 1984 North Bedfordshire Borough Council election
* 1986 North Bedfordshire Borough Council election
* 1987 North Bedfordshire Borough Council election
* 1988 North Bedfordshire Borough Council election
* 1990 North Bedfordshire Borough Council election
* 1991 North Bedfordshire Borough Council election (Borough boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)
* 1992 Bedford Borough Council election
* 1994 Bedford Borough Council election
* 1995 Bedford Borough Council election
* 1996 Bedford Borough Council election
* 1998 Bedford Borough Council election
* 1999 Bedford Borough Council election
* 2000 Bedford Borough Council election
* 2002 Bedford Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)
* 2003 Bedford Borough Council election
* 2004 Bedford Borough Council election
* 2006 Bedford Borough Council election
* 2007 Bedford Borough Council election

### Unitary authority elections

* 2009 Bedford Borough Council election
* 2011 Bedford Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)
* 2015 Bedford Borough Council election
* 2019 Bedford Borough Council election
* 2023 Bedford Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)

## Results maps

* 2002 results map
* 2003 results map
* 2004 results map
* 2006 results map
* 2007 results map
* 2019 results map
* 2023 results map

## Mayoral elections

Bedford held a referendum on 21 February 2002 on whether to introduce a directly elected mayor after a petition was signed by at least 5% of the electorate. The move was approved with 11,316 voting in favour and 5,357 against on a turnout of 15.5%. The first mayoral election on 17 October 2002 saw independent Frank Branston elected as mayor.

### 2007

In 2007 Frank Branston was re-elected as mayor.
Bedford Mayoral Election Results 2007 :
| Name | Party | 1st Preference Votes | 2nd Preference Votes¹ | Final |
| Frank Branston | Better Bedford Independent | 15,966 | 3,732 | 19,698 |
| Nicky Attenborough | Conservative | 10,710 | 2,603 | 13,313 |
| Christine McHugh | Lib Dem | 10,553 | | N/A |
| Randolph Charles | Labour | 4,758 | | N/A |
| Justina McLennan | Green | 1,538 | | N/A |
¹Using the Supplementary Vote system.
²Percentage figures are not officially used on the final votes, they are produced here for illustration and are calculated by the candidates final vote divided by the total of final votes.

### 2009

A by-election for Mayor of Bedford took place on 15 October 2009 after the death of the previous incumbent, Frank Branston in August 2009. The election was won by the Liberal Democrat, Dave Hodgson.
Bedford Mayoral Election Results 2009 :
| Name | Party | 1st Preference Votes | % | 2nd Preference Votes | Final | % |
| Dave Hodgson | Liberal Democrat | 9,428 | 26.8 | 4,127 | 13,555 | 54.0 |
| Parvez Akhtar | Conservative | 9,105 | 25.9 | 2,438 | 11,543 | 46.0 |
| Apu Bagchi | Independent | 7,631 | 21.7 | | N/A | |
| Tony Hare | Independent | 4,316 | 12.3 | | N/A | |
| James Valentine | Labour | 3,482 | 9.9 | | N/A | |
| Eve Morley | Green Party | 1,183 | 3.4 | | N/A | |

### 2011

Bedford Mayoral Election 5 May 2011 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dave Hodgson | 19,966 | 37.7% | 4,325 | 24,291 | 55.7% | ​​ |
| | Conservative | John Guthrie | 17,501 | 33.0% | 1,824 | 19,325 | 44.3% | ​​ |
| | Labour | Michelle Harris | 11,197 | 21.1% | | | | ​​ |
| | Independent | Tony Hare | 3,133 | 5.9% | | | | ​​ |
| | Green | Greg Paszynski | 1,211 | 2.3% | | | | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |

### 2015

Bedford Mayoral Election 7 May 2015 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dave Hodgson | 25,282 | 31.4% | 10,020 | 35,302 | 57.1% | ​​ |
| | Conservative | Jas Parmar | 19,417 | 24.1% | 7,096 | 26,513 | 42.9% | ​​ |
| | Labour | Tim Douglas | 15,931 | 19.8% | | | | ​​ |
| | Independent | Steve Lowe | 12,883 | 16.0% | | | | ​​ |
| | UKIP | Adrian Haynes | 7,060 | 8.8% | | | | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |

### 2019

Bedford Mayoral Election 2 May 2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dave Hodgson | 17,596 | 36.0% | 3,820 | 21,416 | 54.2% | ​​ |
| | Conservative | Giovanni Carafano | 15,778 | 32.3% | 2,327 | 18,105 | 45.8% | ​​ |
| | Labour Co-op | Jenni Jackson | 9,677 | 19.8% | | | | ​​ |
| | Green | Adrian Spurrell | 3,239 | 6.6% | | | | ​​ |
| | UKIP | Adrian Haynes | 2,627 | 5.4% | | | | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |

### 2023

Bedford Mayoral Election 4 May 2023 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tom Wootton | 15,747 | 33.1 | 0.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dave Hodgson | 15,602 | 32.8 | 3.2 |
| | Labour | Saqib Ali | 11,568 | 24.3 | 4.5 |
| | Green | Adrian Spurrell | 3,795 | 8.0 | 1.4 |
| | Heritage | Alberto Thomas | 887 | 1.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 145 | 0.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,599 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |

## By-election results
### 1998-2002

Kingsbrook By-Election 8 April 1999 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dan Rogerson | 1,043 | 53.0 | +32.0 |
| | Labour | Michael Webb | 816 | 41.5 | −21.9 |
| | Conservative | Janet Suter | 108 | 5.5 | −10.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 227 | 11.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,967 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### 2009-2011

Kingsbrook By-Election 10 December 2009 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Gerard | 661 | 49.4 | +3.1 |
| | Labour | James Saunders | 370 | 27.6 | +3.5 |
| | Conservative | Adam Pritchard | 150 | 11.2 | −9.2 |
| | Independent | Tony Hare | 85 | 6.3 | +6.3 |
| | Independent | Patrick O'Rourke | 73 | 5.5 | +5.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 291 | 11.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,339 | 18.4 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Kempston North By-Election 24 June 2010 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Shan Hunt | 715 | 52.1 |
| | Conservative | Martin Quince | 384 | 28.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ant Caprioli | 272 | 19.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 331 | 24.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,371 | 33.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### 2011-2015

Putnoe By-Election 22 May 2014 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rosemary Bootiman | 1,364 | 46.3 |
| | Conservative | Susan Spratt | 707 | 24.0 |
| | UKIP | Adrian Haynes | 412 | 14.0 |
| | Labour | Graham Tranquada | 367 | 12.5 |
| | Green | Ben Fitch | 94 | 3.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 657 | 22.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,944 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,860 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |

### 2023-2027

Wyboston By-Election 29 June 2023 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Julie Cox | 610 | 63.1 | –12.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Thomas Townsend | 323 | 33.4 | +19.9 |
| | Labour | Ian Nicholls | 34 | 3.5 | –7.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 287 | 29.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 967 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Riverfield By-Election 2 May 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hilde Hendrickx | 579 | 57.3 | +1.9 |
| | Conservative | Natalie Christian-John | 249 | 24.7 | +1.1 |
| | Labour | Warwick Mackie | 130 | 12.9 | −2.2 |
| | Green | Emma Smart | 52 | 5.1 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 330 | 32.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,010 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Wyboston By-Election 4 July 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Sharan Sira | 1,096 | 58.1 | −5.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Susan Henchley | 515 | 27.3 | −6.1 |
| | Green | Richard Baker | 277 | 14.7 | +14.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 581 | 30.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,888 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

## European Union Membership Referendum 2016

The electorate of Bedford Borough voted by a margin of 51.8% to 48.2% (on a 72.1% turnout) to leave the European Union during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum (reflecting the national picture). The Kingsbrook ward voted most heavily in favour of Leave (60.71%), while the Queen's Park ward voted most strongly for Remain (57.66%). Other areas of Bedford to favour Remain were Bromham and Biddenham, Castle, De Parys, Harpur, Kempston Rural, Newnham, Oakley and Sharnbrook.
| District | Votes | Votes | Proportion of votes | Proportion of votes |
| District | Remain | Leave | Remain | Leave |
| Brickhill | 2,000 | 2,092 | 48.88% | 51.12% |
| Bromham and Biddenham | 2,138 | 1,996 | 51.72% | 48.28% |
| Castle | 1,835 | 1,366 | 57.33% | 42.67% |
| Cauldwell | 1,322 | 1,880 | 41.29% | 58.71% |
| Clapham | 1,256 | 1,731 | 42.05% | 57.95% |
| De Parys | 1,683 | 1,302 | 56.38% | 43.62% |
| Eastcotts | 1,111 | 1,322 | 45.66% | 54.34% |
| Elstow and Stewartby | 1,406 | 1,677 | 45.60% | 54.40% |
| Goldington | 1,575 | 2,062 | 43.30% | 56.70% |
| Great Barford | 1,987 | 2,282 | 46.54% | 53.46% |
| Harpur | 1,837 | 1,398 | 56.79 | 43.21% |
| Harrold | 1,295 | 1,316 | 49.60% | 50.40% |
| Kempston Central and East | 1,664 | 2,080 | 44.44% | 55.56% |
| Kempston North | 1,153 | 1,406 | 45.06% | 54.94% |
| Kempston Rural | 2,066 | 1,889 | 52.24% | 47.76% |
| Kempston South | 1,170 | 1,624 | 41.88% | 58.12% |
| Kempston West | 1,433 | 1,747 | 45.06% | 54.94% |
| Kingsbrook | 1,374 | 2,123 | 39.29% | 60.71% |
| Newnham | 1,962 | 1,634 | 54.56% | 45.44% |
| Oakley | 1,269 | 1,158 | 52.29% | 47.71% |
| Putnoe | 1,818 | 2,028 | 47.27% | 52.73% |
| Queens Park | 1,573 | 1,155 | 57.66% | 42.34% |
| Riseley | 1,173 | 1,282 | 47.78% | 52.22% |
| Sharnbrook | 1,425 | 1,200 | 54.29% | 45.71% |
| Wilshamstead | 1,300 | 1,661 | 43.90% | 56.10% |
| Wootton | 1,649 | 1,891 | 46.58% | 53.42% |
| Wyboston | 1,023 | 1,268 | 44.65% | 55.35% |