Borough Council Elections
On 1 April 2009 Bedford Borough Council
became a Unitary Authority. This means that Bedford Borough
Council is now responsible for all former Borough and County
Council services within the Borough, including planning,
environmental health, education and social services.
There will be 36 Councillors elected to the
new Unitary Authority on 4 June 2009 from 26 wards. Each ward
will be represented by one or two Councillors. Electors vote
for the candidates who are standing in the ward they are registered
within. After 2009, elections to the Borough Council are
scheduled to take place in 2011 and then every four years
thereafter (2015, 2019 etc.)
The Bedford (Electoral Changes) Order 2011, to implement
recommendations made by the Local Government Boundary Commission
for England (LGBCE) for new boundaries in Bedford Borough, was made
on 28 January 2011 and was published on 2 February 2011). New
ward arrangements for Bedford Borough came into force at the local
elections held on 5 May 2011. 40 Councillors are now elected
to the Unitary Authority from 27 Wards.
Bedford Borough also has an elected Mayor who
is responsible for drawing up the budget for the Council, as well
as a large number of key strategies / policies which are then
considered for approval by the full Council. The next
election of the Mayor is scheduled for 2015.