Bedford Borough Council

Bedford Borough Council
Type
Type	Unitary authority
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Speaker of the Council	Cllr Tim Hill, Liberal Democrat since 15 May 2019
Elected Mayor	Mayor Dave Hodgson, Liberal Democrat since 2 May 2019
Chief executive	Philip Simpkins since June 2009
Structure
Seats	Elected Mayor 40 Councillors[1]
Council political groups	Executive (27)   Liberal Democrats (15)   Labour Party (11)   Independent (1) Opposition (13)   Conservative Party (11)   Green Party (2)
Length of term	Executive mayor elected every four years Whole council elected every four years
Elections
Council voting system	Plurality-at-large
Mayor voting system	Supplementary vote
Council last election	2 May 2019
Mayor last election	2 May 2019
Meeting place
Bedford Borough Hall, Bedford, Bedfordshire
Website
www.bedford.gov.uk

Bedford Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The executive of the council is the directly elected mayor of Bedford. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.

The first official Councillor of Bedford Borough Council was Cllr Sarah-Jayne Holland, following the introduction of unitary authority across Bedfordshire. On 1 April 2009, the Bedfordshire County Council ceased to exist, and the unitary authorities of Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council were formed.

Political control[]

Since the first election to the council in 1973 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:^[2][3]

Arms[]

Bedford has been granted two distinct coats of arms. The first is per pale Argent and Gules a fess Azure, and the second Argent an eagle displayed wings inverted and head turned towards the sinister Sable ducally crowned and surmounted by a castle of three tiers Or.^[4]

References[]

External links[]

• Bedford Borough Council