Bedford Borough Council

Bedford Borough Council
Executive mayor elected every four years Whole council elected every four years
File:Bedford Borough Council Logo.gif Council logo
Type
Type	Unitary authority council of the Borough of Bedford
Houses	Unicameral
Term limits	None
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Executive mayor	Dave Hodgson, Liberal Democrat Since 5 May 2011
Elections
Council voting system	Plurality-at-large
Mayor voting system	Supplementary vote
Council last election	5 May 2011
Mayor last election	5 May 2011
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 so Bedford Borough Council & Central Bedfordshire Council were formed.

Political control

Further information: Bedford local elections

Since the first election to the council in 1973 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:

Party in control	Years
No overall control	1973–1976
Conservative	1976–1986
No overall control	1986–2009
Liberal Democrats	2009-2010
No overall control	2010 - Present