Bedford Borough in the National Spotlight as New Statesman Focuses on Mayoral Election

The New Statesman has put the focus on the Bedford Borough Mayoral elections in a newly-published article which notes the Council's 'remarkable success story compared with the neighbouring Conservative-run Northamptonshire county council'.

The piece includes comments from Mayor Dave Hodgson, who comments on the massive ongoing government funding cuts being suffered by councils. He adds that Bedford Borough has avoided the financial crises and collapses seen elsewhere by "keeping very tight control over our budget".

The article notes that "According to the National Audit Office, councils have had their budgets slashed by nearly 50 per cent in real terms since 2010-11."

It goes on to point out that "In spite of that, Bedford Borough Council has avoided closing any libraries or children's centres. It has brought the running of residential care homes back in house and pays staff there the Living Wage. It's a remarkable success story compared with the neighbouring Conservative-run Northamptonshire county council, which was bailed out by the government at the end of last year."

You can read the article in full on the New Statesman website here