The Bedford mayoral election, 2011 for the office of Mayor of Bedford was held on 5 May 2011, being the fourth Bedford mayoral election since the post was created by Bedford Borough Council in 2002.[1] This is because, unlike most positions created at that time, there have already been three elections as the first Mayor, Frank Branston, died in August 2009. In the subsequent election Liberal Democrat Dave Hodgson was elected Mayor,[2] and he was elected for a second time on 5 May 2011, beating the Conservative candidate in the second round of counting.[3]
The 2011 election was the fourth election for the Mayoralty of Bedford. The sitting Mayor, Dave Hodgson, successfully defended the position he first won in 2009. The post of directly-elected mayor was created in 2002 after a referendum saw nearly 67% of those taking part voting in favour.
The incumbent Mayor Dave Hodgson defended the Mayoralty on behalf of the Liberal Democrats. The Green party's Gregory Paszynski stood to represent their party. The Conservatives announced on 27 September 2010 that they would be nominating John Guthrie as their candidate.[4] On 18 March 2011 Labour announced that Michelle Harris was to be their candidate.[5] Independent candidate Tony Hare also stood for election.[6]
| Bedford Mayoral Election 2011[7] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Name | 1st Choice Votes | % | 2nd Choice Votes | Total | |
| Liberal Democrat | Dave Hodgson | 19,966 | 4,325 | 24,291 | ||
| Conservative | John Guthrie | 17,501 | 1,824 | 19,325 | ||
| Labour | Michelle Harris | 11,197 | ||||
| Independent | Tony Hare | 3,133 | ||||
| Green | Greg Paszynski | 1,211 | ||||
| Total | 6,149 | 43,636 | ||||
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