 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies. (June 2023) |
Tom Wootton | |
|---|---|
 February 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Dave Hodgson |
| Mayor of Bedford | |
| Assumed office May 2023 | |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Conservative |
Tom Wootton is a British Conservative Party local politician. He became the directly elected Mayor of Bedford in May 2023 local elections and was previously the Bedford Borough Councillor for Wyboston Ward.
Wootton defeated incumbent Dave Hodgson, a Liberal Democrat who had held the office of mayor for 13 years, by just 145 votes under the first-past-the-post system. According to the Sunday Telegraph, Wootton was successful in the election due to his "uncompromising line" on the controversial East West Rail project, which he branded as an "utter disaster from start to finish".
A vote of no confidence in Wootton, calling on him to resign as mayor, was passed by a 28-to-12 majority at a Bedford Borough Council meeting in July 2026.
He lives in Ravensden where he manages the family farm, and is married with four children.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Tom Wootton | 15,747 | 33.1 |  0.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Dave Hodgson | 15,602 | 32.8 |  3.2 | |
| Labour | Saqhib Ali | 11,568 | 24.3 | 4.5 | |
| Green | Adrian Spurrell | 3,795 | 8.0 | 1.4 | |
| Heritage | Alberto Thomas | 887 | 1.9 | New | |
| Majority | 145 | 0.3 | |||
| Turnout | 47,599 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
