A couple of hours ago Bedford elected a new Mayor - Liberal Democrat Dave Hodgson. This is a sensational victory for Dave Hodgson.
Nick Clegg said "I congratulate John and the Bedford Liberal Democrats for an outstanding campaign.
You might not have seen much about this election in the media - but this by-election matters. The Mayor of Bedford represents more people than an MP does, and Dave will be making important decisions that affect peoples' lives.
This result shows how misplaced the Conservatives' complacency about the next election really is. The Liberal Democrats have never taken a single vote for granted. With Labour lagging behind at a disastrous fifth this is yet more evidence that the real choice is now between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats." See a video of the result at the link below.
The full result was:
First preferences:
Lib Dem - Dave Hodgson 9428
Conservative 9105
Independent 7631
Independent 4316
Labour 3482
Green 1183
After second preferences:
Lib Dem - Dave Hodgson 13355
Conservative 11543
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