Leighton Buzzard blue badges: Full Council votes 26 to 5

Central Bedfordshire councillors voted 26 to 5 to ask the council’s executive to think again about organisational blue badges for community minibus services in Leighton Buzzard, Linslade, Houghton Regis and Dunstable. Eleven abstained. The vote was taken by name at the request of Councillor Steve Owen, who proposed the motion.

The result was decided on 2 September. The council published the minutes nine days later, on 11 September. (Central Bedfordshire Council, minutes of Extraordinary Full Council, 2 September 2026)

It is a win for the motion and not yet a change on the ground. Full Council cannot issue a blue badge. All it can do is refer the question back to the executive, which refused it on 2 June. The executive next meets on Tuesday 6 October at 9.30am.

How the vote went

Councillor Owen moved that the vote be recorded. That request was seconded and supported by more than ten members, which is what the constitution requires. The minutes therefore name everyone.

• For (26): Adams, Andrews, Bell, Bligh, Bongo, Brennan, Brown, Carnell, Clinch, Daniels, Farrell, R Goodchild, S Goodchild, Hamill, Hares, Harvey, Mason, Owen, Pashby, Pughe, Richardson, Roberts, Spicer, Summerfield, Versallion and Whitaker.
• Against (5): Baker, Childs, Collins, Mackey and Townsend.
• Abstained (11): Fage, French, Hegley, Liddiard, Malone, Shelvey, Smith, Wenham, Woodfine, Wye and Zerny.

Every Leighton-Linslade councillor present voted for it

This town has nine councillors on Central Bedfordshire, three in each of Leighton Linslade North, South and West. Seven were at the meeting, and all seven voted for the motion.

• Leighton Linslade North: David Bligh, Nigel Carnell and Kevin Pughe, all Liberal Democrat, all voted for.
• Leighton Linslade South: Shaun Roberts, Liberal Democrat, voted for. Emma Holland-Lindsay and Chris Leaman gave apologies.
• Leighton Linslade West: Russell Goodchild, Victoria Harvey and Steve Owen, all Independent, all voted for.

Not one of the five who voted against represents Leighton Buzzard, Linslade, Houghton Regis or Dunstable, the four places the motion is about. They sit for Aspley and Woburn, Barton-le-Clay and Silsoe, Caddington, and two of them for Flitwick. (Central Bedfordshire Council, councillors by ward)

The executive it now goes back to voted the other way

The motion asks the executive to act. Here is how the executive itself voted on it.

Councillor Baker is the executive member who presented the June report recommending that the refusal stand. Councillor Russell Goodchild, the only executive figure to vote for the motion, represents Leighton Linslade West.

The chairman narrowed what the vote meant

Before the debate, Councillor Kevin Collins, who chaired the meeting, set out what members were deciding. The minutes record his points.

• Full Council was deciding whether to refer the matter back to the executive for reconsideration, not whether anyone qualifies for a badge.
• The question had already been through both the scrutiny committee and the executive, and Full Council “should not normally reopen Executive decisions”.
• If approved, the motion would go to the executive. If not, the matter would be concluded.
• Debate would be permitted under the normal rules.

He also said “the amended motion requested that the Executive consider a course of action rather than directing it to do so”. The minutes print no separate amended wording. The motion as printed in them still ends by urging the executive “to direct officers to resume the re-issue of OBBs to all CVTOs operating within the CBC area as a matter of urgency”.

Councillor Owen asked for a copy of the chairman’s statement.

A member of the public was there and was not allowed to speak

One resident attended. The chairman explained that public speaking is not ordinarily permitted at extraordinary meetings, and that it had not been included on this agenda. He decided not to allow the late request, saying that letting it through would be unfair to others who might have registered had they known the option existed. He thanked the resident for accepting the decision.

The meeting began at 6.30pm and finished at 8.15pm.

What it means for you

Nothing has changed for anyone who uses a community minibus. Buzzer Buses runs as it did before. What is still unresolved is whether its vehicles can use disabled bays while a passenger is getting in or out.

If you hold your own blue badge, keep taking it with you. The council’s position remains that passengers should use their individual badges.

Three things worth doing:

• Put 6 October in the diary. The executive meets at 9.30am and the agenda is usually published about a week beforehand. Unlike the extraordinary meeting, executive agendas carry a public questions item.
• Ask your own councillor what happens next. All nine Leighton-Linslade members are listed with contact details on the council’s website. Councillor Owen is at steve.owen@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.
• Read the background if you are new to this. Our report on the motion and the council’s case for refusing sets out the four conditions officers apply, the £352,600 the council spends on dial-a-rides, and why the same service in Ampthill and Biggleswade already holds badges issued by Bedford Borough Council.

Also at the meeting: the devolution motion carried

The other item was the leader’s motion on devolution. Councillor Matthew Brennan, Labour, Dunstable North, moved an amendment putting the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes footprint first. It said a BLMK deal could be reached as early as 2027 and completed by 2028, and would bring roughly £23m of infrastructure funding a year, with the possibility of about £186m in total.

That amendment was lost. Councillor Adam Zerny’s original motion, which backs a mayor over a large part of the Ox-Cam region and calls for a government-funded public vote before any final decision, was carried.

We set out what each version would mean in our report on the devolution motion.

Sources

• Central Bedfordshire Council, printed minutes of the Extraordinary Full Council held on 2 September 2026, minutes C/26/29 and C/26/30, for the recorded vote, the names in each column, the chairman’s statement, the refusal of the late speaking request and the meeting times.
• Motion proposed by Councillor Owen, Organisational Blue Badges and the amendment moved by Councillor Brennan.
• Central Bedfordshire Council, councillors by ward for every ward, party and executive portfolio quoted here.
• Central Bedfordshire Council, Executive meeting dates for the 6 October date.