Frank Branston

Infobox Mayor


name=Frank Branston
order=
office= Mayor of Bedford
birth_date = May 9, 1939
birth_place = Retford, Notts
term_start = first elected October 2002, re-elected May 2007
term_end = May 2011
predecessor = New Office
successor =Incumbent
party = Independent
website = [http://www.bedford.gov.uk/apps/memweb/Scripts/councillor.exe/CouncillorDetails?ID=Cllr43881826852 www.bedford.gov.uk]

Frank Branston is the directly-elected mayor of the borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.

He stood as an independent in the borough's first direct election for mayor in 2002 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2339617.stm BBC News - Bedford goes for Branston] ] , backed at the time by the Better Bedford Independent Party, which has since been disbanded. [ [http://www.bedsonsunday.com/bedsonsunday-news/DisplayArticle.asp?id=81256 Party's over for Better Bedford] ]

Prior to entering politics he was a journalist. In 1974 he was the first weekly newspaper owner to be honoured in national press awards. After launching his own newspapers he also received a number of other awards.

Branston was born in Retford, Notts, brought up in Chelsea, West London, and educated at Sloane Grammar School, Chelsea leaving in 1955 aged 16. He has been married to the German-born Marlies since 1968, and is a father of two children, Naomi (a lawyer) and Antonia (marketing)

Branston was the owner of five local newspapers, Bedfordshire on Sunday, 'Luton on Sunday', 'Hertfordshire on Sunday', 'Leighton Buzzard on Sunday' and the 'Milton Keynes News', with a total distribution approaching 400,000. He and his wife sold their 88% stake in the newspapers in 2002 [ [http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=550&ArticleID=1114396 Bedford Today - Sunday newspaper group is sold off] ] . He is also the author of two novels, "Sergeant Ritchie's Conscience" (1978) and "Up and Coming Man" (1977) and contributed to 'Dogs of War', a book about mercenary soldiers in the 1970s.

Branston was reelected with an increased majority on Thursday 3 May 2007, after a count which lasted 16 hours due to problems with an experimental electronic counting system. [ [http://www.dynamoo.com/diary/bedford-elections-2007.htm Bedford Elections 2007 and the electronic counting fiasco] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.frankbranston.co.uk/ Official blog]
* [http://www.bedford.gov.uk/apps/memweb/Scripts/councillor.exe/CouncillorDetails?ID=Cllr43881826852 Official council profile page]