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Bedford Modern gave room for a travelling exhibition at the request of the Board of
Deputies of British Jews and asked me to open it. I am sure they were not aware that I am Jewish (non-practising). I pointed out that while Bedford is certainly one of the oldest boroughs in the country, having been
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Frank
Branston stood as an independent in the borough's first direct election for mayor in 2002, backed at the time by the Better Bedford Independent Party, which has since announced that it will field no further candidates. His platform was based on encouraging investment in the town and on
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in the 1970s. In 1974 he was the first journalist on a weekly newspaper to be named as the
National Press Awards' Provincial Journalist of the Year. After launching his own newspaper, Bedfordshire on Sunday, in 1977, he also received a number of other awards.
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chartered in 1166, it had to wait a long time before getting its first Jewish mayor, Cllr Judith
Cunningham in 2002. I succeeded her. Isn’t that always the way? You wait 836 years for a Jewish Mayor then two come along at once.
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Branston described himself as a "non-practising" Jew, and was the town's second Jewish mayor—coincidentally following on from the first Jewish mayor of the town. Talking about a visit to a local school arranged by the
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focussing on getting things done rather than on party politics (the borough and the county both had a history of hung councils and unimplemented development plans over several decades).
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Branston was re-elected with an increased majority on
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trunk road bypassing the west of
Bedford was named The Branston Way in his memory.
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Bedford
Elections 2007 and the electronic counting fiasco
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Bedford Today – Mayor in hospital fight for his life
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Frank
Branston's blog – It was all absolutely Kosher
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414:BBC News – Mayor dies after heart operation
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227:Board of Deputies of British Jews
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509:Mayors of places in Bedfordshire
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106:(2009-08-14)
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61:Succeeded by
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549:2009 deaths
544:1939 births
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151:, England.
116:Independent
51:Preceded by
503:Categories
485:2002–2009
277:References
91:9 May 1939
87:1939-05-09
55:New Office
399:14 August
207:on Sunday
200:on Sunday
193:on Sunday
41:In office
351:Archived
322:Archived
293:Archived
220:Religion
209:and the
169:Germany
165:Chelsea
161:Retford
143:of the
121:Website
94:Retford
254:Death
191:Luton
401:2009
271:A428
214:News
101:Died
81:Born
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