What's next for Beds, Herts and Bucks politics?

The year 2025 was a busy one for local politics in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire with the government granting planning permission for the Universal Studios theme park, while the High Court rejected a legal claim against expansion plans for Luton Airport.

The opening of the East West Rail line between Oxford and Milton Keynes was delayed, while our three police commissioners were told they would lose their jobs in 2028.

It was also the year the Conservatives lost control of Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire councils and four of our local authorities also switched leaders.

So what could be in store in 2026?

For the first time in 12 years, all Milton Keynes city councillors are defending seats in the May local elections after boundary changes saw an increase in the number of elected members from 57 to 60.

We already know that council leader Pete Marland is retiring in May, after leading Labour to its first majority in almost 30 years in 2024. Can Labour hold onto the council with a new leader?

The two unitary councils that cover Northamptonshire are now run by Reform UK, so it will be interesting to see whether the party has an impact in Milton Keynes.

Nigel Farage's party will face competition from the Liberal Democrat opposition, while the Conservatives will be keen to regain ground after becoming the smallest party in 2024.

When finished, East West Rail will link Oxford and Cambridge via Milton Keynes and Bedford, but people living in Winslow in Buckinghamshire are still waiting for trains to begin running through the town's new station.

They were scheduled to start running by the end of 2025, but that was delayed after a row over who controls the opening and closing of carriage doors.

A Chiltern Railways spokesperson confirmed no current date had been set for the launch in 2026, but said there was "work still to finish to prepare the trains, on Winslow station and on the operating arrangements for the new route".

However they added "significant progress had been made, including hiring and training of 44 train drivers, the creation of a new colleague facility at Bletchley, featuring desks, a kitchen and meeting rooms for staff, and the fit-out of a new modern station with step-free access at Winslow".

Six district councils in Hertfordshire are due to hold elections in May.

However, the government has given Broxbourne, St Albans, Stevenage, Three Rivers, Watford and Welwyn Hatfield councils the option to postpone public polls as they are among 63 authorities in the process of reorganisation that will see them abolished and replaced by between two and four unitary councils.

In December, the Liberal Democrat leader of Watford Council, Peter Taylor, said democracy was "fundamental to local government" and that it was "absolutely critical voters get to have their say" — a sentiment that appeared to be shared by the other five authorities.

Councils have until 15 January to tell the government they want to take them up on the offer of delaying.

You will read a lot about the Universal Studios project in Bedfordshire after the government granted planning permission for a Hollywood theme park in December.

However, spring also brings the finances into focus for the county's three unitary councils which have to deliver balanced budgets by the end of February.

Meanwhile a review of Bedford Borough Council's finances by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) in July saw Conservative councillors denying opposition claims the authority was effectively bankrupt, while CIPFA itself said "we believe the council is already in S114 territory" - which is a notice used by councils which are unable to balance books.

Last year Central Bedfordshire Council cut about 100 jobs as part of £35m savings and the expectation for all three authorities would be that residents would face a rise in council tax to the maximum allowed of 4.99% from April 2026.

In Hertfordshire, the Liberal Democrats have said special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision is its priority after taking control of the county council in May 2025.

That followed inspectors giving the service the lowest rating in 2023 when the authority was being run by the Conservatives.

Its brand new Send strategy is out for consultation until February and promises families will get provision sooner, with more inclusive schools and investment, but it seems that at least some of that will rely on more government funding.

Meanwhile in Central Bedfordshire, the independent-run authority has agreed to expand its own Send provision while also beginning the move towards a two-tier school system that will see the end of middle schools from September 2026.

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