Mid Bedfordshire constituency general election debate on BBC

Six candidates are taking part in today’s debate:

Dave Holland (Reform UK)

Dave Holland was born and bred in the constituency, spending a lot of his time as a youngster in Ampthill Park. He moved back to south Bedfordshire in 2012 and has lived in Shillington ever since. He worked for his family business as an engineer before branching out into various sales roles. He then set up several different businesses and is currently managing director of an IT marketing company. In his spare time, he clay pigeon shoots, tours the UK and Europe on his motorbike and attempts to train his dogs. He finished fifth in the Mid Bedfordshire by-election that was held last October in the constituency.

Gareth Mackay (independent)

Gareth Mackey has been an independent Central Bedfordshire
councillor for Flitwick since 2019. Since the May 2023 local elections, he is
now on the executive team on the unitary authority, which is run by the
independents. Mr Mackey beat both the Greens and Reform UK in the Mid Beds
by-election in October. He finished fourth in the Mid Beds by-election that was
held last October in the constituency. He’s a governor on the East London NHS
Foundation Trust and on the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Panel

Maahwish Mirza (Labour)

Luton-born Maahwish Mirza studied at the University of Warwick
and decided to return to her home town after graduating. She said she grew up
in a working-class family and now works for an investment bank, where she has
had an international career in finance. She worked in Paris and London, across
client sectors, and previously in government financing. She previously served
as a Luton councillor for three years between 2016 and 2019 on the High Town
Ward.

Stuart Roberts (Liberal Democrats)

Stuart Roberts is a third generation arable and livestock farmer
from Harpenden. He has served four years as the National Farmers Union (NFU)
Deputy President and since April 2022 has been advising the Liberal Democrats
on food and farming policy. He was previously a Conservative councillor in
Hertfordshire but joined a growing number of farmers who are no longer
supporting the Conservative Party. He became a member of the Liberal Democrats
in 2022, helping to write the party’s new farming policies.

Cade Sibley (Green Party)

Cade Sibley’s party has found an increasing presence in
Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, currently running East Herts
Council in a joint administration with the Lib Dems. Closer to Mid
Bedfordshire, Green councillor Susan Clinch was elected to Central Bedfordshire
Council for the Ampthill Ward in May 2023. He lives in Toddington and works in
adult social care looking after disabled people. He finished sixth in the Mid
Bedfordshire by-election that was held last October in the constituency.

Blake Stephenson (Conservative)

Blake Stephenson is a Central Bedfordshire councillor,
representing the villages of Gravenhurst and Shillington in Mid Bedfordshire.
He serves on the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Panel, Shillington Parish Council
and is chairman of the Shillington and Stondon Federation of Schools. He has
lived in the countryside all his life and is passionate about supporting rural
communities and local businesses. He built a successful career in the City of
London over 15 years, working in ethics and compliance roles within wholesale
financial markets.

Also standing:

Richard Brunning (Social
Democrat Party)

Richard Bruning is co-owner and director of YouTube channel Bad
Obsession Motorsport. He spent 10 years with Daytona Motorsport as technical
director and was responsible for the performance and safety of more than 300
go-karts across the group and their engineering staff. He described himself as
a “part-time drummer and full-time father of twins”.