Mark Versallion

Poppy Appeal launched this week. Great to see my friends Mike & Laura selling poppies but the winds closed the market forcing them to relocate. As a former naval officer I’m used to a bit of wind but the town council not so much 😉. Hopefully poppy appeal will be there next week.

ALL 4 council by-elections were won by Conservatives last night in England, gaining seats from Labour, Green and Independent. Calverley & Farsley in Leeds Hertford Kingsmead in Herts Hartlebury, Wychavon in Worcs Grantham St Wulfram's in Lincs

How do we create jobs, increase wages and grow our economy? By competing with other parts of the world and attracting business back to the UK. Fascinating to discuss with Peter Lilley, Maggie Thatcher’s Secretary of State for Trade & Industry - a familiar face in the 80s & 90s.

Very happy to see our former MP in our constituency this week. Sir David Madel served SW Bedfordshire from 1970-2001. In those 31 years he showed his commitment to public service and our community - making many friends along the way, in the Conservative Party and beyond.

Met with the new Leader of Luton Council and congratulated him on forming a new coalition administration - not an easy task - and ending 20 years of Labour control. Wishing Amjid Ali and his cabinet of (almost) all parties well in the remaining seven months before LE27.

Council fails Settled Community and Traveller Community, Cllr Versallion... youtu.be/j1x_3DOxB0o?si=4L_5… via @YouTube

Very proud of local residents coming to CBC’s Full Council last night to speak on the Traveller site development on the edge of Tilsworth. CBC has failed to identify enough sites for travellers to live on, so that some of them are forced to buy a field and move in over a weekend.

The A5 from Kelly’s Kitchen Roundabout to Thorn Roundabout is closed tomorrow night from 8pm to 5am, and Wednesday night too, 22 and 23 Sep. National Highways is inspecting the average speed cameras as part of their routine checks that they’re working properly.

Controversial changes to planning were discussed at this briefing I attended today. Councillors - can no longer call-in applications to committee. Civil servants will make the decisions from now on without any democratic accountability.

Great to catch-up with our Community First Responders and see their new car. I hadn’t seen them since I did a ride-along in January. Could you be a First Responder? Trained volunteers that do great work for us local residents and help the ambulance service too.

Well done and thank you to everyone involved in putting on this year’s Stanbridge Village Fayre. Good to see many familiar faces. I’m honoured to represent Stanbridge and all the other villages that I fight for in Council. Great bunch of people and a strong sense of community.

Cllr Mark Versallion on Devolution, 02 Sep 2026 youtu.be/5rG5GILRpg4?si=GmKu… via @YouTube

Was able to attend Eggington PC last night and shared with them some of the work I’ve been doing on local issues as well as county council challenges. Attending CBC full council tonight where we’ll be debating & voting on the latest devolution proposal from the new Burnham govt.

Claiming for pothole damage is the right thing to do - yet compensation claims are at a new high in Central Beds. Fact is when Tories lost control of CBC in the 2023 local elections things got a lot worse! CBC paid out: £30,000 in 2023/24 £71,000 in 2024/25 £88,000 in 2025/26

Attended Stanbridge parish council last week and Tilsworth parish council last night and I was struck by our Bedfordshire sunset.

Great time at the #BedfordRiverFestival Lots of energy and community spirit this evening.

Milton Keynes today and I chaired the Hospital’s Charity committee, whose staff deserve great praise for the work they’ve been doing to fund raise for the benefit of many Beds, Bucks and MK patients and many of its 4,500 staff too.

Only 4 carriages rather than the usual 12 on the 0947 to Euston today. Naturally standing room only. Felt embarrassed in front of the foreign visitors trying to get back into the city. What are the senior leadership of London NW up to?

Here’s the sites submitted to CBC’s Local Plan in & around Dunstable & Leighton Buzzard, Houghton Regis & the villages. It’s a couple of years away before any become certain & any land owner can submit any piece of land whether a good idea or not. Next CBC assesses each of them

Well done and thank you to everyone involved in making the Leighton-Linslade Carnival happen this weekend. Always a positive event with so many community groups in one place. My son and I had a great time as did many others in the glorious sunshine ☀️