{{Short description|British politician (born 1978)}} {{Multiple issues| {{BLP primary sources|date=December 2022}} {{COI|date=June 2023}} }}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Festus Akinbusoye | office = Member of [[Westminster City Council]] for [[Abbey Road (ward)|Abbey Road]] | image = Festus Akinbusoye (cropped).jpg | term_start = 7 May 2026 | office1 = [[Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner]] | term_start1 = 13 May 2021 | term_end1 = 8 May 2024 | predecessor1 = [[Kathryn Holloway (police commissioner)|Kathryn Holloway]] | successor1 = [[John Tizard]] | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1978|6}} | birth_place = [[Lagos]], Nigeria | death_date = | death_place = | party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] | education = [[City of Westminster College]]<br>[[University of the Arts London]] (BA)<br>[[University of London]] (MA) }} '''Festus Kehinde Akinbusoye''' (born June 1978) is a [[Conservative Party (UK)|British Conservative Party]] politician who is councillor for Abbey Road Ward on [[Westminster City Council]] and was the [[Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner]] from [[2021 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections|2021]] to [[2024 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections|2024]]. He was the first black Briton to serve as a police and crime commissioner.
Akinbusoye stood as his party's candidate in the [[2023 Mid Bedfordshire by-election]] following the resignation of [[Nadine Dorries]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Katy |date=26 June 2023 |title=Festus Akinbusoye: MP candidate to continue police role while canvassing |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-66023123 |access-date=15 September 2023 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> He lost the by-election, coming in second place to the Labour candidate [[Alistair Strathern]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Labour takes Nadine Dorries' former seat in Mid Bedfordshire byelection |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/20/labour-takes-nadine-dorries-former-seat-in-mid-bedfordshire-byelection |first1=Kevin |last1=Rawlinson |date=20 October 2023}}</ref>
In 2024, Akinbusoye lost re-election as police and crime commissioner. He was elected to Westminster City Council on 6 May 2026.
== Early life and education == Born in [[Lagos]], Nigeria to Nigerian parents, Akinbusoye emigrated in 1991, as a thirteen-year-old with his parents and twin sister. The family settled in [[Canning Town]], East London.<ref>{{cite web |title=Festus Akinbusoye |url=https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/speaker/festus-akinbusoye/ |accessdate=9 May 2021 |work=Battle of Ideas Festival |publisher=Academy of Ideas}}</ref>
Akinbusoye studied at [[St Paul's Way Trust School|St Paul's Way School]], and the [[City of Westminster College]]. He later studied at the [[London College of Communication|London College of Printing and Distributive Trades]] at the [[University of the Arts London]] and read for a master's degree in international studies and diplomacy from the [[SOAS University of London|School of Oriental and African Studies]] at the [[University of London]].<ref name=FALink>{{cite web|last=Akinbusoye|first=Festus|date=10 May 2021|title=Festus Akinbusoye|url=https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/festus-akinbusoye-a6460610|accessdate=10 May 2021|work=LinkedIn}}{{registration required}}</ref>
Akinbusoye played basketball at university, and played professionally in what was then called the Budweiser British Basketball League. He has a collection of 40 [[Air Jordan]] basketball trainers.<ref name="politico.eu-19Oct23">{{cite news|title=Sunak wakes up in a war zone |url=https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/london-playbook/sunak-wakes-up-in-a-warzone/ |date=19 October 2023 |first1=Dan |last1=Bloom |work=[[Politico Europe]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=7 Life Lessons a child mustn't leave school without |url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140829233830-37336684-7-life-lessons-a-child-mustn-t-leave-school-without |date=29 August 2014 |publisher=[[LinkedIn]] |first1=Festus |last1=Akinbusoye}}</ref>
== Political career == In his early career, Akinbusoye worked as senior parliamentary assistant to the [[Milton Keynes]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MPs [[Mark Lancaster, Baron Lancaster of Kimbolton|Mark Lancaster]], [[Iain Stewart (politician)|Iain Stewart]] and [[Ben Everitt]].<ref name="FALink" /> Akinbusoye stood as a Conservative candidate in the [[West Ham (UK Parliament constituency)|West Ham]] constituency in the [[2015 United Kingdom general election]], a [[safe seat]] for the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], where he came second to the Labour candidate [[Lyn Brown]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Election result for West Ham (Constituency) - MPs and Lords |url=https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3844/election/369 |publisher=UK Parliament}}</ref>
During the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|Brexit referendum campaign]] in 2016, Akinbusoye supported the [[Britain Stronger in Europe|remain]] [[Campaigning in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|campaign]], and urged fellow [[black Britons]] to join him in voting to remain in the [[European Union]].<ref name="courier">{{Cite web |last=Akinbusoye |first=Festus |date=18 June 2016 |title=Why Black people in Britain should vote for Europe, by British-Nigerian politician Festus Akinbusoye |work=THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! |url=https://www.theafricancourier.de/news/europe/why-ill-be-voting-for-britain-to-remain-in-europe-and-urge-black-people-in-britain-to-do-the-same/ |accessdate=18 June 2023 |publisher=African Courier Media}}</ref> Akinbusoye served as chairman of Milton Keynes Conservatives from 2018 to 2021, and on 15 June 2023, Akinbusoye was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate to contest the [[2023 Mid Bedfordshire by-election]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Roffe |first=Erica |date=16 June 2023 |title=Nadine Dorries announces PCC Festus Akinbusoye is to stand as Tory candidate in Mid Beds by-election |work=Bedford Independent |url=https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/nadine-dorries-announces-pcc-festus-akinbusoye-is-to-stand-as-tory-candidate-in-mid-beds-by-election/ |access-date=18 June 2023}}</ref><ref name="FALink" />
=== Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner === In the [[2021 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections#Bedfordshire Police|2021 election]], Akinbusoye was elected as [[Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner]]. In this role, he noted his experiences with stop and search as a young man growing up in London, and time mentoring young offenders in prison, as having shaped some of his approach towards policing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gadher |first=Dipesh |date=16 May 2021 |title=First black Police and Crime Commissioner: I've been stopped and searched but I back it. |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/first-black-police-and-crime-commissioner-ive-been-stopped-and-searched-but-i-back-it-rpdw6nwv2 |access-date=16 May 2021 |website=Sunday Times}}</ref><ref name="Sky-19Jan23"/>
During an interview with [[Beth Rigby]] on [[Sky News]], Akinbusoye supported the appropriate use of police [[stop and search]] powers, having used it himself when serving as a [[Special Constables Act 1923|special constable]] in [[Bedfordshire Police]].<ref name="Sky-19Jan23">{{cite news |url=https://news.sky.com/video/beth-rigby-interviews-festus-akinbusoye-the-uks-first-black-police-and-crime-commissioner-12790099 |date=19 January 2023 |title=Beth Rigby Interviews Festus Akinbusoye, the UK's first black police and crime commissioner |work=[[Sky News]]}}</ref> Rigby asked about his reaction to the [[David Carrick (serial rapist)|David Carrick case]], and Akinbusoye said that "the public quite rightly expect there to be no [[bad apples]]" in British policing.<ref name="Sky-19Jan23"/>
Rigby talked about racism in British society, and mentioned that when [[Kwasi Kwarteng]] was [[Chancellor of the Exchequer|Chancellor]], a Labour MP said that Kwarteng was "superficially" black; Akinbusoye said "that was exceptionally, exceptionally disgusting; it was exceptionally in my view racist, and stereotyping in the worst way because he [the Labour MP] was suggesting that to be black you have to be able to speak a certain way, to be black you cannot go to [[Eton College|Eton]], or [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], or the top schools in the world because that's not what black people do."<ref name="Sky-19Jan23" />
After being selected to contest the [[2023 Mid Bedfordshire by-election]], he was urged by his local crime panel to stand down as commissioner.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 June 2023 |title=Mid-Bedfordshire Tory MP candidate asked to stand down as PCC |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-66004898 |first1=Katy |last1=Prickett |access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> A subsequent public meeting revealed that the panel decision and open letter calling on Akinbusoye to step down as PCC while campaigning had not been seen nor agreed to by all panel members as the letter had stated, with a [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] member describing the decision as "biased, unfair, undemocratic" and "borderline bullying" of Akinbusoye.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Guinn |first=John |date=13 July 2023 |title=Letter urging Bedfordshire's police and crime commissioner to stand down during election campaign was borderline bullying says crime panel member |work=Bedford Today |url=https://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/news/people/letter-urging-bedfordshires-police-and-crime-commissioner-to-stand-down-during-election-campaign-was-borderline-bullying-says-crime-panel-member-4218244 |access-date=14 July 2023}}</ref>
In April 2024, Akinbusoye was reprimanded over social media posts he had made. Akinbusoye had alleged in a post that a member of the public had misused public funds. Akinbusoye said he "totally rejects and refutes the findings and will be responding fully as part of the formal process in due course".<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 April 2024 |last1=Holmes |first1=Amy |title=Bedfordshire crime commissioner reprimanded over social media posts |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51nlk3kmelo |access-date=26 April 2024 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Akinbusoye lost the [[2024 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections|May 2024 election]] to Labour. He remarked of his tenure as PCC that he was "really proud of what has been done in three years".<ref name="BBCNews-03May24">{{Cite news |last1=Holmes |first1=Amy |last2=Parry |first2=Louise |title=Bedfordshire elects first Labour PCC in eight years |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1vmld34w4o |date=3 May 2024 |website=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>
=== 2023 Mid Bedfordshire by-election and PCC re-election campaign === Following the resignation of MP [[Nadine Dorries]], Akinbusoye was selected by the Conservative Party as their candidate in the [[2023 Mid Bedfordshire by-election]]. He lost to Labour candidate [[Alistair Strathern]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Blewett |first=Sam |date=20 October 2023 |title=Labour wins Mid Bedfordshire in historic by-election result |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/labour-conservative-conservatives-prime-minister-lib-dems-b2432922.html |access-date=20 October 2023}}</ref>
In January, Akinbusoye announced on the [[Andy Collins (TV presenter)|Andy Collins]] [[BBC Three Counties Radio]] show that he would not be seeking selection for the next parliamentary election,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holmes |first=Amy |date=18 January 2024 |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68016454 |access-date=20 February 2024 |title=Festus Akinbusoye: 'I have no interest in general election seat'}}</ref> and would seek re-election for a second term as Bedfordshire's PCC.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hutchinson |first=Paul |date=18 January 2024 |title=Festus Akinbusoye says he's seeking a second term as Bedfordshire PCC |url=https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/festus-akinbusoye-says-hes-seeking-a-second-term-as-bedfordshire-pcc/ |access-date=20 February 2024 |newspaper=Bedford Independent}}</ref> He was unsuccessful in [[2024 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections#Bedfordshire Police|the resulting contest]], losing to Labour candidate [[John Tizard]].<ref name="BBCNews-03May24" />
===Westminster City councillor=== In May 2026 Akinbusoye contested and won the local council seat of Abbey Road<ref name="AbbeyRoad07May26">{{Cite web |url=https://www.westminster.gov.uk/about-council/democracy/elections-referendums-and-how-vote/local-elections-2026-results/abbey-road |access-date=9 May 2026 |website=www.westminster.gov.uk |title=Local elections 2026, results: Abbey Road |date=7 May 2026}}</ref> on Westminster City Council, where Conservatives gained overall control of the council from Labour. Akinbusoye defeated incumbent Alan Mendoza (Reform)<ref name="AbbeyRoad07May26" /> who defected from the Conservatives in November 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Zorzut |first1=Adrian |date=20 November 2025 |title=Second Westminster Conservative councillor defects to Reform UK |url=https://fitzrovianews.com/2025/11/20/second-westminster-conservative-councillor-defects-to-reform-uk/ |access-date=2026-05-09 |newspaper=The Fitzrovia News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Personal life== Akinbusoye lives in Bedfordshire with his family. He revealed that he is a "single father who has raised young children over a decade into very successful young adults, endured the teenage years with some remnant of sanity",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Akinbusoye |first=Festus |date=4 November 2024 |title=Festus Akinbusoye: If we want safer streets, we must first have safer homes |url=https://conservativehome.com/2024/11/04/festus-akinbusoye-if-we-want-safer-streets-we-must-first-have-safer-homes/ |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=[[ConservativeHome|Conservative Home]]}}</ref> and is a member of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adcock |first1=Malcolm |last2=Woods |first2=Fred E. |author-link2=Fred Woods (historian)|date=2022 |title=The Latter-day Saint Image in the British Mind|publisher=Greg Kofford Books|isbn=978-1-58958-558-4|page=143}}</ref> Akinbusoye also runs a facilities management business which employs 50 staff across England, Scotland and Wales.<ref>{{cite news |last=Day |first=Christopher |date=16 June 2023 |title=Candidates selected for Mid Bedfordshire by-election |url=https://www.thecomet.net/news/23593853.candidates-selected-mid-bedfordshire-by-election/ |work=[[The Comet (newspaper)|The Comet]] |access-date=18 June 2023}}</ref>
Akinbusoye has stated that he owes his success in business to the help he received from The [[Prince's Trust]] aged 23 while growing up in East London.<ref>{{Cite news |first1=Euan |last1=Duncan |date=14 September 2022 |title=Bedfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner expresses a debt of gratitude to His Majesty. |url=https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/bedfordshires-police-and-crime-commissioner-expresses-a-debt-of-gratitude-to-his-majesty/ |access-date=12 December 2024 |newspaper=[[Bedford Independent]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220914090745/https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/bedfordshires-police-and-crime-commissioner-expresses-a-debt-of-gratitude-to-his-majesty/ |archive-date=14 September 2022 |url-status=live |url-access=registration }}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}} {{commons category}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Akinbusoye, Festus}} [[Category:1978 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Canning Town]] [[Category:People from Milton Keynes]] [[Category:Politicians from Lagos]] [[Category:Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Black British politicians]] [[Category:Black British businesspeople]] [[Category:Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates]] [[Category:Police and crime commissioners in England]] [[Category:Conservative Party police and crime commissioners]] [[Category:British Latter Day Saints]] [[Category:Alumni of SOAS University of London]] [[Category:Alumni of the London College of Printing]] [[Category:English Latter Day Saints]]