List of parliamentary constituencies in Bedfordshire
![A small county slightly to the south and east of the centre of the country, and completely bounded by other counties.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Bedfordshire_UK_locator_map_2010.svg/220px-Bedfordshire_UK_locator_map_2010.svg.png)
The ceremonial county of Bedfordshire (which comprises Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton unitary authorities) is split into 7 seats – 2 borough and 5 county constituencies.[nb 1]
Constituencies
† Conservative † ‡ Labour ‡
Name[nb 2] | Electorate[1] | Majority[2][nb 3] | Member of Parliament[2] | Nearest opposition[2] | Electoral wards[3][4] | Map | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedford BC | 70,068 | 9,430 | Mohammad Yasin ‡ | Pinder Chauhan † | Bedford Borough Council: Brickhill, Castle, Cauldwell, De Parys, Goldington, Harpur, Kempston Central and East, Kempston North, Kempston South, Kempston West, Kingsbrook, Newnham, Putnoe, Queen's Park. | ![]() | ||
Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard CC | 74,069 | 667 | Alex Mayer ‡ | Andrew Selous † | Central Bedfordshire Council: Dunstable Central, Dunstable-Icknield, Dunstable-Manshead, Dunstable-Northfields, Dunstable-Watling, Heath and Reach, Houghton Hall, Leighton Buzzard North, Leighton Buzzard South, Linslade, Parkside, Tithe Farm. | ![]() | ||
Hitchin CC[nb 4] | 72,112 | 7,109 | Alistair Strathern ‡ | Bim Afolami † | Central Bedfordshire Council: Arlesey, Shefford, Stotfold and Langford. North Hertfordshire District Council: Cadwell, Chesfield, Hitchin Bearton, Hitchin Highbury, Hitchin Oughton, Hitchin Priory, Hitchin Walsworth, Hitchwood, Offa and Hoo, Kimpton. | ![]() | ||
Luton North BC | 73,266 | 7,510 | Sarah Owen ‡ | Jilleane Brown † | Luton Borough Council: Barnfield, Bramingham, Challney, Ickfield, Leagrave, Lewsey, Limbury, Northwell, Saints, Stopsley, Sundon Park. | ![]() | ||
Luton South and South Bedfordshire CC | 70,197 | 6,858 | Rachel Hopkins ‡ | Mark Versallion † | Central Bedfordshire Council: Caddington, Eaton Bay. Luton Borough Council: Biscot, Crawley, Dallow, Farley, High Town, Round Green, South, Wigmore. | ![]() | ||
Mid Bedfordshire CC | 71,748 | 1,321 | Blake Stephenson † | Maahwish Mirza ‡ | Bedford Borough Council: Elstow and Stewartby, Wilshamstead, Wootton. Central Bedfordshire Council: Ampthill, Aspley and Woburn, Barton-le-Clay, Cranfield and Marston Moretaine, Flitwick, Houghton Conquest and Haynes, Silsoe and Shillington, Toddington, Westoning, Flitton and Greenfield. | ![]() | ||
North Bedfordshire CC | 76,319 | 5,414 | Richard Fuller † | Uday Nagaraju ‡ | Bedford Borough Council: Bromham and Biddenham, Clapham, Eastcotts, Great Barford, Harrold, Kempston Rural, Oakley, Riseley, Sharnbrook, Wyboston. Central Bedfordshire Council: Biggleswade North, Biggleswade South, Northill, Potton, Sandy. | ![]() |
Boundary changes
2024
For the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which redrew the constituency map ahead of the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Boundary Commission for England opted to combine Bedfordshire with Hertfordshire as a sub-region of the East of England region, with the creation of the cross-county boundary constituency of Hitchin. As a result of the changes, Luton South was renamed Luton South and South Bedfordshire, North East Bedfordshire renamed North Bedfordshire, and South West Bedfordshire renamed Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard.[5]
Former name | Boundaries 2010-2024 | Current name | Boundaries 2024–present |
---|---|---|---|
| ![]() |
| ![]() |
2010
Under the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission for England decided to retain Bedfordshire's constituencies for the 2010 election, making minor changes to realign constituency boundaries with the boundaries of current local government wards, and to reduce the electoral disparity between constituencies.
Name | Boundaries 1997-2010 | Boundaries 2010–present |
---|---|---|
| ![]() | ![]() |
Results history
Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing – General election results from 1918 to 2019[6]
2024
The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Bedfordshire in the 2024 general election were as follows:[nb 5][2]
Party | Votes | % | Change from 2019 | Seats | Change from 2019 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | 114,813 | 36.8% | ![]() | 5 | ![]() |
Conservative | 88,794 | 28.0% | ![]() | 2 | ![]() |
Reform UK | 45,831 | 14.4% | ![]() | 0 | 0 |
Liberal Democrats | 29,346 | 9.2% | ![]() | 0 | 0 |
Greens | 17,092 | 5.4% | ![]() | 0 | 0 |
Others | 13,447 | 4.2% | ![]() | 0 | 0 |
Workers Party of Britain | 8,020 | 2.5% | New | 0 | New |
Total | 317,343 | 100.0 | 7 |
2019
The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Bedfordshire in the 2019 general election were as follows:
Party | Votes | % | Change from 2017 | Seats | Change from 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | 156,973 | 49.8% | ![]() | 3 | 0 |
Labour | 107,591 | 34.2% | ![]() | 3 | 0 |
Liberal Democrats | 28,276 | 9.0% | ![]() | 0 | 0 |
Greens | 9,126 | 2.9% | ![]() | 0 | 0 |
Brexit | 3,712 | 1.2% | new | 0 | 0 |
Others | 9,318 | 3.0% | ![]() | 0 | 0 |
Total | 314,996 | 100.0 | 6 |
Percentage votes
Election year | 1950 | 1951 | 1955 | 1959 | 1964 | 1966 | 1970 | 1974 (Feb) | 1974 (Oct) | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | 42.4 | 45.3 | 44.7 | 38.8 | 43.9 | 45.6 | 40.9 | 34.0 | 37.3 | 32.9 | 22.6 | 24.2 | 30.3 | 44.0 | 42.8 | 34.2 | 27.1 | 29.5 | 42.0 | 34.2 | 36.2 |
Conservative1 | 44.5 | 49.7 | 53.5 | 49.9 | 47.8 | 43.8 | 50.5 | 39.7 | 40.4 | 51.3 | 51.0 | 54.2 | 53.2 | 38.6 | 39.4 | 40.6 | 44.7 | 47.2 | 50.3 | 49.8 | 28.0 |
Reform UK2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1.2 | 14.4 |
Liberal Democrat3 | 13.0 | 4.9 | 1.8 | 11.2 | 8.0 | 10.3 | 8.4 | 26.2 | 22.2 | 14.8 | 26.3 | 21.1 | 14.8 | 12.8 | 14.8 | 20.3 | 20.3 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 9.0 | 9.2 |
Green Party | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | * | * | * | * | * | 0.7 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 5.4 |
UKIP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | * | * | * | 3.8 | 13.5 | 0.8 | * | * |
Workers Party of Britain | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | - | 2.5 |
Other | 0.1 | – | – | – | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 4.2 |
1 Includes National Liberal Party up to 1966
2 2019: as the Brexit Party –
3 1950-1979 - Liberal ; 1983 & 1987 – SDP-Liberal Alliance
* Included in Other
Seats
Election year | 1950 | 1951 | 1955 | 1959 | 1964 | 1966 | 1970 | 1974 (Feb) | 1974 (Oct) | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Labour | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
Total | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
1Includes National Liberal Party up to 1966
Maps
1885-1910
- 1885
- 1886
- 1892
- 1895
- 1900
- 1906
- Jan 1910
- Dec 1910
1918-1945
- 1918
- 1922
- 1934
- 1924
- 1929
- 1931
- 1935
- 1945
1950-1979
- 1950
- 1951
- 1955
- 1959
- 1964
- 1966
- 1970
- Feb 1974
- Oct 1974
- 1979
1983-present
- 1983
- 1987
- 1992
- 1997
- 2001
- 2005
- 2010
- 2015
- 2017
- 2019
- 2024
Timeline
Former constituency Current constituency
Constituency | 1295–1885 | 1885–1918 | 1918–1950 | 1950–1974 | 1974–1983 | 1983–1997 | 1997–2024 | 2024–present |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedfordshire | 1295–1885 | |||||||
Bedford | 1295–1983 | 1997–present | ||||||
North Bedfordshire | 1983–1997 | 2024–present | ||||||
North East Bedfordshire | 1997–2024 | |||||||
Biggleswade | 1885–1918 | |||||||
Mid Bedfordshire | 1918–present | |||||||
South Bedfordshire | 1950–1983 | |||||||
South West Bedfordshire | 1983–2024 | |||||||
Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard | 2024-present | |||||||
Luton | 1885–1974 | |||||||
Luton East | 1974–1983 | |||||||
Luton West | 1974–1983 | |||||||
Luton North | 1983–present | |||||||
Luton South | 1983–2024 | |||||||
Luton South and South Bedfordshire | 2024–present |
Historical representation by party
A cell marked → (with a different colour background to the preceding cell) indicates that the previous MP continued to sit under a new party name.
1802 to 1837
Conservative Tory Whig
Constituency | 1802 | 1806 | 1807 | 1812 | 15 | 1818 | 1820 | 1826 | 1830 | 1831 | 1832 | 34 | 1835 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedford | Antonie | G. Russell | Polhill | Crawley | |||||||||
S. Whitbread | Waldegrave | W. Whitbread | Polhill | ||||||||||
Bedfordshire | Osborn | FitzPatrick | F. Russell | C. Russell | |||||||||
St John | Pym | Osborn | Pym | Macqueen | Stuart | Payne | Stuart | → | Egerton |
1837 to 1885
Conservative Liberal Whig
Constituency | 1837 | 38 | 1841 | 47 | 1847 | 51 | 1852 | 54 | 1857 | 1859 | 1865 | 1868 | 72 | 1874 | 75 | 1880 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedford | Stuart | Crawley | H. Stuart | W. Stuart | Barnard | W. Stuart | Howard | Polhill-Turner | Magniac | |||||||
Polhill | Verney | Whitbread | → | |||||||||||||
Bedfordshire | C. Russell | Astell | C. Russell | F. Russell | → | Bassett | G. Russell | |||||||||
Egerton | Gilpin | Howard |
1885 to 1918
Conservative Liberal Liberal Unionist
Constituency | 1885 | 1886 | 1892 | 92 | 1895 | 1900 | 1906 | Jan 1910 | Dec 1910 | 11 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedford | Whitbread | Pym | Barlow | Attenborough | Kellaway | |||||
Biggleswade | Magniac | Baring | Russell | Compton | Black | |||||
Luton | Flower | Whitbread | Ashton | Harmsworth |
1918 to 1974
Coalition Liberal (1918–22) / National Liberal (1922–23) Conservative Labour Liberal National Liberal (1931–68)
Constituency | 1918 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1929 | 31 | 1931 | 1935 | 1945 | 1950 | 1951 | 1955 | 1959 | 60 | 63 | 1964 | 1966 | 1970 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedford | Kellaway | Wells | Skeffington-Lodge | Soames | Parkyn | Skeet | ||||||||||||
Bedfordshire Mid | Townley | Linfield | Warner | Gray | Lennox-Boyd | Hastings | ||||||||||||
Bedfordshire South | Moeran | Cole | → | Roberts | Madel | |||||||||||||
Luton | Harmsworth | Hewett | Howard | O'Connor | Burgin | → | Warbey | Hill | Howie | Simeons |
1974 to 1997
Conservative Labour
Constituency | Feb 1974 | Oct 1974 | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1992 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedford / North Bedfordshire (1983) | Skeet | |||||
Bedfordshire Mid | Hastings | Lyell | ||||
Bedfordshire South / South West Bedfordshire (1983) | Madel | |||||
Luton East / Luton South (1983) | Clemitson | Bright | ||||
Luton West / Luton North (1983) | Sedgemore | Carlisle |
1997 to present
Change UK Conservative Independent The Independents Labour
Constituency | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 17 | 19 | 2019 | 23 | 2024 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedford | Hall | Fuller | Yasin | |||||||||
Bedfordshire Mid | Sayeed | Dorries | Strathern | Stephenson | ||||||||
North East Bedfordshire / N Bedfordshire (2024) | Lyell | Burt | Fuller | |||||||||
SW Bedfordshire / Dunstable & Leighton Buzzard ('24) | Madel | Selous | Mayer | |||||||||
Luton South / Luton S & S Bedfordshire (2024) | Moran | Shuker | → | → | R. Hopkins | |||||||
Luton North | K. Hopkins | → | Owen |
See also
- List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)
- History of parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Bedfordshire
Notes
- ^ Hitchin is a cross-county boundary constituency, mostly covering areas of northern Hertfordshire but also containing electoral wards in Central Bedfordshire.
- ^ BC denotes borough constituency, CC denotes county constituency.
- ^ The majority is the number of votes the winning candidate receives more than their nearest rival.
- ^ Hitchin is a cross-county boundary constituency, mostly covering areas of northern Hertfordshire but also containing electoral wards in Central Bedfordshire.
- ^ It should be acknowledged that as Hitchin is a cross-county constituency between Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, and the results of UK elections on sub-constituency levels are not disclosed, the following vote shares include parts of the Hitchin constituency located in Hertfordshire
References
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England - Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition - Eastern". Boundary Commission for England.
- ^ a b c d "Constituencies A-Z – Election 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, page 4". Office of Public Sector Information. Crown copyright. 13 June 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ Boundary Commission for England pp. 1004–1007
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report | Boundary Commission for England". paras 193-206. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ Watson, Christopher; Uberoi, Elise; Loft, Philip (17 April 2020). "General election results from 1918 to 2019".
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