The Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency is located in Bedfordshire. It covers the towns of Dunstable and Houghton Regis, which lie on the outskirts of the large town of Luton, and the town of Leighton Buzzard. The three towns in the constituency are historic market towns.[3] Deprivation in the constituency is low and the area is generally wealthy, particularly in Leighton Buzzard.[4]
In general, residents have average levels of education and professional employment with above-average household income. At the 2021 census, White people made up 87% of the population.[5] At the local council, Leighton Buzzard is mostly represented by Liberal Democrats, whilst Dunstable and Houghton Regis elected a variety of councillors including Liberal Democrats, Labour Party, Conservatives and independents. The rural area between Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable is represented by Conservatives. An estimated 59% of voters in the constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum compared to 52% nationwide.[5]
History
The seat is a successor to South West Bedfordshire which was a Conservative seat during its existence, often with large majorities, though Labour came very close to winning the seat on two occasions in 1997 and 2001, reducing the Conservative Party's majorities to 132 and 776 respectively, with Labour winning the seat narrowly on a three-figure majority for the first time since a previous incarnation of the constituency (South Bedfordshire), in 1966.
Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023,[7][8] the constituency comprises the following wards of Central Bedfordshire from the 2024 general election:
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