Mid Bedfordshire | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Bedfordshire |
Electorate | 71,748 (2023) [1] |
Major settlements | Ampthill, Flitwick |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1918 |
Member of Parliament | Blake Stephenson (Conservative) |
Seats | One |
Created from | Luton and Biggleswade |
Mid Bedfordshire is a constituency [n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Blake Stephenson of the Conservative Party since the 2024 United Kingdom general election. [n 2]
This seat comprises small towns and rural areas in the outer parts of the London commuter belt, with the M1 motorway, Midland Main Line, the A1 road, East Coast Main Line and other A roads providing the major north–south commuter links primarily in and out of London. There are several logistics sites including Amazon at Marston Gate. Residents are wealthier than the UK average, and health is around the UK average. [2]
Mid Bedfordshire was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918.
It had elected Conservative MPs since the 1931 general election. It was held from 1983 to 1997 by the Attorney General Nicholas Lyell, who then transferred to the newly created seat of North East Bedfordshire; his old seat was won by Jonathan Sayeed, a former MP in Bristol. Sayeed was forced to retire in 2005 due to ill health, following a row over allegations he had profited from his private educational tours of Parliament and a resulting deselection attempt by the constituency party. Nadine Dorries then held the seat until 2023; the Conservative whip was withdrawn from her in 2012 and returned six months later, after she had appeared on the reality television series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! . [3] Dorries resigned her seat in August 2023. [4] In the ensuing by-election, the seat was taken by Alistair Strathern of the Labour Party, the first time a Labour member had held the seat in its 105-year history. [5] In the 2024 United Kingdom general election the seat was regained by the Conservatives, now represented by Blake Stephenson. Incumbent MP Alistair Strathern had stood in Hitchin instead and was successfully elected there.
The constituency was created as a Division of Bedfordshire by the Representation of the People Act 1918, comprising:
Ampthill and Biggleswade had been part of the abolished Biggleswade Division, and Leighton Buzzard was transferred from the Luton Division.
1Created as an Urban District out of the Rural District of Biggleswade in 1927. [7]
Gained southern and eastern rural areas of Bedford. Leighton Buzzard and surrounding rural areas (equivalent to the abolished Rural District of Eaton Bray, which had been absorbed by the Rural District of Luton) transferred to the new constituency of South Bedfordshire.
As above, apart from changes to the Rural District of Bedford. [6]
The village of Eaton Socon had been absorbed by the Urban District of St Neots and was transferred to the county constituency of Huntingdonshire.
Kempston transferred from the abolished constituency of Bedford. Parts included in the new constituencies of North Bedfordshire (far north-eastern area), South West Bedfordshire (south-western parts) and North Luton (including Flitwick).
Wholesale changes, with eastern parts, comprising about half of the electorate, including Biggleswade and Sandy, being transferred to the new constituency of North East Bedfordshire. Kempston was transferred back to the re-established borough constituency of Bedford. Regained parts of the District of Mid Bedfordshire previously transferred to South West Bedfordshire and North Luton (including Flitwick), together with the parts of the District of South Bedfordshire, also previously in North Luton.
Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency was defined as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
Eastern areas, including the town of Shefford, were transferred out to the re-established, cross-county boundary constituency of Hitchin.
Following further local government boundary reviews in Bedford [12] [13] and Central Bedfordshire [14] [15] which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:
Luton and Biggleswade prior to 1918
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Blake Stephenson [18] | 16,912 | 34.1 | −26.4 | |
Labour | Maahwish Mirza [19] | 15,591 | 31.4 | +10.9 | |
Reform UK | David Holland [20] | 8,594 | 17.3 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Stuart Roberts [21] | 4,068 | 8.2 | −4.3 | |
Green | Cade Sibley [22] | 2,584 | 5.2 | +1.3 | |
Independent | Gareth Mackey [23] | 1,700 | 3.4 | +3.4 | |
SDP | Richard Brunning [24] | 172 | 0.3 | +0.3 | |
Majority | 1,321 | 2.7 | –36.7 | ||
Turnout | 49,621 | 65.1 | –6.4 | ||
Registered electors | 76,218 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | -18.6 |
* Vote share changes compared to the 2019 election, not the 2023 by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Alistair Strathern | 13,872 | 34.1 | +12.4 | |
Conservative | Festus Akinbusoye | 12,680 | 31.1 | −28.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Emma Holland-Lindsay | 9,420 | 23.1 | +10.5 | |
Independent | Gareth Mackey | 1,865 | 4.6 | N/A | |
Reform UK | Dave Holland | 1,487 | 3.7 | N/A | |
Green | Cade Sibley | 732 | 1.8 | −2.0 | |
Monster Raving Loony | Ann Kelly | 249 | 0.6 | −0.2 | |
English Democrat | Antonio Vitiello | 107 | 0.3 | N/A | |
CPA | Sid Cordle | 101 | 0.2 | N/A | |
True & Fair Party | Alan Victor | 93 | 0.2 | N/A | |
Heritage | Alberto Thomas | 63 | 0.1 | N/A | |
No description | Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India | 27 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Mainstream | Chris Rooney | 24 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,192 | 3.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 40,720 | 44.1 | −29.6 | ||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +20.5 |
* The 2024 boundary changes were not in effect for the by-election.
Party | Vote | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Conservative | 31,034 | 60.5 | |
Labour | 10,525 | 20.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | 6,420 | 12.5 | |
Green | 1,998 | 3.9 | |
Others | 1,348 | 2.6 | |
Turnout | 51,325 | 71.5 | |
Electorate | 71,748 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Nadine Dorries | 38,692 | 59.8 | –1.8 | |
Labour | Rhiannon Meades | 14,028 | 21.7 | –6.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Rachel McGann | 8,171 | 12.6 | +6.6 | |
Green | Gareth Ellis | 2,478 | 3.8 | +1.0 | |
Independent | Alan Victor | 812 | 1.3 | N/A | |
Monster Raving Loony | Ann Kelly | 536 | 0.8 | –0.3 | |
Majority | 24,664 | 38.1 | +4.9 | ||
Turnout | 64,717 | 73.7 | –3.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Nadine Dorries | 38,936 | 61.6 | +5.5 | |
Labour | Rhiannon Meades | 17,953 | 28.4 | +12.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Lisa French | 3,798 | 6.0 | –1.2 | |
Green | Gareth Ellis | 1,794 | 2.8 | –1.4 | |
Monster Raving Loony | Ann Kelly | 667 | 1.1 | +0.6 | |
Majority | 20,983 | 33.2 | –7.0 | ||
Turnout | 63,148 | 76.7 | +5.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –3.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Nadine Dorries | 32,544 | 56.1 | +3.6 | |
Labour | Charlynne Pullen | 9,217 | 15.9 | +1.1 | |
UKIP | Nigel Wickens | 8,966 | 15.4 | +10.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Linda Jack | 4,193 | 7.2 | –17.7 | |
Green | Gareth Ellis | 2,462 | 4.2 | +2.8 | |
Independent | Tim Ireland | 384 | 0.7 | N/A | |
Monster Raving Loony | Ann Kelly | 294 | 0.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 23,327 | 40.2 | +12.6 | ||
Turnout | 58,060 | 71.6 | –0.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.3 |
In June 2015 the independent candidate, Tim Ireland, lodged an unsuccessful election petition accusing Nadine Dorries of breaches of section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his character. [41] [42] The petition was dismissed by the courts on 30 July 2015. [43]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Nadine Dorries | 28,815 | 52.5 | +5.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Linda Jack | 13,663 | 24.9 | +1.4 | |
Labour | David Reeves | 8,108 | 14.8 | –7.7 | |
UKIP | Bill Hall | 2,826 | 5.1 | +2.4 | |
Green | Malcolm Bailey | 773 | 1.4 | –1.2 | |
English Democrat | John Cooper | 712 | 1.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 15,152 | 27.6 | +5.1 | ||
Turnout | 54,897 | 72.2 | +3.5 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Nadine Dorries | 23,345 | 46.3 | –1.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Mark Chapman | 11,990 | 23.8 | +4.1 | |
Labour | Martin Lindsay | 11,351 | 22.5 | –7.6 | |
UKIP | Richard Joselyn | 1,372 | 2.7 | 0.0 | |
Green | Ben Foley | 1,292 | 2.6 | N/A | |
Veritas | Howard Martin | 769 | 1.5 | N/A | |
Independent | Saqhib Ali | 301 | 0.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 11,355 | 22.5 | +5.2 | ||
Turnout | 50,420 | 68.3 | +2.4 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –2.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Jonathan Sayeed | 22,109 | 47.4 | +1.4 | |
Labour | James Valentine | 14,043 | 30.1 | –2.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Graham Mabbutt | 9,205 | 19.7 | +2.9 | |
UKIP | Chris Laurence | 1,281 | 2.7 | N/A | |
Majority | 8,066 | 17.3 | +3.3 | ||
Turnout | 46,638 | 65.9 | –13.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Jonathan Sayeed | 24,176 | 46.0 | –16.4 | |
Labour | Neil Mallett | 17,086 | 32.5 | +12.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Tim J. Hill | 8,823 | 16.8 | +1.0 | |
Referendum | Shirley C. Marler | 2,257 | 4.3 | N/A | |
Natural Law | Marek J. Lorys | 174 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 7,090 | 14.0 | –22.4 | ||
Turnout | 52,534 | 78.9 | –5.5 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −14.6 [50] |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Nicholas Lyell | 40,230 | 58.2 | –0.8 | |
Labour | Richard A. Clayton | 15,092 | 21.8 | +3.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Nikolas Hills | 11,957 | 17.3 | –5.6 | |
Liberal | Phil Cottier | 1,582 | 2.3 | N/A | |
Natural Law | Marek J. Lorys | 279 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 25,138 | 36.4 | +0.4 | ||
Turnout | 69,140 | 84.4 | +5.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –2.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Nicholas Lyell | 37,411 | 59.0 | +2.1 | |
SDP | Nikolas Hills | 14,560 | 23.0 | –3.9 | |
Labour | John Heywood | 11,463 | 18.1 | +1.9 | |
Majority | 22,851 | 36.0 | +6.0 | ||
Turnout | 63,434 | 78.6 | +1.7 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Nicholas Lyell | 33,042 | 56.9 | ||
Liberal | Monica Howes | 15,661 | 26.9 | ||
Labour | John Tizard | 9,420 | 16.2 | ||
Majority | 17,381 | 30.0 | |||
Turnout | 58,123 | 76.9 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Stephen Hastings | 37,724 | 56.87 | ||
Labour | F.G. Peacock | 17,140 | 25.84 | ||
Liberal | C.A.P. Smout | 11,467 | 17.29 | ||
Majority | 20,584 | 31.03 | |||
Turnout | 66,331 | 81.32 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Stephen Hastings | 26,885 | 45.70 | ||
Labour | J.E. Crow | 17,559 | 29.85 | ||
Liberal | P.W. Meyer | 14,388 | 24.46 | ||
Majority | 9,326 | 15.85 | |||
Turnout | 58,832 | 78.26 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Stephen Hastings | 28,973 | 45.28 | ||
Labour | David F. Harrowell | 17,862 | 27.92 | ||
Liberal | P.W. Meyer | 17,151 | 26.80 | ||
Majority | 11,111 | 17.36 | |||
Turnout | 63,986 | 85.87 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Stephen Hastings | 29,670 | 52.51 | ||
Labour | David F Harrowell | 19,035 | 33.69 | ||
Liberal | John P. Christian | 7,799 | 13.80 | ||
Majority | 10,635 | 18.82 | |||
Turnout | 56,504 | 77.28 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Stephen Hastings | 23,477 | 46.02 | ||
Labour | C. Trevor Bell | 20,369 | 39.98 | ||
Liberal | Paul L. Rose | 7,138 | 14.01 | ||
Majority | 3,078 | 6.04 | |||
Turnout | 50,984 | 82.29 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Stephen Hastings | 22,414 | 46.03 | ||
Labour | C. Trevor Bell | 17,096 | 35.11 | ||
Liberal | Wilfred G. Matthews | 9,184 | 18.86 | ||
Majority | 5,318 | 10.92 | |||
Turnout | 48,694 | 83.04 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Stephen Hastings | 17,503 | 45.38 | −1.41 | |
Labour | Bryan Magee | 11,281 | 29.25 | −6.17 | |
Liberal | Wilfred G. Matthews | 9,550 | 24.76 | +6.97 | |
New Conservative | C. F. H. Gilliard | 235 | 0.61 | N/A | |
Majority | 6,222 | 16.13 | +4.76 | ||
Turnout | 38,569 | 71.1 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alan Lennox-Boyd | 21,301 | 46.79 | ||
Labour | Bryan Magee | 16,127 | 35.42 | ||
Liberal | Wilfred G. Matthews | 8,099 | 17.79 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,174 | 11.37 | |||
Turnout | 45,527 | 84.48 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alan Lennox-Boyd | 23,012 | 54.71 | ||
Labour | Thomas Skeffington-Lodge | 19,048 | 45.29 | ||
Majority | 3,964 | 9.42 | |||
Turnout | 42,060 | 81.36 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alan Lennox-Boyd | 19,681 | 45.39 | ||
Labour | T.L. 'Addy' Taylor | 17,818 | 41.09 | ||
Liberal | Donald Tweddle | 5,863 | 13.52 | ||
Majority | 1,863 | 4.30 | |||
Turnout | 43,362 | 85.34 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alan Lennox-Boyd | 17,671 | 41.39 | ||
Labour | W. Howell | 15,512 | 36.33 | ||
Liberal | Ewart Kenneth Martell | 9,511 | 22.28 | ||
Majority | 2,159 | 5.06 | |||
Turnout | 42,694 | 86.22 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alan Lennox-Boyd | 13,954 | 37.0 | −13.3 | |
Labour | W Howell | 12,073 | 32.1 | +18.9 | |
Liberal | Ewart Kenneth Martell | 11,641 | 30.9 | −5.5 | |
Majority | 1,881 | 5.0 | −8.9 | ||
Turnout | 37,668 | 73.19 | −3.10 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing |
General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alan Lennox-Boyd | 16,054 | 50.3 | +2.9 | |
Liberal | Milner Gray | 11,623 | 36.4 | −6.4 | |
Labour | Thomas Henry Knight | 4,224 | 13.2 | +3.4 | |
Majority | 4,431 | 13.89 | +9.26 | ||
Turnout | 31,901 | 76.29 | −2.85 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alan Lennox-Boyd | 15,213 | 47.4 | +6.7 | |
Liberal | Milner Gray | 13,726 | 42.8 | −4.1 | |
Labour | Henry William Fenner | 3,156 | 9.8 | −2.6 | |
Majority | 1,487 | 4.63 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 32,095 | 79.14 | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Milner Gray | 14,595 | 46.9 | −1.1 | |
Unionist | William Warner | 12,682 | 40.7 | −11.3 | |
Labour | Henry William Fenner | 3,853 | 12.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,913 | 6.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 31,130 | 79.5 | 3 | ||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +5.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | William Warner | 12,317 | 52.0 | +10.1 | |
Liberal | Frederick Linfield | 11,356 | 48.0 | −3.0 | |
Majority | 961 | 4.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 23,673 | 76.5 | +3.9 | ||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Frederick Linfield | 11,310 | 51.0 | −5.5 | |
Unionist | William Warner | 9,287 | 41.9 | −1.6 | |
Labour | Robert Leonard Wigzell | 1,567 | 7.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 2,023 | 9.1 | −3.9 | ||
Turnout | 22,164 | 72.6 | +2.5 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Frederick Linfield | 11,874 | 56.5 | +11.7 | |
Unionist | Max Townley | 9,137 | 43.5 | −11.7 | |
Majority | 2,737 | 13.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 21,011 | 70.1 | +15.3 | ||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +11.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist | Max Townley | 9,073 | 55.2 | |
Liberal | Arthur Black | 7,352 | 44.8 | ||
Majority | 1,721 | 10.4 | |||
Turnout | 16,425 | 54.8 | |||
Unionist win (new seat) | |||||
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Flitwick is a town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "a hamlet on the River Flitt". The spelling Flytwyk appears in 1381.
A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 125 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, most of the county being parished: Luton is completely unparished; Central Bedfordshire is entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 312,301 people living in the 125 parishes, which accounted for 55.2 per cent of the county's population.
St Albans is a constituency in Hertfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Daisy Cooper, a Liberal Democrat.
Loughborough is a constituency in Leicestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Jeevun Sandher of the Labour Party. The constituency is a considered a bellwether, as it has reflected the national result at every general election since February 1974.
Bedford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Mohammad Yasin of the Labour Party.
North East Bedfordshire was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2024.
Luton North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Sarah Owen, of the Labour Party.
Luton South and South Bedfordshire is a constituency in Bedfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Rachel Hopkins, a member of the Labour Party.
Tooting is a constituency created in 1974 in Greater London. It is represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2016 by Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan, a member of the Labour Party.
The South Midlands League was a football league covering Bedfordshire and some adjoining counties in England. It was founded in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League and merged with the Spartan League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League.
Mid Derbyshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The Member of Parliament has been Jonathan Davies of the Labour Party since the 2024 United Kingdom general election. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
Biggleswade was a county constituency in Bedfordshire which was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until its abolition in 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post voting system.
North Bedfordshire is a county constituency in Bedfordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system, from the 1983 general election until it was abolished for the 1997 general election.
Hitchin is a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.
Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created in 2009.
This is an outline of Sport in Bedfordshire, a county in England.
A by-election took place on 19 October 2023 in the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Mid Bedfordshire. It took place on the same day as the 2023 Tamworth by-election.