Milton Keynes (UK Parliament constituency)

Milton Keynes
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshirefor the 1987 general election
Location of Buckinghamshire within England
County	Buckinghamshire
Major settlements	Milton Keynes
1983–1992
Seats	One
Created from	Buckingham
Replaced by	North East Milton Keynes and Milton Keynes South West

Milton Keynes was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1992.

It covered much of the then recently created Borough of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, including most of the 1967 designated area of Milton Keynes together with Newport Pagnell, Olney and the rural area to the north of Milton Keynes. Three wards in the northwest of the borough were excluded.

History

The Borough of Milton Keynes was established in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, seven years after Milton Keynes was designated as a New Town. Before 1983, the Borough was part of the Buckingham constituency; however, its population had expanded to such an extent that the new constituency of Milton Keynes was created for the 1983 general election. It comprised the Borough of Milton Keynes, except for the wards of Stony Stratford, Wolverton and Wolverton Stacey Bushes, which were retained by Buckingham.

The sitting Buckingham MP, William Benyon of the Conservative Party, was elected for the new seat, and was its only ever MP.

Uniquely outside the normal cycle of periodic reviews by the Boundaries Commission, Milton Keynes was split into two constituencies for the 1992 general election: North East Milton Keynes and Milton Keynes South West. ^[1]

Boundaries

The Borough of Milton Keynes wards of Bradwell, Church Green, Danesborough, Denbigh, Eaton, Fenny Stratford, Lavendon, Linford, Loughton, Manor Farm, Newport Pagnell, Newton, Olney, Pineham, Sherington, Stantonbury, Whaddon, Woburn Sands, and Woughton. ^[2]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [3]	Party
	1983	William Benyon	Conservative
	1992	constituency divided

Elections

1979 notional result [4]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	23,150	50.0
	Labour	16,411	35.4
	Liberal	6,306	13.6
	Others	460	1.0
Turnout		46,327
Electorate

General election 1983: Milton Keynes ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Benyon	28,181	48.0	–1.9
	SDP	Janet Nightingale	16,659	28.3	+14.8
	Labour	James Thakoordin	13,045	22.2	–13.2
	Ecology	A H Francis	494	0.8	New
	BNP	Ronald G W Rickcord	290	0.5	New
Majority			11,522	19.6	+5.1
Turnout			58,669	74.0
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1987: Milton Keynes ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Benyon	35,396	47.8	−0.2
	SDP	Bill Rodgers	21,695	29.3	+1.0
	Labour	Yvonne Brownfield-Pope	16,111	21.8	−0.4
	Green	Alan Francis	810	1.1	+0.3
Majority			13,701	18.5	−1.2
Turnout			74,012	76.3	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) (Miscellaneous Changes) Order 1990". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
2. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 2)
4. "BBC/ITN NOTIONAL ELECTION 1979". election.demon.co.uk. BBC/ITN. Archived from the original on 28 May 2004. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
5. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
6. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.

Sources

• United Kingdom Election Results

See also

• Buckingham and Bletchley (UK Parliament constituency) (2023– )
• Milton Keynes Central (UK Parliament constituency) (2023– )
• Milton Keynes North (UK Parliament constituency) (2010– ) (boundary revised 2023)
• Milton Keynes South (UK Parliament constituency) (2010–2023 )

• North East Milton Keynes (UK Parliament constituency) (1992–2010)
• Milton Keynes South West (UK Parliament constituency) (1992–2010)