Milton Keynes (constituency)

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. The constituency's electorate expanded dramatically as Milton Keynes' population continued to grow over the period; on its creation in 1983 it had an electorate of 79,229, already above average for a parliamentary constituency,^[1] and by 1987 its electorate was 97,041, larger than any other constituency in the UK except the Isle of Wight,^[2] which at the time was legally prevented from being divided into multiple constituencies.

If it had remained undivided at the 1992 election, it would have had an electorate of 129,170, around twice the national average.^[3] Because of this unusually large and rapid population growth, and 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.^[4]

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.^[5]