North Bedfordshire (constituency)
UK Parliament constituency (1983–1997, 2024 onwards)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| North Bedfordshire | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundaries since 2024 | |
Boundary of North Bedfordshire in the East of England | |
| County | Bedfordshire |
| Electorate | 76,319 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | Biggleswade, Sandy |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Richard Fuller (Conservative) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Bedfordshire North East |
| 1983–1997 | |
| Created from | Bedford |
| Replaced by | Bedford, Bedfordshire North East |
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was re-established for the 2024 general election.[2]
History
This safe Conservative seat was originally held for its entire initial existence by Trevor Skeet who had been the MP for Bedford since 1970. On its re-establishment in 2024, it was won by Richard Fuller who was MP for Bedford from 2010 to 2017 and for North East Bedfordshire from 2019 to 2024.
Boundaries
1983–1997
The Borough of North Bedfordshire wards of Brickhill, Bromham, Carlton, Castle, Cauldwell, Clapham, De Parys, Felmersham, Goldington, Harpur, Harrold, Kingsbrook, Newnham, Oakley, Putnoe, Queens Park, Renhold, Riseley, Roxton, and Sharnbrook.[3]
The territory the seat covered was virtually the same as Bedford which it replaced. This included the town of Bedford itself, but not the adjoining community of Kempston. In 1997, the constituency was abolished, being dispersed on a roughly seven to three ratio between a re-established Bedford and the new constituency of Bedfordshire North East, with 17 electors being transferred to Huntingdon.[4]
Current
The re-established constituency was defined as comprising the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The Borough of Bedford wards of: Bromham and Biddenham; Clapham; Eastcotts; Great Barford; Harrold; Kempston Rural; Oakley; Riseley; Sharnbrook; Wyboston.
- The District of Central Bedfordshire wards of: Biggleswade North; Biggleswade South; Northill; Potton; Sandy.[5]
Subject to minor changes due to the revision of local authority ward boundaries, the constituency is the successor to North East Bedfordshire – except south eastern areas, including the communities of Arlesey, Langford and Stotfold, which were included in the re-established, cross-county boundary, constituency of Hitchin.
Following further local government boundary reviews in Bedford[6][7] and Central Bedfordshire[8][9] which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:
- The Borough of Bedford wards of: Biddenham; Brickhill (small part); Bromham; Clapham & Oakley; Great Barford; Great Denham; Harrold; Kempston West (part); Renhold & Ravensden (most); Riseley; Sharnbrook; Shortstown; Wootton & Kempston Rural (Kempston Rural parish); Wyboston; and a very small part of Harpur.
- The District of Central Bedfordshire wards of: Biggleswade East; Biggleswade West; Northill; Potton; Sandy.[10]
Members of Parliament
MPs 1983–1997
Bedford prior to 1983
| Election | Member[11] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Trevor Skeet | Conservative | |
| 1997 | constituency abolished | ||
MPs since 2024
Bedfordshire North East prior to 2024
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Richard Fuller | Conservative | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Richard Fuller | 19,981 | 38.8 | −22.3 | |
| Labour | Uday Nagaraju | 14,567 | 28.3 | +9.2 | |
| Reform | Pippa Clayton | 8,433 | 16.4 | +16.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Joanna Szaub-Newton | 5,553 | 10.8 | −2.4 | |
| Green | Philippa Fleming | 3,027 | 5.9 | +3.1 | |
| Majority | 5,414 | 10.5 | −31.5 | ||
| Turnout | 51,561 | 65.4 | −8.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 78,850 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −15.8 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
| 2019 notional result[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 34,360 | 61.1 | |
| Labour | 10,729 | 19.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 7,403 | 13.2 | |
| Others | 2,023 | 3.6 | |
| Green | 1,585 | 2.8 | |
| Brexit Party | 102 | 0.2 | |
| Turnout | 56,202 | 73.6 | |
| Electorate | 76,319 | ||
Election results 1983–1997
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Trevor Skeet | 27,969 | 52.0 | ||
| Liberal | Brian Gibbons | 14,120 | 26.3 | ||
| Labour | Pat Healy | 11,323 | 21.1 | ||
| Independent | N. Hughes | 344 | 0.6 | ||
| Majority | 13,849 | 25.7 | |||
| Turnout | 53,756 | 75.2 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Trevor Skeet | 29,845 | 52.6 | +0.6 | |
| Liberal | Janice Lennon | 13,340 | 23.5 | −2.8 | |
| Labour | Carl Henderson | 13,140 | 23.1 | +2.0 | |
| OOBPC | Crispin Slee | 435 | 0.8 | New | |
| Majority | 16,505 | 29.1 | +3.4 | ||
| Turnout | 56,760 | 77.2 | +2.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +1.7 | |||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Trevor Skeet | 29,970 | 50.7 | −1.9 | |
| Labour | Patrick Hall | 18,302 | 31.0 | +7.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Mike Smithson | 10,014 | 16.9 | −6.6 | |
| Green | Louise Smith | 643 | 1.1 | New | |
| Natural Law | Bernard Bence | 178 | 0.3 | New | |
| Majority | 11,668 | 19.7 | −9.4 | ||
| Turnout | 59,107 | 80.1 | +2.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −4.8 | |||