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]
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 Nadine Dorries then held the seat until 2023; the Conservative whip was withdrawn from her in 2012 and returned six months later, after she had appeared on the reality television series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[3] Dorries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.
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.
1974–1983
edit
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.
1983–1997
edit
The District of Mid Bedfordshire wards of Ampthill, Arlesey, Biggleswade Ivel, Biggleswade Stratton, Blunham, Campton and Meppershall, Clifton and Henlow, Clophill, Haynes and Houghton Conquest, Langford, Maulden, Northill, Old Warden and Southill, Potton, Sandy All Saints, Sandy St Swithun's, Shefford, Shillington and Stondon, Stotfold, Wensley, and Wrest; and
The Borough of North Bedfordshire wards of Eastcotts, Great Barford, Kempston East, Kempston Rural, Kempston West, Wilshamstead, and Wootton.[8]
The Borough of Bedford wards of Kempston Rural, Wilshamstead, and Wootton;
The District of Mid Bedfordshire wards of Ampthill, Aspley Guise, Campton and Meppershall, Cranfield, Clifton and Henlow, Clophill, Flitton and Pulloxhill, Flitwick East, Flitwick West, Harlington, Haynes and Houghton Conquest, Marston, Maulden, Shefford, Shillington and Stondon, Westoning, Woburn, and Wrest; and
The District of South Bedfordshire wards of Barton-le-Clay, Streatley, and Toddington.[9]
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.
2010–2024
edit
Map of boundaries 2010-2024
The Borough of Bedford wards of Turvey, Wilshamstead, and Wootton;
Central Bedfordshire wards of Ampthill, Aspley Guise, Barton-le-Clay, Clifton and Meppershall, Cranfield, Flitton, Greenfield and Pulloxhill, Flitwick East, Flitwick West, Harlington, Houghton, Haynes, Southill and Old Warden, Marston, Maulden and Clophill, Shefford, Campton and Gravenhurst, Shillington, Silsoe, Stondon and Henlow Camp, Streatley, Toddington, Westoning and Tingrith, Woburn.[10]
Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.
The Borough of Bedford wards of: Elstow and Stewartby; Wilshamstead; Wootton.
The District of Central Bedfordshire wards of: Ampthill; Aspley and Woburn; Barton-le-Clay; Cranfield and Marston Moretaine; Flitwick; Houghton Conquest and Haynes; Silsoe and Shillington; Toddington; Westoning, Flitton and Greenfield.[11]
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:
The Borough of Bedford wards of: Cauldwell (small part); Wixhams & Wilstead; Wootton & Kempston Rural (Wootton parish).
The District of Central Bedfordshire wards of: Ampthill; Aspley & Woburn; Barton-le-Clay & Silsoe; Cranfield & Marston Moretaine; Flitwick; Houghton Conquest & Haynes; Meppershall & Shillington (Gravenhurst and Shillington parishes); Toddington; Westoning, Flitton & Greenfield.[16]
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;
^A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
^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.
References
edit
^"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – Eastern". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
^"Bedfordshire Mid: Seat Details". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^"Nadine Dorries suspended as Tory MP in I'm a Celebrity row". 6 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^Leigh, Suzanne (26 August 2023). "Tory MP Nadine Dorries quits Commons seat". BBC News. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
^Blewett, Sam (20 October 2023). "Labour wins Mid Bedfordshire in historic by-election result". The Independent.
^ abcCraig, F. W. S. (1972). Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4.
^"Sandy UD through time | Census tables with data for the Local Government District". visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
^LGBCE. "Bedford | LGBCE". lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 2)
^LGBT+ Conservatives [@LGBTCons] (23 May 2024). "Congratulations to @LGBTCons member @Blake_MidBeds who was selected this evening as the @Conservatives candidate for Mid Bedfordshire…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^Labour East [@EofELabour] (21 May 2024). "Congratulations, Maahwish Mirza, Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Mid Bedfordshire!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"Find My PPC (Eastern England)" (PDF). Reform UK. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
^"Stuart Roberts for Mid Bedfordshire in the UK parliamentary general election!".
^"Full list of all Green Party candidates at the next general election". Bright Green. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
^"Cllr Gareth Mackey for Mid Bedfordshire" – via Facebook.
^"General Election Candidates". Retrieved 3 June 2024.
^"STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED, NOTICE OF POLL & SITUATION OF POLLING STATIONS". Central Bedfordshire Council. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
^"Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
^"Bedfordshire Mid Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
^"General election: 8 June, 2017, Results of the 2017 general election for Central Bedfordshire", centralbedfordshire.gov.uk, retrieved 28 November 2017
^Kirk, Ashley (8 June 2017), "General Election 2017: Full results, Constituency finder: Bedfordshire Mid", The Telegraph, retrieved 28 November 2017
^Bloom, Dan (7 June 2017), "General election candidates 2017: Full list of who is standing in all 650 seats in plain text format", Daily Mirror
^"Statement of persons nominated, notice of poll and situation of polling stations for Mid Bedfordshire" (PDF), centralbedfordshire.gov.uk, Richard Carr, acting returning officer, 8 May 2017, retrieved 19 May 2017
^"Notice of election agents for Mid Bedfordshire" (PDF), centralbedfordshire.gov.uk, Richard Carr, acting returning officer, 8 May 2017, retrieved 19 May 2017
^"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Statement of Persons Nominated And Notice of Poll" (PDF). Acting Returning Officer. 9 April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
^"nigelwickens.wordpress.com". Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.[user-generated source?]
^"Central Bedfordshire Liberal Democrats". Archived from the original on 26 February 2022 – via Facebook.[user-generated source?]
^"Gareth Ellis selected as Green Party candidate for Mid Bedfordshire". 31 July 2019.
^"Tim Ireland: Prospective Independent Parliamentary Candidate for Mid Bedfordshire". 26 July 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2015.[user-generated source?]
^"Candidates". OMRLP. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
^Perraudin, Frances (10 June 2015). "Nadine Dorries accused of making false claims about opponent during election". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
^Green, Chris (10 June 2015). "Nadine Dorries faces challenge after general election smear campaign allegations". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
^Green,Chris (30 July 2015). "High Court rejects attempt to unseat Nadine Dorries after legal documents sent to wrong address". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
^"Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"2010 General Election". UK Parliament – MPs and Lords. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^"Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.