North Bedfordshire was 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.
North Bedfordshire | |
---|---|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Bedfordshire |
Major settlements | Bedford |
1983–1997 | |
Seats | One |
Created from | Bedford |
Replaced by | Bedford, Bedfordshire North East |
The constituency was created for the 1983 general election, and abolished for the 1997 general election.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be re-established for the next general election. It will comprise the majority of the, to be abolished, constituency of North East Bedfordshire.[1]
This safe Conservative seat was held for its entire existence by Trevor Skeet who had been the MP for Bedford since 1970.
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.[2]
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.[3]
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the re-established constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be (as they existed on 1st December 2020):
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 will be included in the re-established, cross-county boundary, constituency of Hitchin.
Following further local government boundary reviews in Bedford[5][6] and Central Bedfordshire[7][8] which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency will now comprise the following from the next general election:
Election | Member[10] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Trevor Skeet | Conservative | |
1997 | constituency abolished |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Richard Fuller[11] | ||||
Majority | |||||
Turnout |
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 H. Bence | 178 | 0.3 | New | |
Majority | 11,668 | 19.7 | −9.4 | ||
Turnout | 59,107 | 80.1 | +2.9 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −4.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Trevor Skeet | 29,845 | 52.58 | ||
Liberal | Janice Lennon | 13,340 | 23.50 | ||
Labour | Carl Henderson | 13,140 | 23.15 | ||
OOBPC | Crispin Slee | 435 | 0.77 | New | |
Majority | 16,505 | 29.08 | |||
Turnout | 56,760 | 77.19 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Trevor Skeet | 27,969 | 52.03 | ||
Liberal | Brian Gibbons | 14,120 | 26.27 | ||
Labour | Pat Healy | 11,323 | 21.06 | ||
Independent | N.J. Hughes | 344 | 0.64 | ||
Majority | 13,849 | 25.76 | |||
Turnout | 53,756 | 75.19 | |||
Conservative win (new seat) |