Bedford (UK Parliament constituency)

Bedford
County constituency
for the House of Commons

Outline map

Boundary of Bedford in Bedfordshire.

Outline map

Location of Bedfordshire within England.
County Bedfordshire
Population 101,066 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate 69,019 (December 2010)[2]
Major settlements Bedford, Kempston
Current constituency
Created 1997
Member of parliament Richard Fuller (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from North Bedfordshire and Mid Bedfordshire[3]
1918–1983
Number of members One
Type of constituency County constituency
Replaced by North Bedfordshire
1295–1918
Number of members 1295–1885: Two
1885–1918: One
Type of constituency Borough constituency
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency East of England

Bedford /bɛdfᵿd/ is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Richard Fuller of the Conservative Party.[n 2]

Constituency profile and boundaries summary

1918-1950: The Municipal Borough of Bedford, the Urban District of Kempston, and the Rural Districts of Bedford and Eaton Socon.

1950-1983: The Municipal Borough of Bedford, the Urban District of Kempston, and part of the Rural District of Bedford.

1997-2010: The Borough of Bedford wards of Brickhill, Castle, Cauldwell, De Parys, Goldington, Harpur, Kempston East, Kempston West, Kingsbrook, Newnham, Putnoe, and Queen's Park.

2010–present: The Borough of Bedford wards of Brickhill, Castle, Cauldwell, De Parys, Goldington, Harpur, Kempston Central and East, Kempston North, Kempston South, Kingsbrook, Newnham, Putnoe, Queens Park.

Bedford is a marginal seat between the Labour Party and the Conservatives. The main settlement is Bedford, a well-developed town centre with a considerable amount of social housing relative to Bedfordshire and higher poverty index but on a fast train link to London and other destinations, the town is at the north end of the Thameslink service to Brighton and is not far from Milton Keynes which has a larger economy. The smaller and contiguous town of Kempston is also in the constituency.

History

Bedford was first represented in the Model Parliament of 1295. The constituency was originally a parliamentary borough electing two members of parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons, and consisted of the five parishes making up the town of Bedford.

Before the Reform Act of 1832, the right to vote was exercised by all freemen and burgesses of the town (whether or not they lived within the borough boundaries) and by all householders who were not receiving alms. This was a fairly wide franchise for the period, but potentially subject to abuse since the Corporation of the borough had unlimited power to create freemen. The Corporation was usually under the influence of the Dukes of Bedford, but their influence usually fell well short of making Bedford a pocket borough.

In 1768 a majority of the corporation apparently fell out with the then Duke, and decided to free the borough from his influence. They elected a Huntingdonshire squire,[n 3] Sir Robert Bernard, as Recorder of the borough, and made 500 new freemen, mostly Bernard's Huntingdonshire neighbours or tenants. As there were only 540 householders, this gave him the effective power to choose Bedford's MPs; at the next election the defeated candidates petitioned against the result, attempting to establish that so many non-residents should not be allowed to vote, but the Commons dismissed the petition and confirmed the right of all the freemen, however created, to vote.

Bernard cemented his control with the creation of hundreds of further freemen in the next few years; at around the same period he lent the Corporation £950, and it is not unreasonable to assume this was payment for services rendered. However, in 1789, the young Duke of Bedford managed to regain the Corporation's loyalty, and had 350 of his own retainers made freeman.

Even at other periods, the influence of the Dukes of Bedford seems sometimes to have been more nominal than real. In the 1750s and 1760s, before Bernard's intervention, there was generally an amicable agreement that the Duke should nominate one MP and the Corporation (representing the interests of the town) the other; but it seems that on occasion the Duke had to be flexible to retain the semblance of local deference towards him, and that his "nominee" had in reality been imposed upon him. Nor was the outcome invariably successfully predetermined: at the 1830 election the result was decided by a single vote – the defeated candidate being Lord John Russell, who was not only one of the Whig leaders but The Duke of Bedford's son.

In 1831, the population of the borough was 6,959, and contained 1,491 houses. This was sufficient for Bedford to retain both its MPs under the Great Reform Act, with its boundaries unaltered. The reformed franchise introduced in 1832 gave the borough 1,572 inhabitants qualified to vote. The town was growing, and Bedford retained its borough status until the 1918 election, although under the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, its representation was reduced to a single member. On the eve of the First World War its population was just under 40,000, of whom 6,500 could vote.

In 1918 the borough was abolished, but town's name was applied to the county constituency into which it was placed. The new constituency (strictly speaking The Bedford division of Bedfordshire) covered the northern end of the county and included Kempston and Eaton Socon together with the surrounding rural area. A boundary change which came into effect at the 1950 election reduced its size somewhat, part of the Bedford Rural District including Eaton Socon being transferred to the Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

In 1983, further boundary changes took Kempston out of the constituency, and its name was changed to North Bedfordshire, although it was recognisably still the same constituency and Bedford itself was still much its largest component. The following boundary review, effective from the 1997 general election, restored the Bedford name.

In the latest boundary changes, the constituency lost all the rural settlements and villages to the Mid Bedfordshire and North East Bedfordshire constituencies. This means that the Bedford Constituency is now solely formed from the towns of Bedford and Kempston.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1660

Parliaments of King Edward I

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
29th 30 September 1295+ 1295 27 November 1295 4 December 1295 John Cullebere Simon de Holand
30th 26 August 1296 1296 3 November 1296 29 November 1296 unknown unknown
33rd 6 October 1297 1297 15 September 1297 14 October 1297 unknown unknown
34th 15 March 1298 March 1298 30 March 1298 ... unknown unknown
35th 10 April 1298 1298 25 May 1298 ... Thomas Halyday Robert de Sywell
39th 29 December 1299 1299/00 6 March 1300 20 March 1300 John Wymond William Benne
40th 26 September 1300 1300/01 20 January 1301 30 January 1301
42nd 14 July 1302 1302 14 October 1302 21 October 1302 Simon le Tanner Robert de Sywell
43rd 12 November 1304 1304/05 28 February 1305 20 March 1305 John Halyday William Costyn
45th 5 April 1306 1306 30 May 1306 30 May 1306 Simon de Wilshamstead Geoffrey le Blund
46th 3 November 1306 1306/07 20 January 1307 19 March 1307 William Costyn John le Marescal

Parliaments of King Edward II

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
1st 26 August 1307 1307 13 October 1307 16 October 1307 William Bonum John atte Wal
2nd 19 January 1308 1308 3 March 1308 ... unknown unknown
5th 4 March 1309 1309 27 April 1309 13 May 1309 Gilbert de Holm John le Marescal
8th 16 June 1311 1311 8 August 1311 ... John Halyday Geoffrey Clogon (Glogon)
... 1311 12 November 1311 18 December 1311 William Costyn (Costantyn)
9th 3 June 1312 1312 20 August 1312 16 December 1312 Roger Cullebere
10th 8 January 1313 1313 18 March 1313 9 May 1313 Thomas de Norfolk John atte Wal
11th 23 May 1313 1313 8 July 1313 27 July 1313
12th 26 July 1313 1313 23 September 1313 15 November 1313
13th 29 July 1314 1314 9 September 1314 27/28 September 1314 William Costantyn
14th 24 October 1314 1314/15 20 January 1315 9 March 1315 Geoffrey Glogon
15th 16 October 1315 1315/16 27 January 1316 20 February 1316 no return
16th 24–25 August 1318 1318 20 October 1318 9 December 1318 Henry Oliver Geoffrey de Blunham
17th 20 March 1319 1319 6 May 1319 25 May 1319 Simon de Bydenham Ralph le Collere
19th 5 August 1320 1320 6 October 1320 25/26 October 1320 Richard de Cave Thomas Halyday
20th 15 May 1321 1321 15 July 1321 22 August 1321 John de Soham Richard le Ussher
21st 14 March 1322 1322 2 May 1322 19 May 1322 Simon de Knightwyk William Costantyn
22nd 18 September 1322 1322 14 November 1322 29 November 1322 Richard de Cave
23rd 20 November 1323 1323/24 23 February 1324 18 March 1324 Thomas Halyday Roger atte Wal
24th 6 May 1325 1325 25 June 1325 ... unknown unknown
25th 10 October 1325 1325 18 November 1325 5 December 1325 unknown unknown
26th 28 October 1326 1326/27 7 January 1327 20 January 1327 Hugh Balle Hugh Cok

1377–1427

YearFirst memberSecond member
1377 (Jan) Thomas Jordan [4]
1380 (Jan) Thomas Jordan [4]
1381 John Wright [5]
1382 Roger Kempston [6]
1384 (Apr) William Clerevaux[7]
1385 William Clerevaux [7] Thomas Frereman
1386 William Clerevaux Thomas Bedford
1388 (Feb) William Clerevaux Thomas Frereman
1388 (Sep) Roger Kempston William Barber
1390 (Jan) William Clerevaux Thomas Frereman
1390 (Nov)
1391Henry West John Wright
1393 Thomas Bedford John Tyringham
1394 Thomas BedfordWilliam Cotterstock
1395Thomas BedfordWilliam Cotterstock
1397 (Jan) Thomas BedfordWilliam Cotterstock
1397 (Sep)Thomas JordanWilliam Brown
1399Richard BethewaterRalph Pyrewelle
1401
1402Thomas BedfordRoger Tunstall
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406John GreyJohn Kent
1407
1410
1411
1413(Feb)
1413 (May)Thomas BedfordWilliam Cotterstock
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)William DoweWilliam Wallyngton
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417John FrepursRichard Marston
1419John Lyt..
1420Thomas HuntWilliam Hunt
1421 (May)Thomas FerrourJohn Leighton
1421 (Dec)Thomas BoleThomas Kempston
1427John Frepurs[8]

Parliaments of King Edward IV

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
1st 23 May 1461 1461 4 November 1461 6 May 1462 unknown unknown
2nd 22 December 1462 1462/63 29 April 1463 28 March 1465 unknown unknown
3rd 28 February 1467 1467 3 June 1467 7 June 1468 John Boston William Colet, jnr.
4th 19 August 1472 1472 6 October 1472 14 March 1475 Thomas Adams
5th 20 November 1477 1477/78 16 January 1478 26 February 1478 William Colet
6th 15 November 1482 1482/83 20 January 1483 18 February 1483 unknown unknown

Parliament of King Richard III

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
1st 9 December 1483 1483/84 23 January 1484 20 February 1484 unknown unknown

Parliaments of King Henry VII

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
1st 15 September 1485 1485 7 November 1485 c. 4 March 1486 unknown unknown
2nd ... 1487 9 November 1487 c. 18 December 1487 unknown unknown
3rd ... ?1488/89 13 January 1489 27 February 1490 unknown unknown
4th 12 August 1491 1491 17 October 1491 5 March 1492 unknown unknown
5th 15 September 1495 1495 14 October 1495 21–22 December 1495 unknown unknown
6th 20 November 1496 1496/97 16 January 1497 13 March 1497 unknown unknown
7th ... ?1503/04 25 January 1504 c. 1 April 1504 unknown unknown

Parliaments of King Henry VIII

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
1st 17 October 1509 1509/10 21 January 1510 23 February 1510 unknown unknown
2nd 28 November 1511 1511/12 4 February 1512 4 March 1514 unknown unknown
3rd 23 November 1514 1514/15 5 February 1515 22 December 1515 unknown unknown
4th ... 1523 15 April 1523 13 August 1523 unknown unknown
5th 9 August 1529 1529 3 November 1529 14 April 1536 John Baker William Bourne
6th 27 April 1536 1536 8 June 1536 18 July 1536 unknown unknown
7th 1 March 1539 1539 28 April 1539 24 July 1540 William Johnson unknown
8th 23 November 1541 1541/42 16 January 1542 28 March 1544 William Johnson Michael Thrayle
9th 1 December 1544 1544/45 23 November 1545 31 January 1547 George Blagge Henry Parker

Parliaments of King Edward VI

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
1st 2 August 1547 1547 4 November 1547 15 April 1552 Gerard Harvey alias Smart George Wright
2nd 5 January 1553 1553 1 March 1553 31 March 1553 Thomas Leigh William Godolphin

Parliaments of Queen Mary I

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
1st 14 August 1553 1553 5 October 1553 5 December 1553 Edmund Mordaunt Thomas Leigh
2nd 17 February 1554 1554 2 April 1554 3 May 1554
3rd 3 October 1554 1554 12 November 1554 16 January 1555 William Hall John Williams
4th 3 September 1555 1555 21 October 1555 9 December 1555 unknown unknown
5th 6 December 1557 1557/58 20 January 1558 17 November 1558 George Gascoigne Thomas Leigh

Parliaments of Queen Elizabeth I

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
1st 5 December 1558 28 December 1558 23 January 1559 8 May 1559 Thomas Leigh George Gascoigne
2nd 10 November 1562 1562/63 11 January 1563 2 January 1567 Oliver St John John Burgoyne
3rd ... 1571 2 April 1571 29 May 1571 Henry Cheeke Robert Hatley
4th 28 March 1572 1572 8 May 1572 19 April 1583 Henry Cheeke Michael Hawtry
5th 12 October 1584 1584 23 November 1584 14 September 1585 John Puckering Nicholas Potts
6th 15 September 1586 1586 15 October 1586 23 March 1587 William Boteler Thomas Snagge
7th 18 September 1588 1588/89 4 February 1589 29 March 1589 John Pigott Thomas Snagge
8th 4 January 1593 1593 18 February 1593 10 April 1593 Humphrey Winch
9th 23 August 1597 1597 24 October 1597 9 February 1598 Oliver Luke
10th 11 September 1601 7 October 1601 27 October 1601 19 December 1601 Thomas Fanshawe

Parliaments of King James I

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
1st 31 January 1604 1604 19 March 1604 9 February 1611 Sir Humphrey Winch
(made a judge in Ireland 1606) 		Thomas Hawes
1606 Sir Christopher Hatton
2nd ... ?1614 5 April 1614 7 June 1614 Alexander St John John Leigh
3rd 13 November 1620 1620/21 16 January 1621 8 February 1622 Sir Alexander St John Richard Taylor
4th 20 December 1623 1623/24 12 February 1624 27 March 1625

Parliaments of King Charles I

No.SummonedElectedAssembledDissolved1st member2nd member
1st 2 April 1625 1625 17 May 1625 12 August 1625 Sir Alexander St John Richard Taylor
2nd 20 December 1625 1626 6 February 1626 15 June 1626 Sir Beauchamp St John
3rd 31 January 1628 1628 17 March 1628 10 March 1629
4th 20 February 1640 1640 13 April 1640 5 May 1640 Sir Samuel Luke[9]
5th 24 September 1640 1640 3 November 1640 16 March 1660

Parliaments of the Protectorate

No.ElectedAssembledDissolved1st member
1stJuly 16543 September 165422 January 1655 Bulstrode Whitelocke
4 November 1654 Henry Chester
2nd165617 September 16564 February 1658 Thomas Margets
3rd165927 January 165922 April 1659 Thomas Margets
Samuel Browne

MPs 1660–1885

YearFirst member[10]First partySecond member[10]Second party
10 April 1660 Sir Samuel Luke Humphrey Winch
25 March 1661 Richard Taylor John Kelyng[mpnotes 1]
10 July 1663 Paulet St John
30 December 1667 Sir William Beecher
12 February 1679 Sir William Francklyn
18 August 1679
17 February 1681
6 March 1685 Sir Anthony Chester, 3rd Baronet Tory Thomas Christie[mpnotes 2] Tory
9 January 1689 Thomas Hillersden Whig
13 May 1690
5 May 1695 William Farrer Whig
18 March 1698 William Spencer
20 July 1698 Sir Thomas Alston, 3rd Baronet
c. January 1701 Samuel Rolt Tory
21 November 1701 William Farrer Whig
17 July 1702 Edward Carteret Whig
11 May 1705 William Farrer Whig Sir Philip Monoux, 3rd Baronet Whig
15 December 1707 William Hillersden Whig
5 May 1708
14 April 1710 John Cater Whig
6 October 1710
27 August 1713 Samuel Rolt Tory
28 January 1715 William Farrer Whig John Thurlow Brace Whig
2 December 1715
21 March 1722 George Huxley
9 June 1725 John Thurlow Brace Whig
15 August 1727 John Orlebar Whig
16 April 1728 James Metcalfe[mpnotes 3]
30 January 1731 Sir Jeremy Vanacker Sambrooke, Bt Tory
26 April 1734 Samuel Ongley Tory
24 November 1740 Sir Boteler Chernock, 4th Baronet
5 May 1741
29 June 1747 Thomas Gore John Offley
15 April 1754 Francis Herne Robert Henley-Ongley
26 March 1761 Richard Vernon Whig
24 April 1764
17 March 1768 Samuel Whitbread Tory
18 October 1774 Sir William Wake, 8th Baronet Tory Robert Sparrow Tory
23 March 1775 Samuel Whitbread[mpnotes 4] Whig
14 September 1780
5 April 1784 William MacDowall Colhoun Tory
28 June 1790 Samuel Whitbread Whig
27 May 1796
6 July 1802 William Lee-Antonie Whig
30 October 1806
11 May 1807
6 October 1812 Lord George Russell Whig
17 July 1815 Hon. William Waldegrave Whig
17 June 1818 William Henry Whitbread Whig
8 March 1820
9 June 1826
2 August 1830 Frederick Polhill Tory
29 April 1831
1832 Samuel Crawley Whig
1835 Frederick Polhill Conservative
1837 Henry Stuart [mpnotes 5]Conservative
1838 Samuel Crawley Whig
1841 Henry Stuart Conservative
1847 Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet Whig
1852 Samuel Whitbread Liberal
1854 William Stuart Conservative
1857 Thomas Barnard Whig
1859 William Stuart Conservative
1868 James Howard Liberal
1874 Frederick Charles Polhill-Turner Conservative
1880 Charles Magniac Liberal

MPs 1885–1983

ElectionMember[10]Party
1885 Samuel Whitbread Liberal
1895 Charles Guy Pym Conservative
1906 Percy Barlow Liberal
1910 (Jan) Walter Annis Attenborough Conservative
1910 (Dec) Frederick George Kellaway Liberal
1922 Sir Richard Wells, 1st Baronet Conservative
1945 Thomas Skeffington-Lodge Labour
1950 Christopher Soames Conservative
1966 Brian Parkyn Labour
1970 Trevor Skeet Conservative
1983 Constituency abolished: see North Bedfordshire

MPs since 1997

ElectionMember[10]Party
1997 Patrick Hall Labour
2010 Richard Fuller Conservative

Notes

  1. ↑ A double return was made for Kelying and Sir Samuel Luke; Kelyng was allowed to sit
  2. ↑ A double return was made for Christie and Sir William Francklyn in 1690; Christie was allowed to sit
  3. ↑ Declared elected and Brace unseated on petition
  4. ↑ Declared elected and Sparrow unseated on petition
  5. ↑ At the election of 1837, Stuart was initially declared elected, but on petition his election was declared void and after scrutiny of the votes his opponent Crawley was declared elected instead

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Bedford[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Richard Fuller 19,625 42.6 +3.7
Labour Patrick Hall 18,528 40.2 +4.3
UKIP Charlie Smith 4,434 9.6 +7.1
Liberal Democrat Mahmud Henry Rogers 1,958 4.2 −15.6
Green Ben Foley [12] 1,412 3.1 +2.2
Independent Faruk Choudhury 129 0.3 N/A
Majority 1,097 2.4 −0.6
Turnout 46,086 66.5 +0.6
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 2010: Bedford[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Richard Fuller 17,546 38.9 +5.4
Labour Patrick Hall 16,193 35.9 −5.7
Liberal Democrat Henry Vann 8,957 19.9 −1.6
UKIP Mark Adkin 1,136 2.5 +0.1
BNP William Dewick 757 1.7 N/A
Green Ben Foley 393 0.9 N/A
Independent Samrat Deep Bhandari 120 0.3 N/A
Majority 1,353 3.0
Turnout 45.102 65.9 +3.8
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +5.5

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Bedford[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Patrick Hall 17,557 41.7 −6.2
Conservative Richard Fuller 14,174 33.7 +0.9
Liberal Democrat Michael Paul Headley 9,063 21.5 +5.7
UKIP Peter C. Conquest 995 2.4 +1.3
Independent John C. McCready 283 0.7 N/A
Majority 3,383 8.0
Turnout 42,072 59.6 −0.3
Labour hold Swing −3.5
General Election 2001: Bedford[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Patrick Hall 19,454 47.9 −2.7
Conservative Mrs. Charlotte Nicola Attenborough 13,297 32.8 −0.9
Liberal Democrat Michael Paul Headley 6,425 15.8 +3.5
Independent Dr. Richard Duddington Rawlins 973 2.4 N/A
UKIP Mrs. Jennifer Bryant Lo Bianco 430 1.1 N/A
Majority 6,157 15.1
Turnout 40,579 59.9 −13.6
Labour hold Swing −0.9

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Bedford[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Patrick Hall 24,774 50.6 N/A
Conservative Robert John Blackman 16,474 33.7 N/A
Liberal Democrat Christopher David Noyce 6,044 12.3 N/A
Referendum Peter C. Conquest 1,503 3.1 N/A
Natural Law Mrs. Patricia A. Saunders 149 0.3 N/A
Majority 8,300 17.0 N/A
Turnout 48,944 73.5 N/A
Labour win (new seat)

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Bedford[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Trevor Herbert Harry Skeet 31,140 51.21
Labour NA Hyman 18,727 30.80
Liberal B Gibbons 10,129 16.66
National Front R Stearns 813 1.34
Majority 12,413 20.41
Turnout 78.65
Conservative hold Swing
General Election October 1974: Bedford[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Trevor Herbert Harry Skeet 24,834 43.61
Labour Brian Stewart Parkyn 20,746 36.43
Liberal JC Griffiths 11,360 19.95
Majority 4,088 7.18
Turnout 76.80
Conservative hold Swing
General Election February 1974: Bedford[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Trevor Herbert Harry Skeet 26,082 42.51
Labour Gordon Colling 19,861 32.37
Liberal JC Griffiths 15,405 25.11
Majority 6,221 10.14
Turnout 83.51
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1970: Bedford[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Trevor Herbert Harry Skeet 26,330 50.52
Labour Brian Stewart Parkyn 21,051 40.39
Liberal Arthur W Butcher 4,740 9.09
Majority 5,279 10.13
Turnout 77.31
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Brian Stewart Parkyn 22,257 45.22
Conservative Rt Hon Arthur Christopher John Soames 21,879 44.46
Liberal John E Burrell 5,080 10.32
Majority 378 0.77
Turnout 81.55
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
General Election 1964: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Rt Hon Arthur Christopher John Soames 21,404 45.18
Labour Brian Stewart Parkyn 18,256 38.54
Liberal Walter Ernest Norton 7,712 16.28
Majority 3,148 6.65
Turnout 80.41
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Rt Hon Arthur Christopher John Soames 23,495 50.87
Labour Maurice Anthony Foley 16,728 36.22
Liberal Maurice L Rowlandson 5,966 12.92
Majority 6,767 14.65
Turnout 83.56
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1955: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Arthur Christopher John Soames 24,733 55.55
Labour Harold James Aldridge 19,792 44.45
Majority 4,941 11.10
Turnout 81.79
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1951: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Arthur Christopher John Soames 23,278 49.43
Labour Peter Parker 20,494 43.52
Liberal Frederick Henry Philpott 3,323 7.06
Majority 2,784 5.91
Turnout 87.14
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1950: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Arthur Christopher John Soames 21,942 47.66
Labour Thomas Cecil Skeffington-Lodge 19,834 43.08
Liberal Leonard John Humphrey 4,060 8.82
Communist B Matthews 207 0.45
Majority 2,108 4.58
Turnout 87.55
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

Election in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Thomas Cecil Skeffington-Lodge 19,849 41.71
Conservative Sydney Richard Wells 19,561 41.10
Liberal Leonard John Humphrey 8,183 17.19
Majority 288 0.61
Turnout 73.10
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Election in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Sydney Richard Wells 22,476 62.29
Labour Norman Mickle 13,604 37.71
Majority 8,872 24.59
Turnout 73.39
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1931: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Sydney Richard Wells 25,030 72.17
Labour Lady Clare Annesley 9,654 27.83
Majority 15,376 44.33
Turnout 73.25
Conservative hold Swing

Election in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Sydney Richard Wells 16,724 46.0 -6.1
Liberal Alfred George Fysh Machin 10,520 28.9 -0.5
Labour George Dixon 9,147 25.1 +6.6
Majority 6,204 17.1 -5.6
Turnout 79.1 -2.6
Unionist hold Swing -2.8
General Election 1924: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Sydney Richard Wells 15,000 52.1 +1.2
Liberal Milner Gray 8,451 29.4 -19.7
Labour George Dixon 5,330 18.5 n/a
Majority 6,549 22.7
Turnout 81.7
Unionist hold Swing +10.4
General Election 1923: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Sydney Richard Wells 12,906 50.9 +0.6
Liberal Milner Gray 12,449 49.1 +41.3
Majority 457 1.8
Turnout 73.5
Unionist hold Swing -20.4
Lady Lawson
General Election 1922: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Sydney Richard Wells 13,460 50.3 n/a
National Liberal Rt Hon. Frederick George Kellaway 5,714 21.4 -38.3
Labour Arthur Sells 5,477 20.5 -19.8
Liberal Lady Lawson 2,075 7.8 n/a
Majority 7,746 28.9
Turnout 26,726 79.1
Unionist gain from National Liberal Swing
Bedford by-election, 1921
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Coalition Liberal Rt Hon. Frederick George Kellaway 14,397 59.7 -13.0
Labour Frederick Fox Riley 9,731 40.3 n/a
Majority 4,666 19.4
Coalition Liberal hold Swing n/a

Election in the 1910s

Kellaway
General Election 1918: Bedford
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal 10,933 72.7 +22.5
Independent Henry Burridge 4,096 27.3 n/a
Majority 6,837 45.4 +45.0
Turnout 45.2 -46.0
Liberal hold Swing n/a

General Election 1914/15

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Kellaway
General Election December 1910 Bedford[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Frederick George Kellaway 2,773 50.2 +1.7
Conservative Walter Annis Attenborough 2,754 49.8 -1.7
Majority 19 0.4 3.4
Turnout 91.2 -2.3
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +1.7
General Election January 1910 Bedford[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Walter Annis Attenborough 2,919 51.5
Liberal Percy Barlow 2,750 48.5
Majority 169 3.0
Turnout 93.5
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1906 Bedford[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Percy Barlow 2,771 54.9 +8.3
Conservative Charles Guy Pym 2,278 45.1 -8.3
Majority 493 9.8 16.6
Turnout 91.2 +7.1
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing
General Election 1900 Bedford[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Charles Guy Pym
Liberal
Majority
Turnout
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1895: Bedford [17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Charles Guy Pym 1,976 52.2 +3.8
Liberal Samuel Howard Whitbread 1,810 47.8 -3.8
Majority 166 4.4 7.6
Turnout 90.6
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +3.8
General Election 1892: Bedford [17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Samuel Whitbread 1,850 51.6
Conservative Charles Guy Pym 1,732 48.4
Majority 118 3.2
Turnout 89.6
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1886: Bedford [17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Samuel Whitbread
Conservative
Majority
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1885: Bedford [17][18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Samuel Whitbread 1,588
Conservative James Herman de Ricci 1,286
Majority
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ a 5th baronet, the lowest order of nobility

References

  1. ↑ "Bedford: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "'Bedford', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 "JORDAN, Thomas, of Bedford.". historyofparliamentonline.org.
  5. ↑ "WRIGHT, John, of Bedford.". historyofparliamentonline.org.
  6. ↑ "KEMPSTON, Roger, of Bedford.". historyofparliamentonline.org.
  7. 1 2 "CLEREVAUX, William, of Bedford.". historyofparliamentonline.org.
  8. ↑ "FREPURS, John, of Bedford.". historyofparliamentonline.org.
  9. ↑ Double return for April 1640 -William Boteler taken off
  10. 1 2 3 4 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 2)
  11. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Ben Foley to contest Bedford & Kempston Constituency for Greens". Bedfordshire News.
  13. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  18. ↑ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886

Sources

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