Mid Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Mid Bedfordshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
. It elects one Member of Parliament
(MP) by the first past the post system of election. It has long been a safe Conservative
seat, and Nadine Dorries
has been the MP since 2005
.
, the Boundary Commission for England made only minor changes to the existing constituencies.
The Mid Bedfordshire seat has been formed from electoral wards under the Borough of Bedford
and Central Bedfordshire
.
These are the former South Bedfordshire and Mid Bedfordshire council wards that were used to create the constituency at the most recent boundary review. Since the creation of the Central Bedfordshire unitary authority in 2009, different wards have been used for the election of local councillors.
, a former MP in Bristol in the 1980s. Sayeed was forced to retire in 2005 due to ill health, following a row over allegations he had profited from private tours of Parliament and a resulting deselection attempt by the constituency party. Nadine Dorries
has held the seat since.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. It elects one Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) by the first past the post system of election. It has long been a safe Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
seat, and Nadine Dorries
Nadine Dorries
Nadine Vanessa Dorries is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. She has been involved in parliamentary attempts to change the laws on abortion....
has been the MP since 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
.
Boundaries
Following the latest review of parliamentary representation in BedfordshireBedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, the Boundary Commission for England made only minor changes to the existing constituencies.
The Mid Bedfordshire seat has been formed from electoral wards under the Borough of Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
and Central Bedfordshire
Central Bedfordshire
Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created from the merger of Bedfordshire County Council, Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire on 1 April 2009...
.
- From Bedford Borough Council: Turvey, Wilshamstead and WoottonWootton, BedfordshireWootton is a large village and civil parish located to the south-west of Bedford, in the north of Bedfordshire, England. The parish also includes the hamlets of Hall End, Keeley Green and Wootton Green....
. - From Central Bedfordshire Council: AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
, Aspley GuiseAspley GuiseAspley Guise is a village and civil parish located in central Bedfordshire, England. It is just over the county border from Woburn Sands in the Borough of Milton Keynes and about by road to Milton Keynes Centre and to the M1 London to Yorkshire motorway junction 13.-Notable buildings:The...
, Barton-le-ClayBarton-le-ClayBarton-le-Clay is a large village and a civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. The village has existed since at least 1066 and is mentioned in the Domesday Book...
, Clifton and Meppershall, Cranfield, Flitton, Greenfield and Pulloxhill, FlitwickFlitwickFlitwick, pronounced , is a small town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.-Location:...
East, Flitwick West, Harlington, Houghton, Haynes, Southill and Old Warden, Marston, Maulden and ClophillClophillClophill, is a small village and civil parish located in the Flit river valley, Bedfordshire, England. At this time the village belonged to a group of two or three hamlets – Beadlow, Cainhoe and possibly Moddry.It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Clopelle; meaning tree-stump Hill in old...
, Shefford, Campton and GravenhurstGravenhurst, BedfordshireGravenhurst is a village and civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England.The parish includes Upper Gravenhurst, as well as the hamlet of Ion....
, Shillington, StreatleyStreatley, BedfordshireStreatley is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England.-Geography:Streatley is situated just to the west of the A6, and is the first village on the A6 north of Luton, being about north of central Luton...
, Stondon and Henlow Camp, Silsoe, ToddingtonToddington, BedfordshireToddington is a large village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire, England which is situated 5 miles NNW of Luton, north of Dunstable, south west of Woburn and 35 miles NNW of London on the A5120 and B579. It is 0.5 miles from Junction 12 of the M1 motorway and lends its...
, Westoning and Tingrith and Woburn.
These are the former South Bedfordshire and Mid Bedfordshire council wards that were used to create the constituency at the most recent boundary review. Since the creation of the Central Bedfordshire unitary authority in 2009, different wards have been used for the election of local councillors.
History
The seat has elected Conservative MPs since 1931. It was held from 1983 to 1997 by the former Attorney General Sir Nicholas Lyell, who then transferred to the newly created seat of North East Bedfordshire; his old seat was won by Jonathan SayeedJonathan Sayeed
Jonathan Sayeed is a British politician who was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2005....
, a former MP in Bristol in the 1980s. Sayeed was forced to retire in 2005 due to ill health, following a row over allegations he had profited from private tours of Parliament and a resulting deselection attempt by the constituency party. Nadine Dorries
Nadine Dorries
Nadine Vanessa Dorries is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. She has been involved in parliamentary attempts to change the laws on abortion....
has held the seat since.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did... |
Maximilian Townley Max Townley Maximilian Gowran Townley was a British land agent, agriculturist and politician. He served one term in Parliament as a Conservative, and later campaigned for policies to support agriculture... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1922 United Kingdom general election, 1922 The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John... |
Frederick Linfield Frederick Caesar Linfield Frederick Caesar Linfield was a British Liberal politician. He was originally in trade as a corn-merchant.-Local politics:Linfield first entered politics at local government level... |
Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day... |
|
| 1924 United Kingdom general election, 1924 - Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *... |
William Warner | Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1929 United Kingdom general election, 1929 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***... |
Milner Gray Milner Gray (politician) -Family life and business:Gray was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, the son of a Baptist Minister, although he himself was a Methodist in religion. He was educated at Greenwich. In 1902 he married Elizabeth Eleanor Luck of Lewisham. They never had children... |
Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day... |
|
| 1931 United Kingdom general election, 1931 The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the... |
Alan Lennox-Boyd Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton Alan Tindal Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, CH, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician.-Background, education and military service:... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1960 by-election | Stephen Hastings Stephen Hastings Sir Stephen Lewis Edmonstone Hastings, Kt, MC, MFH, was a war hero, former MI6 operative, Master of Foxhounds, author, painter, sculptor, and British Conservative Party politician who was elected as Member of Parliament for Mid Bedfordshire in a 1960 by-election caused by the elevation to the... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945... |
significant boundary changes | ||
| 1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945... |
Nicholas Lyell | Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general... |
significant boundary changes | ||
| 1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general... |
Jonathan Sayeed Jonathan Sayeed Jonathan Sayeed is a British politician who was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2005.... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160.... |
Nadine Dorries Nadine Dorries Nadine Vanessa Dorries is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. She has been involved in parliamentary attempts to change the laws on abortion.... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
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