North Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
| North Bedfordshire | |
|---|---|
|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
| County | Bedfordshire |
| Major settlements | Bedford |
| 1983–1997 | |
| Number of members | One |
| Replaced by | Bedford, Bedfordshire North East |
| Created from | Bedford |
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.
The constituency was created for the 1983 general election, and abolished for the 1997 general election.
History
This safe Conservative seat was held for its entire existence by Trevor Skeet who had been the MP for Bedford since 1970.
Boundaries
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.
The territory the seat covered was virtually the same as the county constituency of Bedford which it replaced. This included the town of Bedford itself. In 1997, the constituency was abolished, being dispersed on a roughly seven to three ratio between the new constituencies of Bedford and Bedfordshire North East, with 17 electors being transferred to Huntingdon.[1]
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member[2] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Trevor Skeet | Conservative | |
| 1997 | constituency abolished | ||
Elections
Election in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Sir Trevor Skeet | 29,970 | 50.7 | -1.9 | |
| Labour | Patrick Hall | 18,302 | 31.0 | +7.8 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Michael Smithson | 10,014 | 16.9 | -6.6 | |
| Green | Ms. Louise Smith | 643 | 1.1 | +1.1 | |
| Natural Law | Bernard H. Bence | 178 | 0.3 | +0.3 | |
| Majority | 11,668 | 19.7 | -9.3 | ||
| Turnout | 59,107 | 80.1 | +2.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -4.8 | |||
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Sir Trevor Skeet | 29,845 | 52.58 | ||
| Liberal | JV Lennon | 13,340 | 23.50 | ||
| Labour | CB Henderson | 13,140 | 23.15 | ||
| OOBPC | CD Slee | 435 | 0.77 | ||
| Majority | 16,505 | 29.08 | |||
| Turnout | 77.19 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Sir Trevor Skeet | 27,969 | 52.03 | ||
| Liberal | BK Gibbons | 14,120 | 26.27 | ||
| Labour | P Healy | 11,323 | 21.06 | ||
| Independent | NJ Hughes | 344 | 0.64 | ||
| Majority | 13,849 | 25.76 | |||
| Turnout | 75.19 | ||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
See also
Notes and references
- ↑ "Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies", BBC/ITN/PA News/Sky, 1995, p. 191.
- ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 2)
- ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.