The seat dates back to the earliest century of regular parliaments, in 1295; its double representation was halved in 1885, then altered by the Representation of the People Act 1918. It was abolished in 1983 but re-established at the next periodic review for the 1997 general election.
Bedford is a historic market town and is linked by rail to London via the Thameslink service.[4] Residents of the constituency have similar levels of wealth and education to the rest of the country.[5] The constituency is ethnically diverse; 17% of residents are Asian, 7% are Black[6] and there is also a large concentration of residents of Italian descent.[7][8] At the most recent borough council election in 2023, the east of the town elected primarily Liberal Democrat councillors whilst Kempston and the west of Bedford elected Labour councillors. Voters in the constituency voted marginally in favour of leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, similar to the country as a whole.[5]
History
Up to the Great Reform Act 1832
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 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 Duke at the time, 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.[9] 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 freemen.
Even at other periods, the influence of the Dukes seems sometimes to have been more nominal than real. In the 1750s and 1760s, before Bernard's intervention, a frequent compromise was that the Duke nominated 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 swung on one individual's 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.
1832–1983
The town was growing, and Bedford retained its borough status until the 1918 general election, although under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, its representation was reduced to a single MP. On the eve of the First World War, its population was just under 40,000, of whom 6,500 people were eligible to vote.
Under the Representation of the People Act 1918, the parliamentary borough was abolished; but the town gave its name to a new county constituency (formally The Bedford division of Bedfordshire). As well as the town of Bedford, it covered the northern end of the county and included Kempston and Eaton Socon together with surrounding rural areas.
Under the Representation of the People Act 1948, a boundary change which came into effect at the 1950 election reduced its size somewhat, and under the Third Review of Westminster Constituencies in 1983, the constituency was abolished.
1997 onwards
Under the Fourth Review, effective from the 1997 general election, Bedford was restored as a borough constituency, comprising the towns of Bedford and Kempston.
In the latest boundary changes under the Fifth Review, effective from the 2010 general election, there were marginal changes due to the revision of local authority wards.
The 2017 general election saw the Labour Party win the seat despite coming second in the election. This was significant as it was the first time the party had won the seat at an election where it had not won a comfortable national majority. This was repeated at the 2019 general election, where the seat was narrowly held by the Labour incumbent, despite the party suffering a heavy national defeat.[10]
Boundaries and boundary changes
1832–1918
The Municipal Borough of Bedford.
1918–1950
The Municipal Borough of Bedford;
the Urban District of Kempston; and
the Rural Districts of Bedford and Eaton Socon.[11]
Expanded to include Kempston and rural areas in the north of Bedfordshire, transferred from the abolished constituency of Biggleswade.
Seat abolished in 1983 and absorbed into the new constituency of North Bedfordshire, with the exception of Kempston, which was transferred to Mid Bedfordshire.
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.[12]
Re-established as a borough constituency, comprising the towns of Bedford from the now abolished seat of North Bedfordshire, and Kempston, regained from Mid Bedfordshire.
Marginal changes due to the revision of local authority wards.
2024–present
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency comprises the following, after taking into account the local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023:[14][15]
The Borough of Bedford wards of: Brickhill (most); Castle & Newnham; Cauldwell (most); De Parys; Greyfriars; Goldington; Harpur (nearly all); Kempston Central and East; Kempston North; Kempston South; Kempston West (majority); Kingsbrook; Putnoe; Queens Park; Renhold & Ravensden (small part); Riverfield.
Marginal changes due to further revisions to local authority wards.
^Declared elected and Sparrow unseated on petition
^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
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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
^A borough 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. It formerly had two members as set out in the article
^Page 77, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition – London: St Martin's Press, 1961)
^The Times Guide to the House of Commons 2019. Glasgow: Times Books. 2020. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1.
^ abCraig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. p. 11. ISBN 0-900178-09-4. OCLC539011.
^Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
^ abcdefghijklmnoCraig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^Fisher, D.R. (ed.). "Bedford - 1820-1832". History of Parliament Online. Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
^ abcdThorne, R. (ed.). "Bedford - 1790-1820". History of Parliament Online. Boydell and Brewer. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
F. W. S. Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885" (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949" (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969)
T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
Henry Stooks Smith, "The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847" (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig – Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
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