South West Bedfordshire is a
constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
represented in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
of the
UK Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...
. As with all constituencies of the UK Parliament, it elects one
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) by the
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system of election.
The serving Member since 2001 is
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Andrew Selous, who succeeded Conservative
David Madel
Sir William David Madel (born 6 August 1938) is a politician in the United Kingdom, who was a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party.
Parliamentary career
Madel contested the London seat of Erith and Crayford in a 1965 by-election, a ...
. Selous has been re-elected five times: in 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Constituency profile
At the
2011 Census, the population of the constituency was 102,031, of whom 50,277 were male, and 51,754 were female.
74.30% of residents aged 16–74 are economically active, including 4.22% unemployed. A further 13.27% of the population are retired (lower than both the regional average of 14.4% and national average of 13.7%), and 3.75% are students.
A statistical compilation by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' showed unemployment benefits claimants in the constituency for April 2013 were 3.3% of the population, lower than the regional average of 3.6%.
Turnout at the
2015 general election was 51,304, or 64.4% of those eligible to vote; lower than the national turnout of 66.4%.
This rose at the time of the
2017 general election to 55,635, or 69.8% of those eligible to vote, which was a percentage point higher than the national turnout of 68.8%.
History
The constituency was created in 1983, mostly from the former seat of
South Bedfordshire
South Bedfordshire was, from 1974 to 2009, a non-metropolitan district of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. Its main towns were Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard.
Creation
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a gen ...
. It was represented by
Sir David Madel, a Conservative, from its creation until his retirement in 2001; he almost suffered one of the biggest upsets of the 1997 general election, when the Labour candidate spectacularly slashed his majority from 21,273 in 1992 to just 132.
The present Conservative MP for the seat is
Andrew Selous; he won the seat in 2001, when he managed to increase the party's majority, but only just: this increased somewhat more substantially each time in 2005 and 2010, ultimately to more than 16,000. The 2010 election also saw the second-placed candidate's party change, to the
Liberal Democrats, similar to the results of 1983 and 1987, when this was the joint platform for R. Byfield and J.R. Burrow respectively, the (
SDP-Liberal Alliance).
Boundaries
1983–1997: The District of South Bedfordshire wards of Beaudesert, Brooklands, Dunstable Central, Eaton Bray, Heath and Reach, Hockliffe, Houghton Central, Houghton East, Houghton South, Icknield, Kensworth, Linslade, Northfields, Plantation, Priory, Southcott, Stanbridge, Studham, Totternhoe, and Watling, and the District of Mid Bedfordshire wards of Aspley, Cranfield, Marston, and Woburn.
New County Constituency formed largely from the bulk of the abolished County Constituency of
South Bedfordshire
South Bedfordshire was, from 1974 to 2009, a non-metropolitan district of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. Its main towns were Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard.
Creation
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a gen ...
, including Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard and Linslade. Also included south-western part of
Mid Bedfordshire.
1997–2010: The District of South Bedfordshire wards of Beaudesert, Brooklands, Dunstable Central, Eaton Bray, Heath and Reach, Hockliffe, Houghton Central, Houghton East, Houghton South, Icknield, Kensworth, Linslade, Northfields, Plantation, Priory, Southcott, Stanbridge, Studham, Totternhoe, and Watling.
Northern parts transferred back to Mid Bedfordshire.
2010–present: Central Bedfordshire unitary authority wards of All Saints, Chiltern, Dunstable Central, Eaton Bray, Grovebury, Heath and Reach, Houghton Hall, Icknield, Kensworth and Totternhoe, Linslade, Manshead, Northfields, Parkside, Planets, Plantation, Southcott, Stanbridge, Tithe Farm, and Watling.
Local authority wards revised, but no changes to boundaries.
Members of Parliament
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
See also
*
List of parliamentary constituencies in Bedfordshire
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedfordshire South West
Parliamentary constituencies in Bedfordshire
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983