Why Bedfordshire is a county of political contrasts

People in Mid Bedfordshire, including Shefford, are preparing for a second election inside a year after Labour won the by-election last October

Bedfordshire is a county of political contrasts, with large constituencies and small majorities and seats where the two largest parties have often expected to win easily.

Here is a rundown of the six constituencies.

Bedford

This was an area that often voted the way of the country, but narrow wins for Labour in 2017 and 2019 showed it was capable of bucking trends.

That was something also seen in 2023 when the Conservatives won the mayoral contest at a time when the party was losing councillors elsewhere.

Coincidentally, both the general election in 2019 and the mayoral polls saw wins by just 145 votes, so if any contest is ripe for recounts, then surely it's this one?

The East West Rail project is something that has proved to be a big issue, with the proposed route through Bedford. That would see homes near the town's railway station demolished.

Candidates:

• Prince Chaudhury, Workers Party

• Pinder Chauhan, Conservative

• Ben Foley, Green Party

• Tarek Javed, independent

• Matt Lansley, Reform UK

• Henry Vann, Liberal Democrat

• Mohammad Yasin, Labour

Voters in Bedford have traditionally reflected the national mood when it comes to elections

Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard

This is a seat with a new name but no real changes to its boundaries, other than losing Eaton Bray to the renamed Luton South and South Bedfordshire constituency.

Under its previous incarnation of South West Bedfordshire, it has been a strong Tory seat, since long-serving Andrew Selous won it by just 776 votes in 2001.

He wants to hold on to this rebranded constituency but faces strong competition from Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

Former MEP Alex Mayer is bidding to become the first Labour MP here since 1966, while Emma Holland-Lindsay stands again for the Lib Dems after increasing the party's vote share in October's Mid Bedfordshire by-election.

Candidates:

• Emma Holland-Lindsay, Liberal Democrat

• Sukhinder Hundal, Green Party

• Alex Mayer, Labour

• Harry Palmer, Reform UK

• Andrew Selous, Conservative

• Antonio Vitiello, English Democrats

Dunstable has been joined with Leighton Buzzard in a new constituency seat

Luton North

This constituency turned red when Labour last came to power in 1997.

Luton, where about 30% of people are Muslim, has seen regular pro-Palestine demonstrations and the stance of parties on that issue is likely to be a key voting consideration in the seat.

It is currently held by Labour's Sarah Owen, who won with a majority of more than 9,000 in 2019.

Candidates:

• Waheed Ahkbar, Workers Party

• Jilleane Brown, Conservative

• James Fletcher, Reform UK

• Ejel Khan, Green Party

• Sarah Owen, Labour

• Sean Prendergast, Liberal Democrat

• Toqueer Shah, independent

• Paul Trathen, Social Democratic Party

Luton has seen regular pro-Palestine demonstrations and fundraising

Luton South and South Bedfordshire

The constituency covers south and east Luton, including the town centre and airport, plus the Bedfordshire village of Eaton Bray after recent boundary changes.

Labour's Rachel Hopkins has been MP here since 2019, following in her father Kelvin's footsteps in representing the town, although he was MP for Luton North.

As with Luton North, the Israel-Gaza war has been a major issue.

Candidates:

• Edward Carpenter, Green Party

• Dominic Griffiths, Liberal Democrat

• Rachel Hopkins, Labour

• Norman Maclean, Reform UK

• Attiq Ahmed Malik, independent

• Yasin Rehman, Workers Party

• Mark Versallion, Conservative

Mid Bedfordshire

Last October Alistair Strathern overturned a majority of almost 25,000 to become Mid Bedfordshire’s first ever Labour MP, when Conservative Nadine Dorries resigned after missing out on a peerage.

Mr Strathern will not be standing again here as boundary changes mean he now lives in the Hitchin constituency, so he will be fighting that one instead against incumbent Tory MP Bim Afolami.

Candidates:

• Richard Brunning, Social Democratic Party

• Dave Holland, Reform UK

• Gareth Mackay, independent

• Maahwish Mirza, Labour

• Stuart Roberts, Liberal Democrat

• Cade Sibley, Green Party

• Blake Stephenson, Conservative

North Bedfordshire

Boundary changes mean this constituency has lost Arlesey, Langford and Stotfold to the nearby Hitchin seat.

What was North East Bedfordshire was formed in 1997 when Labour swept to power nationally.

But that was not the case here, with the then constituency voting Conservative, giving Nicholas Lyell a majority of almost 6,000.

MP Richard Fuller sits on a majority of just over 24,000.

Candidates:

• Pippa Clayton, Reform UK

• Philippa Fleming, Green Party

• Richard Fuller, Conservative

• Uday Nagaraju, Labour

• Joanna Szaub-Newton, Liberal Democrat

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