# South Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

South 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 system.
The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the 1983 general election.

## Boundaries and boundary changes
### 1950–1974

The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1948 as a County Constituency, comprising:
* The Municipal Borough of Dunstable;
* The Urban District of Leighton Buzzard;
* The Municipal Borough of Luton wards of Leagrave and Limbury; and
* The Rural District of Luton.
Leighton Buzzard and surrounding rural areas were transferred from Mid Bedfordshire; and Dunstable, Leagrave and Limbury from the abolished constituency of Luton.

### 1974–1983

(Second Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies)
* The Municipal Borough of Dunstable;
* The Urban District of Leighton-Linslade; and
* The Rural District of Luton.
Gained the former Urban District of Linslade from Buckingham in Buckinghamshire - this had been merged with Leighton Buzzard to form the Urban District of Leighton-Linslade in 1965. Leagrave and Limbury were included in the new constituency of Luton West.
The constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election. It was largely absorbed into the new constituency of South West Bedfordshire, including Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard and Linslade. Areas to the north and south of Luton were included in the constituencies of North Luton and Luton South respectively.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1950 | Edward Moeran | Labour |
| 1951 | Norman Cole | Conservative |
| 1966 | Gwilym Roberts | Labour |
| 1970 | David Madel | Conservative |
| 1983 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bedfordshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edward Moeran | 20,070 | 45.26 | |
| | National Liberal | William A Fearnley-Whittingstall | 18,546 | 41.83 | |
| | Liberal | James Stewart Knight | 5,725 | 12.91 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,524 | 3.43 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,341 | 86.88 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 51,039 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Bedfordshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | Norman Cole | 22,917 | 50.94 | +9.11 |
| | Labour | Edward Moeran | 22,068 | 49.06 | +3.80 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 849 | 1.88 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,985 | 86.70 | −0.18 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 51,887 | | |
| | National Liberal gain from Labour | National Liberal gain from Labour | Swing | +2.66 | |
General election 1955: Bedfordshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | Norman Cole | 23,365 | 52.79 | +1.85 |
| | Labour | Edward Moeran | 20,897 | 47.21 | −1.85 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,468 | 5.58 | +3.70 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,262 | 81.89 | −4.81 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 54,051 | | |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | +1.85 | |
General election 1959: Bedfordshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | Norman Cole | 25,861 | 47.13 | −5.66 |
| | Labour | Walter Johnson | 21,102 | 38.45 | −8.76 |
| | Liberal | Renee Soskin | 7,912 | 14.42 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,759 | 8.68 | +3.10 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,875 | 83.89 | +2.00 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 65,416 | | |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | +1.55 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Bedfordshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Norman Cole | 33,838 | 50.25 | +3.12 |
| | Labour | Dennis John Nisbet | 33,499 | 49.75 | +11.30 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 339 | 0.50 | −8.17 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 67,337 | 80.83 | −3.06 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 83,307 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −4.09 | |
General election 1966: Bedfordshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Gwilym Roberts | 34,549 | 47.75 | −2.00 |
| | Conservative | Norman Cole | 30,319 | 41.90 | −8.35 |
| | Liberal | Hamilton Simonds-Gooding | 7,484 | 10.34 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,230 | 5.85 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 72,352 | 83.74 | +2.91 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 86,403 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +3.18 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bedfordshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Madel | 38,085 | 48.73 | +6.83 |
| | Labour | Gwilym Roberts | 33,107 | 42.36 | −5.39 |
| | Liberal | Godfrey Shocket | 6,956 | 8.90 | −1.44 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,978 | 6.36 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 78,148 | 77.16 | −6.58 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 101,284 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +6.11 | |
General election February 1974: Bedfordshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Madel | 21,380 | 39.70 | −9.03 |
| | Liberal | David John Howard Penwarden | 16,622 | 30.87 | +21.97 |
| | Labour | Paul Farnham Tinnion | 15,847 | 29.43 | −12.93 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,758 | 8.83 | +2.47 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,849 | 84.49 | +7.33 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 63,700 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −15.50 | |
General election October 1974: Bedfordshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Madel | 20,794 | 41.31 | +1.61 |
| | Labour | Raymond Alfred Little | 16,351 | 32.48 | +3.05 |
| | Liberal | David John Howard Penwarden | 13,194 | 26.21 | −4.66 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,443 | 8.83 | 0.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,339 | 78.27 | −6.27 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 64,329 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.72 | |
General election 1979: Bedfordshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Madel | 32,988 | 56.37 | +15.06 |
| | Labour | John Gardner | 16,505 | 28.20 | −4.28 |
| | Liberal | Malcolm Alfred Turner | 8,402 | 14.36 | −11.85 |
| | National Front | Laurence Anthony Smith | 626 | 1.07 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,483 | 28.17 | +19.34 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,521 | 79.90 | +1.65 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 73,247 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +9.67 | |