Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2020 16:51:09 GMT
South West Bedfordshire
South West Bedfordshire is certainly the odd one out amongst the Bedfordshire constituencies: neither urban nor rural, yet with elements of both; deprived by the standards of the county yet less so than Bedford and significantly less than either Luton seat; and the highest estimated leave vote at the EU referendum, beating out both Luton constituencies. The constituency covers a small area of the county's far southwestern corner. It contains the towns of Leighton Buzzard and Linslade at its western end, with a combined population of around 37,000; theglorified shopping centre town of Dunstable with a population of around 35,000 at its eastern edge where it borders Luton; and rural areas between the two and to the south of Dunstable. Despite the county’s official position in the “East Anglia” region, this is a distinctly South Eastern constituency, in sharp contrast to the more midlands feel of the northern third of the county: Bedfordshire really contains the meeting point of two regions and yet is officially in neither of them.
Other notable features in this constituency include the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway, one of the UK’s oldest and longest narrow-gauge railways and home to Rishra, the last Baguley 0-4-0 T steam locomotive in existence; and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo who banned pushchairs in one of their walk-through exhibits after an incident involving my sister.
The history of the area goes back a very, very long way: archaeological evidence of Palaeolithic habitation has been discovered in what is now Dunstable, and the town itself was founded by Henry I. Houghton Regis at its northern edge is mentioned in the doomsday book, as is Leighton Buzzard on the Buckinghamshire border. Dunstable was also the site of an Eleanor Cross, one of the twelve monuments Edward I erected to commemorate his wife Eleanor of Castile at the places where her coffin was laid open in public for people to mourn her when the procession stopped overnight on their journey to bury her at Westminster Abbey. Bedfordshire was a parliamentarian stronghold during the civil war, and roundhead troops were on occasion stationed in Dunstable. Although this area of the county did not have the brickmaking industry of the Marston Vale or the silk making industry of Bedford its industrial history is just as ancient as that of the county’s north. In 1689, straw-plaiters in Houghton petitioned against a bill to make the wearing of woollen hats compulsory on the grounds that such a bill would have ruined them. This corner of Bedfordshire later became the centre of the hatmaking industry, initially in Dunstable and then Luton. A passenger rail line linking Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard to the West Coast Mainline opened in 1848 and remained open until 1965. In the 19th century, the hatmaking industry left Dunstable for Luton but was replaced by printing and motor industries, including companies such as Vauxhall Motors. A truck and bus assembly plant was open in the town from 1942 to 1992 and a Vauxhall plant remained open in nearby Luton until 2002. Houghton Regis contains the Townsend industrial estate, featuring the headquarters of Whitbread PLC who manage companies including Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre.
Although Bedfordshire has a reputation for being a rich county which is not entirely undeserved, this is not especially the case here. Although the rural areas and Leighton-Linslade are not badly off, although comfortable rather than wealthy, some significant deprivation does exist, partially as a relic of the area’s industrial past. Central Dunstable contains several LSOAs in the poorest 30-40% nationally, as do some of the areas on the outskirts of Luton. Houghton Regis and some surrounding villages were the site of London overspill building in the fifties and are also contain quite significant deprivation. Overall, this is the 368th most deprived of England’s 573 constituencies, and the 4th most deprived in Bedfordshire. Industries which employ a higher proportion of people in the constituency than in the country at large are wholesale and retail, professional, scientific and technical activities, real estate and administrative and support services; human health and social work employs a significantly lower percentage of people in this seat than in the country at large. The occupational categories employing the most people are one and three, or “managers, directors and senior officials” and “associate professional and technical”.
With its mixture comfortable but not rich commuters and areas mostly within the middle three deciles of deprivation, this seat contains a lot of people of the kind who mostly vote Tory but were willing to back Labour under Blair. Indeed, in 1997, this seat came close to delivering a massive shock when incumbent Tory David Madel’s majority was slashed from 21,273 votes to just 132 on a 16.1% swing from Conservative to Labour. After another close shave in 2001, an 8.2% Labour to Conservative swing saw this seat revert to its safe Conservative status of the preceding two decades. Since its foundation in 1983, this seat has had just two MPs, David Madel and Andrew Selous, both Conservatives. The South Bedfordshire seat from which it was formed did elect Labour MPs in 1950 and 1966, but the boundaries are different enough to make such a comparison almost meaningless. Although the Conservatives dominate, there are pockets of Labour support in central Dunstable and in Houghton. Parkside ward to the north of Houghton Regis is represented by the only Labour councillor on Central Beds council and neighbouring Tithe Farm ward was a Labour seat from 2015 to 2019. LibDem support is also strongest in Houghton, with some support in Linslade. These two areas provide their only councillors in Central Beds. Overall, this is a seat which despite previous opportunities for other parties, is now safe for the Conservatives and set to remain so for the foreseeable future.
South West Bedfordshire is certainly the odd one out amongst the Bedfordshire constituencies: neither urban nor rural, yet with elements of both; deprived by the standards of the county yet less so than Bedford and significantly less than either Luton seat; and the highest estimated leave vote at the EU referendum, beating out both Luton constituencies. The constituency covers a small area of the county's far southwestern corner. It contains the towns of Leighton Buzzard and Linslade at its western end, with a combined population of around 37,000; the
Other notable features in this constituency include the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway, one of the UK’s oldest and longest narrow-gauge railways and home to Rishra, the last Baguley 0-4-0 T steam locomotive in existence; and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo who banned pushchairs in one of their walk-through exhibits after an incident involving my sister.
The history of the area goes back a very, very long way: archaeological evidence of Palaeolithic habitation has been discovered in what is now Dunstable, and the town itself was founded by Henry I. Houghton Regis at its northern edge is mentioned in the doomsday book, as is Leighton Buzzard on the Buckinghamshire border. Dunstable was also the site of an Eleanor Cross, one of the twelve monuments Edward I erected to commemorate his wife Eleanor of Castile at the places where her coffin was laid open in public for people to mourn her when the procession stopped overnight on their journey to bury her at Westminster Abbey. Bedfordshire was a parliamentarian stronghold during the civil war, and roundhead troops were on occasion stationed in Dunstable. Although this area of the county did not have the brickmaking industry of the Marston Vale or the silk making industry of Bedford its industrial history is just as ancient as that of the county’s north. In 1689, straw-plaiters in Houghton petitioned against a bill to make the wearing of woollen hats compulsory on the grounds that such a bill would have ruined them. This corner of Bedfordshire later became the centre of the hatmaking industry, initially in Dunstable and then Luton. A passenger rail line linking Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard to the West Coast Mainline opened in 1848 and remained open until 1965. In the 19th century, the hatmaking industry left Dunstable for Luton but was replaced by printing and motor industries, including companies such as Vauxhall Motors. A truck and bus assembly plant was open in the town from 1942 to 1992 and a Vauxhall plant remained open in nearby Luton until 2002. Houghton Regis contains the Townsend industrial estate, featuring the headquarters of Whitbread PLC who manage companies including Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre.
Although Bedfordshire has a reputation for being a rich county which is not entirely undeserved, this is not especially the case here. Although the rural areas and Leighton-Linslade are not badly off, although comfortable rather than wealthy, some significant deprivation does exist, partially as a relic of the area’s industrial past. Central Dunstable contains several LSOAs in the poorest 30-40% nationally, as do some of the areas on the outskirts of Luton. Houghton Regis and some surrounding villages were the site of London overspill building in the fifties and are also contain quite significant deprivation. Overall, this is the 368th most deprived of England’s 573 constituencies, and the 4th most deprived in Bedfordshire. Industries which employ a higher proportion of people in the constituency than in the country at large are wholesale and retail, professional, scientific and technical activities, real estate and administrative and support services; human health and social work employs a significantly lower percentage of people in this seat than in the country at large. The occupational categories employing the most people are one and three, or “managers, directors and senior officials” and “associate professional and technical”.
With its mixture comfortable but not rich commuters and areas mostly within the middle three deciles of deprivation, this seat contains a lot of people of the kind who mostly vote Tory but were willing to back Labour under Blair. Indeed, in 1997, this seat came close to delivering a massive shock when incumbent Tory David Madel’s majority was slashed from 21,273 votes to just 132 on a 16.1% swing from Conservative to Labour. After another close shave in 2001, an 8.2% Labour to Conservative swing saw this seat revert to its safe Conservative status of the preceding two decades. Since its foundation in 1983, this seat has had just two MPs, David Madel and Andrew Selous, both Conservatives. The South Bedfordshire seat from which it was formed did elect Labour MPs in 1950 and 1966, but the boundaries are different enough to make such a comparison almost meaningless. Although the Conservatives dominate, there are pockets of Labour support in central Dunstable and in Houghton. Parkside ward to the north of Houghton Regis is represented by the only Labour councillor on Central Beds council and neighbouring Tithe Farm ward was a Labour seat from 2015 to 2019. LibDem support is also strongest in Houghton, with some support in Linslade. These two areas provide their only councillors in Central Beds. Overall, this is a seat which despite previous opportunities for other parties, is now safe for the Conservatives and set to remain so for the foreseeable future.
