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Bedford — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Bedford was won by Labour at the 2024 general election, with a majority of 9,430 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Bedford from 1832 to 2024.

This constituency elected more than one MP at once in some years. Before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (and in a shrinking number of boroughs through 1948), most UK constituencies elected two or more MPs together by "multi-member plurality" (block vote): each elector could cast one vote per available seat, and the top vote-getters overall were all elected. In those elections below, "Elected" lists every MP returned, "Votes" is the count that secured the last seat, and "Majority" is the gap between that seat and the first candidate who missed out.

Full Election History, 1832–2024

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1832 William Henry Whitbread (Whig); Samuel Crawley (Whig) 486 38.2% (top seat) Frederick Polhill (Conservative) 3 (0.2 pts) 49.9%
1835 Frederick Polhill (Conservative); Samuel Crawley (Whig) 403 38.4% (top seat) William Henry Whitbread (Whig) 20 (1.6 pts) 51.0%
1837 Frederick Polhill (Conservative); Henry Stuart (Conservative) 419 36.0% (top seat) Samuel Crawley (Whig) 7 (0.5 pts) 54.4%
1841 Frederick Polhill (Conservative); Henry Stuart (Conservative) 421 34.3% (top seat) William Henry Whitbread (Whig) 11 (0.9 pts) 58.9%
1847 Harry Verney (Whig); Henry Stuart (Conservative) 432 35.5% (top seat) Frederick Polhill (Conservative) 40 (3.1 pts) 59.5%
1852 Henry Stuart (Conservative); Samuel Whitbread (Whig) 435 42.9% (top seat) Thomas Chisholm Anstey (Radical) 183 (15.2 pts) 66.2%
1857 Samuel Whitbread (Whig); Thomas Barnard (Whig) 435 31.4% (top seat) William Stuart (Conservative) 59 (4.1 pts) 81.9%
1859 Samuel Whitbread (Liberal); William Stuart (Conservative) 449 25.9% (top seat) Thomas Barnard (Liberal) 22 (1.2 pts) 94.8%
1865 Samuel Whitbread (Liberal); William Stuart (Conservative) 476 41.1% (top seat) Montague Chambers (Liberal) 131 (9.4 pts) 63.1%
1868 James Howard (Liberal); Samuel Whitbread (Liberal) 1,242 34.4% (top seat) Frederick Charles Polhill-Turner (Conservative) 473 (12.4 pts) 89.6%
1874 Samuel Whitbread (Liberal); Frederick Polhill-Turner (Conservative) 1,010 36.4% (top seat) Charles Magniac (Liberal) 4 (0.1 pts) 71.6%
1880 Samuel Whitbread (Liberal); Charles Magniac (Liberal) 1,333 38.1% (top seat) Frederick Polhill-Turner (Conservative) 280 (7.3 pts) 74.1%
1885 Samuel Whitbread (Liberal) 1,588 55.3% James Herman de Ricci (Conservative) 302 (10.5 pts) 91.7%
1886 Samuel Whitbread (Liberal) 1,399 50.4% James Herman de Ricci (Conservative) 23 (0.8 pts) 88.5%
1892 Samuel Whitbread (Liberal) 1,850 51.6% Charles Guy Pym (Conservative) 118 (3.3 pts) 89.6%
1895 Charles Guy Pym (Conservative) 1,976 52.2% Samuel Howard Whitbread (Liberal) 166 (4.4 pts) 90.6%
1900 Charles Guy Pym (Conservative) 2,115 53.4% Percy Barlow (Liberal) 267 (6.7 pts) 84.1%
1906 Percy Barlow (Liberal) 2,771 54.9% Charles Guy Pym (Conservative) 493 (9.8 pts) 91.2%
Dec 1910 Frederick George Kellaway (Liberal) 2,773 50.2% Walter Annis Attenborough (Conservative) 19 (0.3 pts) 91.2%
Jan 1910 Walter Annis Attenborough (Conservative) 2,919 51.5% Percy Barlow (Liberal) 169 (3.0 pts) 93.5%
1918 Frederick George Kellaway (Liberal) 10,933 72.7% Henry Burridge (Independent) 6,837 (45.5 pts) 45.2%
1922 Sydney Richard Wells (Unionist) 13,460 50.4% Frederick George Kellaway (National Liberal) 7,746 (29.0 pts) 79.1%
1923 Sydney Richard Wells (Unionist) 12,906 50.9% Milner Gray (Liberal) 457 (1.8 pts) 73.5%
1924 Sydney Richard Wells (Unionist) 15,000 52.1% Milner Gray (Liberal) 6,549 (22.8 pts) 81.6%
1929 Sydney Richard Wells (Unionist) 16,724 46.0% Alfred George Fysh Machin (Liberal) 6,204 (17.1 pts) 79.1%
1931 Sydney Richard Wells (Conservative) 25,030 72.2% Clare Annesley (Labour) 15,376 (44.3 pts) 73.2%
1935 Sydney Richard Wells (Conservative) 22,476 62.3% Norman Mickle (Labour) 8,872 (24.6 pts) 73.1%
1945 Thomas Cecil Skeffington-Lodge (Labour) 19,849 41.7% Sydney Richard Wells (Conservative) 288 (0.6 pts) 72.9%
1950 Arthur Christopher John Soames (Conservative) 21,942 47.7% Thomas Cecil Skeffington-Lodge (Labour) 2,108 (4.6 pts) 87.5%
1951 Arthur Christopher John Soames (Conservative) 23,278 49.4% Peter Parker (Labour) 2,784 (5.9 pts) 87.1%
1955 Arthur Christopher John Soames (Conservative) 24,733 55.5% Harold James Aldridge (Labour) 4,941 (11.1 pts) 81.8%
1959 Arthur Christopher John Soames (Conservative) 23,495 50.9% Maurice Anthony Foley (Labour) 6,767 (14.6 pts) 83.6%
1964 Arthur Christopher John Soames (Conservative) 21,404 45.2% Brian Stewart Parkyn (Labour) 3,148 (6.7 pts) 80.4%
1966 Brian Parkyn (Labour) 22,257 45.2% A Christopher J Soames (Conservative) 378 (0.8 pts) 81.5%
1970 Trevor Skeet (Conservative) 26,330 50.5% Brian Parkyn (Labour) 5,279 (10.1 pts) 77.4%
Feb 1974 Trevor Skeet (Conservative) 26,082 42.5% Gordon Colling (Labour) 6,221 (10.1 pts) 83.5%
Oct 1974 Trevor Skeet (Conservative) 24,834 43.6% Brian Parkyn (Labour) 4,088 (7.2 pts) 76.8%
1979 Trevor Skeet (Conservative) 31,140 51.2% Nicholas Aubrey Hyman (Labour) 12,413 (20.4 pts) 78.7%
1997 Patrick Hall (Labour) 24,774 50.6% Robert Blackman (Conservative) 8,300 (17.0 pts) 73.5%
2001 Patrick Hall (Labour) 19,454 47.9% Charlotte Attenborough (Conservative) 6,157 (15.2 pts) 59.9%
2005 Patrick Hall (Labour) 17,557 41.7% Richard Fuller (Conservative) 3,383 (8.0 pts) 59.6%
2010 Richard Fuller (Conservative) 17,546 38.9% Patrick Hall (Labour) 1,353 (3.0 pts) 66.0%
2015 Richard Fuller (Conservative) 19,625 42.6% Patrick Hall (Labour) 1,097 (2.4 pts) 66.9%
2017 Mohammad Yasin (Labour) 22,712 46.8% Richard Fuller (Conservative) 789 (1.6 pts) 67.7%
2019 Mohammad Yasin (Labour) 20,491 43.3% Ryan Henson (Conservative) 145 (0.3 pts) 66.3%
2024 Mohammad Yasin (Labour) 18,342 45.1% Pinder Chauhan (Conservative) 9,430 (23.2 pts) 56.4%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Henry Whitbread Whig 59938.2% Yes
Samuel Crawley Whig 48631.0% Yes
Frederick Polhill Conservative 48330.8% No

1835 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frederick Polhill Conservative 49038.4% Yes
Samuel Crawley Whig 40331.6% Yes
William Henry Whitbread Whig 38330.0% No

1837 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frederick Polhill Conservative 46736.0% Yes
Henry Stuart Conservative 41932.3% Yes
Samuel Crawley Whig 41231.7% No

1841 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frederick Polhill Conservative 43334.3% Yes
Henry Stuart Conservative 42133.3% Yes
William Henry Whitbread Whig 41032.4% No

1847 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harry Verney Whig 45335.5% Yes
Henry Stuart Conservative 43233.8% Yes
Frederick Polhill Conservative 39230.7% No

1852 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Stuart Conservative 51742.9% Yes
Samuel Whitbread Whig 43536.1% Yes
Thomas Chisholm Anstey Radical 25220.9% No

1857 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Whitbread Whig 45231.4% Yes
Thomas Barnard Whig 43530.2% Yes
William Stuart Conservative 37626.1% No
Edward Tyrrell Smith Radical 17612.2% No

1859 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Whitbread Liberal 45525.9% Yes
William Stuart Conservative 44925.5% Yes
Thomas Barnard Liberal 42724.3% No
Frederick Charles Polhill-Turner Conservative 42724.3% No

1865 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Whitbread Liberal 57441.1% Yes
William Stuart Conservative 47634.1% Yes
Montague Chambers Liberal 34524.7% No

1868 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Howard Liberal 1,31134.4% Yes
Samuel Whitbread Liberal 1,24232.6% Yes
Frederick Charles Polhill-Turner Conservative 76920.2% No
Edward Loughlin O'Malley Conservative 49112.9% No

1874 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Whitbread Liberal 1,15536.4% Yes
Frederick Polhill-Turner Conservative 1,01031.9% Yes
Charles Magniac Liberal 1,00631.7% No

1880 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Whitbread Liberal 1,47038.1% Yes
Charles Magniac Liberal 1,33334.6% Yes
Frederick Polhill-Turner Conservative 1,05327.3% No

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Whitbread Liberal 1,58855.3% Yes
James Herman de Ricci Conservative 1,28644.7% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Whitbread Liberal 1,39950.4% Yes
James Herman de Ricci Conservative 1,37649.6% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Whitbread Liberal 1,85051.6% Yes
Charles Guy Pym Conservative 1,73248.4% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Guy Pym Conservative 1,97652.2% Yes
Samuel Howard Whitbread Liberal 1,81047.8% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Guy Pym Conservative 2,11553.4% Yes
Percy Barlow Liberal 1,84846.6% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Percy Barlow Liberal 2,77154.9% Yes
Charles Guy Pym Conservative 2,27845.1% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frederick George Kellaway Liberal 2,77350.2% Yes
Walter Annis Attenborough Conservative 2,75449.8% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Walter Annis Attenborough Conservative 2,91951.5% Yes
Percy Barlow Liberal 2,75048.5% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frederick George Kellaway Liberal 10,93372.7% Yes
Henry Burridge Independent 4,09627.3% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sydney Richard Wells Unionist 13,46050.4% Yes
Frederick George Kellaway National Liberal 5,71421.4% No
Arthur Sells Labour 5,47720.5% No
Mary Camilla Lawson Liberal 2,0757.8% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sydney Richard Wells Unionist 12,90650.9% Yes
Milner Gray Liberal 12,44949.1% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sydney Richard Wells Unionist 15,00052.1% Yes
Milner Gray Liberal 8,45129.4% No
George Dixon Labour 5,33018.5% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sydney Richard Wells Unionist 16,72446.0% Yes
Alfred George Fysh Machin Liberal 10,52028.9% No
George Dixon Labour 9,14725.1% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sydney Richard Wells Conservative 25,03072.2% Yes
Clare Annesley Labour 9,65427.8% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sydney Richard Wells Conservative 22,47662.3% Yes
Norman Mickle Labour 13,60437.7% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Cecil Skeffington-Lodge Labour 19,84941.7% Yes
Sydney Richard Wells Conservative 19,56141.1% No
Leonard John Humphrey Liberal 8,18317.2% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Christopher John Soames Conservative 21,94247.7% Yes
Thomas Cecil Skeffington-Lodge Labour 19,83443.1% No
Leonard John Humphrey Liberal 4,0608.8% No
Elisabeth Lynette Matthews Communist 2070.4% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Christopher John Soames Conservative 23,27849.4% Yes
Peter Parker Labour 20,49443.5% No
Frederick Henry Philpott Liberal 3,3237.1% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Christopher John Soames Conservative 24,73355.5% Yes
Harold James Aldridge Labour 19,79244.5% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Christopher John Soames Conservative 23,49550.9% Yes
Maurice Anthony Foley Labour 16,72836.2% No
Maurice L Rowlandson Liberal 5,96612.9% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Christopher John Soames Conservative 21,40445.2% Yes
Brian Stewart Parkyn Labour 18,25638.5% No
Walter Ernest Norton Liberal 7,71216.3% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Brian Parkyn Labour 22,25745.2% Yes
A Christopher J Soames Conservative 21,87944.5% No
John Edwin Burrell Liberal 5,08010.3% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Trevor Skeet Conservative 26,33050.5% Yes
Brian Parkyn Labour 21,05140.4% No
Arthur Butcher Liberal 4,7409.1% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Trevor Skeet Conservative 26,08242.5% Yes
Gordon Colling Labour 19,86132.4% No
John Charles Griffiths Liberal 15,40525.1% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Trevor Skeet Conservative 24,83443.6% Yes
Brian Parkyn Labour 20,74636.4% No
John Charles Griffiths Liberal 11,36020.0% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Trevor Skeet Conservative 31,14051.2% Yes
Nicholas Aubrey Hyman Labour 18,72730.8% No
Brian Kevin Worker Gibbons Liberal 10,12916.7% No
Richard Vincent Stearns National Front 8131.3% No

1997

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Hall Labour 24,77450.6% Yes
Robert Blackman Conservative 16,47433.7% No
Christopher Noyce Liberal Democrat 6,04412.3% No
Peter Conquest Referendum Party 1,5033.1% No
Patricia Saunders Natural Law 1490.3% No

2001

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Hall Labour 19,45447.9% Yes
Charlotte Attenborough Conservative 13,29732.8% No
Michael Headley Liberal Democrat 6,42515.8% No
Dr Richard Rawlins Independent 9732.4% No
Jennifer Lo Bianco UKIP 4301.1% No

2005

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Hall Labour 17,55741.7% Yes
Richard Fuller Conservative 14,17433.7% No
Michael Headley Liberal Democrat 9,06321.5% No
Peter Conquest UKIP 9952.4% No
John McCready Independent 2830.7% No

2010

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Fuller Conservative 17,54638.9% Yes
Patrick Hall Labour 16,19335.9% No
Henry Vann Liberal Democrat 8,95719.9% No
Mark Adkin UKIP 1,1362.5% No
William Dewick BNP 7571.7% No
Ben Foley Green 3930.9% No
Samrat Bhandari Independent 1200.3% No

2015

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Fuller Conservative 19,62542.6% Yes
Patrick Hall Labour 18,52840.2% No
Charlie Smith UKIP 4,4349.6% No
Mahmud Rogers Liberal Democrat 1,9584.2% No
Ben Foley Green 1,4123.1% No
Faruk Choudhury Independent 1290.3% No

2017

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Mohammad Yasin Labour 22,71246.8% Yes
Richard Fuller Conservative 21,92345.2% No
Henry Vann Liberal Democrat 2,8375.9% No
Lucy Bywater Green 1,0082.1% No

2019

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Mohammad Yasin Labour 20,49143.3% Yes
Ryan Henson Conservative 20,34643.0% No
Henry Vann Liberal Democrat 4,6089.7% No
Adrian Spurrell Green 9602.0% No
Charles Bunker Brexit Party 8961.9% No

2024

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Mohammad Yasin Labour 18,34245.1% Yes
Pinder Chauhan Conservative 8,91221.9% No
Matt Lansley Reform UK 4,54811.2% No
Henry Vann Liberal Democrat 4,0259.9% No
Ben Foley Green 2,3945.9% No
Tarek Javed Independent 1,4423.5% No
Prince Chaudhury Workers Party of Britain 9962.4% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1832: Whig margin 0.2 pts 1835: Conservative margin 1.6 pts 1837: Conservative margin 0.5 pts 1841: Conservative margin 0.9 pts 1847: Whig margin 3.1 pts 1852: Conservative margin 15.2 pts 1857: Whig margin 4.1 pts 1859: Liberal margin 1.2 pts 1865: Liberal margin 9.4 pts 1868: Liberal margin 12.4 pts 1874: Liberal margin 0.1 pts 1880: Liberal margin 7.3 pts 1885: Liberal margin 10.5 pts 1886: Liberal margin 0.8 pts 1892: Liberal margin 3.3 pts 1895: Conservative margin 4.4 pts 1900: Conservative margin 6.7 pts 1906: Liberal margin 9.8 pts Dec 1910: Liberal margin 0.3 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 3.0 pts 1918: Liberal margin 45.5 pts 1922: Unionist margin 29.0 pts 1923: Unionist margin 1.8 pts 1924: Unionist margin 22.8 pts 1929: Unionist margin 17.1 pts 1931: Conservative margin 44.3 pts 1935: Conservative margin 24.6 pts 1945: Labour margin 0.6 pts 1950: Conservative margin 4.6 pts 1951: Conservative margin 5.9 pts 1955: Conservative margin 11.1 pts 1959: Conservative margin 14.6 pts 1964: Conservative margin 6.7 pts 1966: Labour margin 0.8 pts 1970: Conservative margin 10.1 pts Feb 1974: Conservative margin 10.1 pts Oct 1974: Conservative margin 7.2 pts 1979: Conservative margin 20.4 pts 1997: Labour margin 17.0 pts 2001: Labour margin 15.2 pts 2005: Labour margin 8.0 pts 2010: Conservative margin 3.0 pts 2015: Conservative margin 2.4 pts 2017: Labour margin 1.6 pts 2019: Labour margin 0.3 pts 2024: Labour margin 23.2 pts 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 Dec 1910 Jan 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024

Trend

Bedford has been contested at 46 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Liberal, Unionist, Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Bedford in the 2024 general election?

Labour won Bedford in 2024 with 18,342 votes (45.1%), a majority of 9,430 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won Bedford since 1832?

Since 1832, Bedford has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Unionist, Whig.

What was the closest result in Bedford?

The closest result on record for Bedford was 1874, when Liberal beat Liberal by just 4 votes (0.1 percentage points).

Did Bedford ever elect more than one MP at a time?

Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Bedford elected multiple MPs at once in some elections on this page (a system called multi-member plurality, or 'block vote'), each voter casting one vote per available seat.

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