Bedfordshire County Council elections

Bedfordshire County Council was elected every four years. Luton was administered by the county council until 1997, when it became a unitary authority. Bedfordshire County Council was abolished in 2009, when unitary councils were introduced across the rest of Bedfordshire. Services which prior to 2009 were provided by Bedfordshire County Council are now provided by either Bedford Borough Council or Central Bedfordshire Council.

Results

The county council was created in 1889, with elections held every three years (except during the World Wars). Significant reforms in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 saw a new council elected in 1973 which took office from 1 April 1974 when those reforms came into effect. The election results (excluding by-elections) from 1973 until the council's abolition were as follows:^[1]

Year	Seats	Conservative	Labour	Liberal Democrats^[a]	Independent / other	Notes
Year	Seats					Notes
1973	83	32	39	9	3
1977	83	75	5	2	1
1981	83	40	34	8	1
1985	73	30	29	14	0	New division boundaries.^[2]
1989	73	35	27	11	0
1993	73	28	31	13	1
1997	49	25	14	10	0	Luton removed from county council's area.^[3]
2001	49	26	13	10	0
2005	52	36	7	9	0	New division boundaries.^[4]

^ Includes Liberal Party and Social Democratic Party pre-1988.

Council elections

By-election results

Maulden By-Election 22 January 1998
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	1,280	57.9	+3.2
	Labour	673	30.4	+2.6
	Liberal Democrats	259	11.7	−5.8
Majority		607	47.3
Turnout		2,212	40.0
	Conservative hold	Swing

Arlesley & Langford By-Election 9 September 1999
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Labour	681	47.8	−4.2
	Conservative	411	28.8	−19.2
	Independent	333	23.4	+23.4
Majority		270	19.0
Turnout		1,425
	Labour hold	Swing

North East Bedfordshire By-Election 7 November 2002
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Wootton	1,001	69.3	+11.4
	Liberal Democrats		318	22.0	+6.9
	Labour		84	5.8	−11.2
	Green	Ben Foley	41	2.8	+2.8
Majority			683	47.3
Turnout			1,444	23.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Plantation By-Election 18 March 2004
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	679	70.3	+20.7
	Liberal Democrats	287	29.7	+13.2
Majority		392	40.6
Turnout		966	20.1
	Conservative hold	Swing

References

^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
^ "The County of Bedfordshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1985/140, retrieved 21 October 2024
^ "The Bedfordshire (Borough of Luton) (Structural Change) Order 1995", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1995/1776, retrieved 21 October 2024
^ "The County of Bedfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2004", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2004/3245, retrieved 21 October 2024

External links

Bedfordshire Council

[2] Includes Liberal Party and Social Democratic Party pre-1988.

[1] "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 21 October 2024.

[3] "The County of Bedfordshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1985/140, retrieved 21 October 2024

[4] "The Bedfordshire (Borough of Luton) (Structural Change) Order 1995", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1995/1776, retrieved 21 October 2024

[5] "The County of Bedfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2004", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2004/3245, retrieved 21 October 2024

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v t e Council elections in Bedfordshire
Bedford Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2009 2011 2015 2019 2023
Central Bedfordshire Council	2009 2011 2015 2019 2023
Luton Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1996 1998 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Bedfordshire County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 Abolished
Mid Bedfordshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Abolished
South Bedfordshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 Abolished
See also: Wards Boundary changes