Biggleswade was a county constituency in Bedfordshire which was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until its abolition in 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post voting system.
Boundaries
The constituency was created as the Northern or Biggleswade Division of Bedfordshire under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when the two-member Parliamentary County of Bedfordshire was divided into the two single-member constituencies of Biggleswade and Luton. It comprised the sessional divisions of Bedford, Biggleswade and Sharnbrook, part of the sessional division of Ampthill and the municipal borough of Bedford. Only non-resident freeholders of the municipal borough (which comprised the Parliamentary Borough of Bedford) were entitled to vote.
The constituency was abolished in 1918. The northern part of the Division surrounding the Borough of Bedford, including Kempston, was included in the Bedford Division. The southern part, including Ampthill and Biggleswade, was included in the new Mid Bedfordshire Division.
Members of Parliament
Elections
Elections in the 1880s
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1910s
General Election 1914–15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; Liberal: Arthur Black Unionist: Geoffrey Carr Glyn
See also
List of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
Parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918
References
Parliamentary constituencies in Bedfordshire (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918 Biggleswade