Bedford gain from Conservative Sir Trevor Skeet (Retiring) 0 ( 0.0%) 16,474 (33.7%) 24,774 (50.6%) 6,044 (12.3%) 0 ( 0.0%) 1,652 ( 3.4%) 66,560 48,944 (73.5%) Sir Trevor Skeet (Retiring) Bedfordshire North 4,545 ( 9.0%) 22,863 (45.4%) 18,318 (36.4%) 8,263 (16.4%) 0 ( 0.0%) 881 ( 1.8%) Conservative 65,764 50,325 (76.5%) -11.8% +14.2% -4.1% +0.0% +1.6% +1.2% -3.0% Labour have only ever won Bedford in their landslide years, 1945 and 1966, but boundary changes give them an even chance of achieving a hat trick in 1997, over 30 years after their last triumph. The creation of a sixth and additional constituency in Bedfordshire (NE Beds) has had a significant knock-on effect. Here, as in a number of other cases round the country, the addition of another predominantly rural seat has reduced the Bedford seat to an urban core, consisting essentially of just the county town itself and its adjoining suburb of Kempston. If it had existed in this form in 1992, the Tory majority would have been around 4,500, rather than the comfortable 11,500 they achieved in the former North Bedfordshire. This means that it will be vulnerable to a swing to Labour of only about 5 per cent, which would be achieved if Labour win the election with an overall majority. Bedford is a mixed town with many characteristics of a marginal. It is a substantial centre of postwar immigration, not only of Asian residents but of a large number of Italians, attracted initially by the prospect of employment in the Bedfordshire brickfields, who add a colourful and perhaps unexpected flavour to the social and cultural life of the town. 2,511 6.19 9.03 69 2,446 6.03 11.17 54 5,422 13.36 11.25 119 8,701 21.44 14.70 146 8,387 20.67 10.45 198 0 0.00 2.81 0 4,223 10.41 8.01 130 5,608 13.82 15.25 91 569 1.40 7.13 20 2,577 6.35 10.17 62