Luton North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Sarah Owen, of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile

Luton North is a mostly suburban constituency located in Bedfordshire. It covers the northern neighbourhoods of the large town of Luton, including Stopsley, Bramingham, Limbury, Sundon Park, Leagrave, Marsh Farm, Lewsey and Challney. Luton has an industrial history; the town was an important centre for the manufacturing of hats and cars. The neighbourhoods of Luton North were developed in the 1950s and 1960s, largely as council housing, to accommodate industrial workers and overspill from London. The constituency has high levels of deprivation, mostly in its west, whilst the eastern areas are more affluent. House prices are lower than the East of England and nationwide averages.

In general, residents of Luton North are young and have low rates of education and professional employment. and the percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is high. The child poverty rate is higher than the rest of the country and almost double the regional rate. White people made up 44% of the population at the 2021 census, including large Irish, Polish and Romanian communities. Asians, most of whom are of Pakistani origin, were 38% of the population and Black people were 11%. At the local borough council, most of the constituency is represented by Labour Party councillors with some Conservatives and Liberal Democrats elected in the constituency's wealthier east. An estimated 58% of voters in Luton North supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, higher than the nationwide figure of 52%.

Created as a county constituency formally named North Luton,

Redesignated as the borough constituency of Luton North. The parts of the Districts of Mid Bedfordshire (including Flitwick) and South Bedfordshire transferred to Mid Bedfordshire. Gained the Saints ward of the Borough of Luton from Luton South.

2010–2024

  • The Borough of Luton wards of Barnfield, Bramingham, Challney, Icknield, Leagrave, Lewsey, Limbury, Northwell, Saints, and Sundon Park.

Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency was expanded with the transfer of the Luton Borough ward of Stopsley (as it existed on 1 December 2020) from Luton South.

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency now comprises the following wards of the Borough of Luton from the 2024 general election:

  • Barnfield (nearly all); Beech Hill (part); Bramingham; Challney (nearly all); Leagrave; Lewsey; Limbury; Northwell; Poets; Saints (nearly all); Sundon Park; Stopsley (majority).

Members of Parliament

Luton West, Luton East, Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire prior to 1983

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!colspan="2"|Election!!Member!!Party

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

|1983

|John Carlisle || Conservative

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

|1997

| rowspan="2" |Kelvin Hopkins || Labour

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

|2017

|Independent

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

|2019

| |Sarah Owen || Labour

|}

Elections

thumb|centre|upright=2.5|Luton North election results 1983-2024

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! colspan="4" | 2019 notional result

|-

! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party

! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote

! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %

|-

|

| Labour ||align=right| 24,015 ||align=right| 53.9

|-

|

| Conservative ||align=right| 15,275 ||align=right| 34.3

|-

|

| Liberal Democrats ||align=right| 2,063 ||align=right| 4.6

|-

|

| Brexit Party ||align=right| 1,319 ||align=right| 3.0

|-

|

| Others ||align=right| 1,086 ||align=right| 2.4

|-

|

| Green ||align=right| 832 ||align=right| 1.9

|-

|colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"|

|-

|colspan="2"|Turnout

|align=right|44,590

|align=right|60.9

|-

|colspan="2"|Electorate

|align=right|73,266

|}

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

See also

  • List of parliamentary constituencies in Bedfordshire
  • List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)
  • Politics in Luton

Notes

References

  • Luton North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
  • Luton North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
  • Luton North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK