General Election: Who is standing for election in Bedford

This will be held on July 4, and the country will know who will be the next Prime Minister in the early hours of July 5.

Here are the candidates standing in the constituencies covering the Bedford area:

Bedford

Prince Sadiq Chaudhury – Workers Party of Britain: Details to follow.

Pinder Chauhan – Conservative: Pinder Chauhan is a councilllor for West Northamptonshire Council and has said she wants to “put Bedford on the map” and ensure “its voice and views are heard in parliament”.

Ben Foley – Green: Ben Foley has been a Green councillor in Bedford since 2019 (currently the Greyfriars Ward) and is convenor of the group of Green councillors on Bedford Borough Council.

Tarek Javed – Independent: Tarek has lived in Bedford since the age of 12 and was a member of the Royal Air Force for 35 years. He believes Bedford has been let down by the main political parties.

Matt Lansley - Reform UK – Matt Lansley is a business man who is "standing up" for what he believes in to give Bedford a "viable" alternative to the status quo.

Henry Vann – Lib Dem: Henry Vann is a local teacher and has been a councillor for Bedford’s De Parys Ward since 2011. He is group leader of Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats.

Mohammad Yasin – Labour: Mohammad Yasin will be standing again as Labour’s candidate having been the Member of Parliament for Bedford and Kempston since 2017. He won by 0.3 percentage points in 2019.

Mid Bedfordshire

Richard Brunning – Social Democratic Party: Richard Brunning has said he’s “primarily a (small c) conservative”.

Dave Holland – Reform UK: Dave Holland stood as a Reform UK canddiate in last year’s Mid Beds by-election. He said the role of Government to “create the opportunities that individuals need to thrive and succeed”.

Gareth Mackey - Independent: Gareth Mackey stood as an Independent for last year's by-election. He is a ward councillor for Flitwick and is Central Bedfordshire Council's chairman.

Maahwish Mirza – Labour: Maahwish Mirza was born and raised up in Luton and has been a councillor in the town. She has said she will be championing the greenbelt, and fighting for public services and local infrastructure.

Stuart Roberts – Lib Dem: Stuart Roberts is a former Deputy President of the NFU and a former Conservative councillor.

Cade Sibley – Green: Cade Sibley stood as a Green in last year’s by-election when he said it’s “more important” to give people the option to vote for someone who will represent them and that he couldn’t just “stand aside”.

Blake Stephenson – Conservative: Blake Stephenson has been a Central Bedfordshire councillor since 2023, sits on the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Panel, and serves on the Shillington Parish Council.

North Bedfordshire

Pippa Clayton – Reform UK: On her webpage, Pippa Clayton said she believes “that Reform UK are [sic] a serious alternative to the established two-party system”.

Philippa Flemming – Green Party: On her website activist Philippa Flemming says she stood as a parliamentary and council candidate and held various officer positions in her local party since October 2015

Richard Fuller – Conservative: Richard Fuller has been the MP for North East Bedfordshire since 2019 (59.1 per cent of the vote).

Uday Nagaraju – Labour: Uday Nagaraju said he has “devoted” his life to public service and pledge to be “fully available as a committed MP”.

Joanna Szaub-Newton – Lib Dem: Joanna Szaub-Newton is a parish councillor and a scientist specialising in environmental and health diagnostics.