Luton, England, is a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

, and remains part of the ceremonial county of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

is currently represented by 48 councillors of the

Luton Borough Council Luton Borough Council, also known as Luton Council, is the local authority of Luton, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Luton has had an elected local authority since 1850, which has been reformed several times. Since 1997 the co ...

, the Bedfordshire

Police and crime commissioner A police and crime commissioner (PCC; ) is an elected official in England and Wales responsible for generally overseeing police services. A police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) is an elected official in England responsible for generally ...

, and two MPs in the constituencies of

Luton North 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 was created in 1983, primarily from the former seat of Luton West. It c ...

and

Luton South and South Bedfordshire Luton South and South Bedfordshire is a constituency in Bedfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Rachel Hopkins, a member of the Labour Party. Prior to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constit ...

. Between 1999 and 2010, Luton was additionally represented by the

East of England Regional Assembly The East of England Regional Assembly was the regional chamber for the East of England region of the England. It was based at Flempton, near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. The assembly was created as a ''voluntary regional chamber'' in 1998 by the ...

History

Prior to the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, Luton had been a county borough, but still part of the county of

. However, with the abolition of the county boroughs, Luton was fully integrated into Bedfordshire and its county council. This wasn't to last however, as in 1992, the Local Government Commission for England, recommended that Luton be made into a unitary authority and be separate of the county council. The government agreed and this was enforced from 1997 onwards. Luton remains part of Bedfordshire for ceremonial purposes and one

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

serves for the whole

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

Luton Borough Council

is represented by 48 councillors across 20 wards. The council offices are centred on the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

on George Street, Luton.

Local election results

NB: The make up of the council changed between 2003 and 2007, hence the apparent inconsistencies between the councillors in 2003 and the changes recorded for 2007.

East of England Regional Assembly

Whilst not a directly elected body, the

was responsible between 1999 and 2010 for promoting the economic, environmental and social well-being of the

East England East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. It was made up of representatives from councils across the region, business organisations, public sector agencies, education and training bodies, trade unions and co-operatives and the voluntary and community sector.

Police and Crime Commissioner

The

Police and Crime Commissioner A police and crime commissioner (PCC; ) is an elected official in England and Wales responsible for generally overseeing police services. A police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) is an elected official in England responsible for generally ...

is a

county-wide post. , the post is held by

John Tizard John Nigel Tizard (born November 1954) is a British Labour Co‑operative politician, currently serving as the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Bedfordshire since May 2024. Early life John Tizard was born in November 1954 and grew up i ...

for Labour.

UK Parliament

The town of Luton historically was part of the Bedfordshire constituency which was created in 1290. In 1885, the county was redistributed into two seats, one of which was

, formally the ''Southern or Luton Division of Bedfordshire.'' After a Second Periodic Review of constituencies, which came into effect in February 1974, the town was divided into Luton West and Luton East. These two seats were fairly short lived; for

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, after the third review, the town was reorganised as

and

Luton South Luton South and South Bedfordshire is a constituency in Bedfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Rachel Hopkins, a member of the Labour Party. Prior to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constit ...

. In the 2023 review, the latter was expanded and renamed Luton South and South Bedfordshire.

Members of Parliament for Luton constituency

Luton East

* ''Constituency created'' (1974) *''Constituency abolished'' (1983)

Luton West

* ''Constituency created'' (1974) *''Constituency abolished'' (1983)

Luton North

*''Constituency created'' (1983)

Luton South

*''Constituency created'' (1983)

References

{{Luton Luton