Bedfordshire South West might appear, at first glance, to be another Tory stronghold but Sir David Madel, who has been MP here for 30 years, retained his seat by a mere 132 votes in 1997.
Dunstable, which lies on the seat's eastern border with Luton, is the constituency's largest town. It is nearly all-white, unlike its larger neighbour Luton, and is dominated by owner-occupied semi-detached housing.
The town is traditionally associated with the motor trade, though it has suffered from the closure in recent years of AWB Trucks and Renault Trucks' plants in the area. Despite this, unemployment in the constituency as a whole is below the national average.
Leighton Buzzard in the west of the seat is the only other main town. There are still jobs in motor manufacturing here as well as in light industry, distribution and other services. BOSS Trucks, Gossard and Liptons are all based in Leighton Buzzard and in nearby rural areas, employment can be found in a number of smaller manufacturing units as well as in agriculture.
The constituency is increasingly reliant on tourism, with Whipsnade Zoo, stately homes and the Chiltern Hills being the main attractions. In common with the other Bedfordshire constituencies, this seat has a relatively small proportion of pensioners.