Prior to the 1995 boundary changes, most of Luton Northís area comprised the villages and hamlets between Luton and the small town of Flitwick. However, these changes converted Luton North into an exclusively urban constituency. The resulting seat is mainly residential, although it also contains Luton town.
There is less industry and fewer non-white voters than in the Luton South constituency and there is plenty of new private housing. The seat has good transport links, with the M1 running across the west of the constituency and the Thameslink rail service to London running from Leagrave Station. It contains Lutonís usually safest Conservative ward, Icknield, which harbours the townís most up-market housing. The population is relatively young: the seat has the highest percentage of school-age children in the county and a small proportion of pensioners. Luton North also has a significant ethnic minority population.
The Conservative MP John Carlisle represented the seat and its predecessor for 18 years, and when he retired at the 1997 election, Labourís Kelvin Hopkins was returned with a majority of over 9,000 votes.