In September 1774 Lord North called a general election, as Paul Langford points out, to exploit the favourable political situation; a full six months early. Langford adds that nationally there were ninety-four electoral contests ‘few with much sense of ideological conflict about them’. Two of these contests were for Bedfordshire and the borough of Bedford. There certainly was ideological conflict in both seats between the supporters of Wilkes and those of the government. This split went across former party loyalties. The pro-Wilkes candidates for Bedford were seen as part of a wider campaign throughout Northamptonshire and beyond as is shown in The Northampton Mercury of 17 October (see below).

The borough of Bedford

One of the candidates on the opposition (pro-Wilkes) side for Bedford was Sir William Wake of Courteenhall in Northamptonshire. The other was Robert Sparrow, the brother-in-law of Sir Robert Bernard, who had spearheaded the creation of over five hundred freemen in 1769, and had succeeded the Duke of Bedford as recorder of Bedford on his death in 1771. Neither had any connections with Bedford. They sought to introduce reform on ‘sound constitutional principles’ and yet sought to win the seat thanks to the huge creation of freemen from outside the borough and suppressing the views of those actually living in the constituency.

On the other side were Samuel Whitbread and his cousin John Howard. Whitbread had been MP for Bedford since 1768 and his initial difficulties with the Duke of Bedford's interest had now been healed. Lord Ossory, the head of the Bedford interest, offered Whitbread the Duke's interest as well as his own in the Bedford election. The Bedford party nationally supported Lord North. Whitbread was likely to oppose the Government on single issues, such as anything affecting brewing or malting, but on most other questions he was likely to support Lord North.

His running partner was his cousin, John Howard of Cardington, a congregationalist and thus a representative of the considerable number of nonconformists in the town. In 1773 he served as sheriff of Bedfordshire and had, as part of his duties, inspected the county gaol in Silver Street. He was so appalled by what he found that it started him on a lifelong campaign to improve conditions in prisons. His famous book State of the Prisons details what he found.