John Besford was one of two Members of Parliament (MPs) elected in September 1388 for Northampton, a British parliamentary constituency in existence until 1974.

Northampton returned two MPs to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament until its representation was reduced to one member for the 1918 general election. The constituency was abolished for the February 1974 general election, when it was replaced by the new constituencies of Northampton North and Northampton South.  A notable former MP for the constituency was Spencer Perceval, the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated.

John Besford is referenced in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386-1421, ed. J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe., 1993, available from Boydell and Brewer.

A placeholder entry for John Besford can be found on The History of Parliament website.