City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the local authority of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. Bradford has had an elected council since 1847, which has been reformed on several occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan district council. It provides the majority of local government services in the city. The council has been a member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority since 2014.
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council | |
|---|---|
Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | Metropolitan district council of the City of Bradford |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1974 |
| Leadership | |
Lord Mayor | Mohammed Shafiq, Labour since 20 May 2025 |
Leader | Susan Hinchcliffe, Labour since 17 May 2016 |
Chief Executive | Lorraine O'Donnell since 2023 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 90 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Joint committees | West Yorkshire Combined Authority |
| Elections | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
| City Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford, BD1 1HY | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014. It meets at Bradford City Hall and has its main offices at Britannia House.
History
The town of Bradford had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1793. It was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1847, after which it was governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Bradford", generally known as the corporation or town council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Bradford was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services and so it was made a county borough, independent from the new West Riding County Council. The borough boundaries were enlarged several times between 1847 and 1974. Bradford was awarded city status in 1897, after which the corporation was also known as the city council. On 16 September 1907 the council was granted the right to appoint a lord mayor.
The modern metropolitan district and its council were in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the whole area of eight former districts and parts of another two, which were all abolished at the same time:
- Baildon Urban District
- Bingley Urban District
- Bradford County Borough
- Denholme Urban District
- Ilkley Urban District
- Keighley Municipal Borough
- Queensbury and Shelf Urban District (Queensbury only; Shelf went to Calderdale)
- Shipley Urban District
- Silsden Urban District
- Skipton Rural District (parishes of Addingham, Kildwick and Steeton with Eastburn only)
Bradford's city status and lord mayoralty were transferred to the whole of the new district on the day the new system came into force. As such the council could call itself "Bradford City Council", which name is sometimes used for it in official documents and the media, but the council styles itself "City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council" instead.
Between 1974 and 1986 the council was a lower tier district-level authority, with county-level functions being provided by West Yorkshire County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986, with Bradford taking on the county council's former functions in the area.
In March 2006, the UK's Audit Commission issued a report "in the public interest" regarding concerns about the procurement process for the acquisition of an asset management system. The report identified weaknesses in the Council's programme management and procurement processes, which the Council accepted "without reservation".
In 2012 a referendum was held on whether to introduce a directly elected mayor for Bradford; the proposal was rejected, with 55% of the votes being against it. Since 2014 the council has been a constituent member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The combined authority has been led by the directly elected Mayor of West Yorkshire since 2021.
Political control
The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–1980 | |
| Labour | 1980–1982 | |
| No overall control | 1982–1986 | |
| Labour | 1986–1988 | |
| No overall control | 1988–1990 | |
| Labour | 1990–2000 | |
| No overall control | 2000–2014 | |
| Labour | 2014–present | |
Leadership
The role of Lord Mayor is largely ceremonial in Bradford. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Singleton | Conservative | 1974 | 1979 | |
| Brian Womersley | Conservative | 1979 | 1980 | |
| Derek Smith | Labour | 1980 | 1982 | |
| Tom Hall | Conservative | 1982 | 1984 | |
| Ronnie Farley | Conservative | 1984 | 1986 | |
| Phil Beeley | Labour | 1986 | 1988 | |
| Eric Pickles | Conservative | 1988 | 1990 | |
| Tommy Flanagan | Labour | 1990 | 1992 | |
| Gerry Sutcliffe | Labour | 1992 | 1994 | |
| Tony Cairns | Labour | 1994 | 1997 | |
| John Ryan | Labour | 1997 | 1998 | |
| Ian Greenwood | Labour | 1998 | 2000 | |
| Margaret Eaton | Conservative | 2000 | 2006 | |
| Kris Hopkins | Conservative | 2006 | May 2010 | |
| Ian Greenwood | Labour | 25 May 2010 | May 2012 | |
| David Green | Labour | 22 May 2012 | May 2016 | |
| Susan Hinchcliffe | Labour | 17 May 2016 | ||
Composition
Following the 2024 election, and subsequent changes of allegiance up to March 2025, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 47 | |
| Conservative | 13 | |
| Green | 10 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | |
| Independent | 15 | |
| Total | 90 | |
Of the independent councillors, nine sit together as the "Bradford Independent" group, one sits in a group with the Conservatives, and the other four do not belong to a group. The next election is due in 2026.
Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2004 the council has comprised 90 councillors representing 30 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected each time for a four year term of office.
Parliamentary constituencies
The district is currently covered by five constituencies with six wards in each constituency: Bradford East, Bradford South, Bradford West, Keighley and Shipley.
Premises
The council meets at Bradford City Hall on Centenary Square in the city centre, which had been completed in 1873 for the old borough council. The council's main offices are nearby in Britannia House on Hall Ings.
Services
Bradford District Museums & Galleries
Bradford District Museums & Galleries is a service of the council that runs a number of visitor attractions in the Bradford District.
The attractions include:
- Bolling Hall Museum, Bradford
- Bradford Industrial Museum, Eccleshill
- Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford
- Cliffe Castle Museum and Park, Keighley
The organisation also has a Photograph Archive ("Photos Bradford District"), which is accessible online.
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