Bradford Central was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Elections were held under the first-past-the-post voting system.
The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, when the Redistribution of Seats Act split the two-member Bradford constituency into three single-seat divisions. It was abolished for the 1955 general election.
Political history For most of its existence, Bradford Central was a marginal seat, initially between the Liberal Party and the Conservatives or their Liberal Unionist allies. The Liberals held it for all but eleven of the years from 1885 to 1918, after which it became a Labour-Conservative marginal. Control alternated between Labour and the Conservatives through the 1920s and 1930s, and in 1945 it became a safe seat for Labour.
Boundaries 1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Bradford wards of Exchange, Lister Hills, Little Horton, North, and West.
1918–1950: The County Borough of Bradford wards of East, Exchange, Manningham, North, South, and West.
1950–1955: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Bradford Moor, Exchange, Manningham, North East, and South.
Members of Parliament ElectionMemberPartyNotes 1885 William Edward Forster Died April 1886 1886 by-election George Shaw Lefevre Member for Reading (1863–1885)First Commissioner of Works (1892–1894)President of the Local Government Board (1894–1895) 1895 James Leslie Wanklyn 1906 George Scott Robertson Died January 1916 1916 by-election James Hill Constituency split, majority formed part of Bradford South, minority joined parts of Bradford East and the abolished Bradford West 1918 Henry Butler Ratcliffe 1922 William Leach Under-Secretary of State for Air (1924) 1924 Anthony Gadie 1929 William Leach 1931 George Hathaway-Eady 1935 William Leach 1945 Maurice Webb Minister of Food (1950–1951) Contested Bradford North following redistribution1955 Constituency abolished, majority joined Bradford North, minority joined Bradford East and the reformed Bradford West
Elections
Elections in the 1880s
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1940s
Elections in the 1950s
References
British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1974)