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 constituent member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority since 2014.

The council went under no overall control at the 2026 election. Reform UK are the largest party and run the council as a minority administration. The council 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.Local Government Act 1888 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.Local Government Act 1985

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".Audit Commission, Report in the Public Interest under Section 8 of the Audit Commission Act 1988: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Audit 2005-2006, March 2006

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 went under no overall control at the May 2026 election. Reform were the largest party following that election, and subsequently formed a minority administration to run the council.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows: (Put "Bradford" in search box to see specific results.) Party in control Years 1974–1980 1980–1982 1982–1986 1986–1988 1988–1990 1990–2000 2000–2014 2014–2026 2026–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 1974 1979 Brian Womersley 1979 1980 Derek Smith 1980 1982 Tom Hall 1982 1984 Ronnie Farley 1984 1986 Phil Beeley 1986 1988 Eric Pickles 1988 1990 Tommy Flanagan 1990 1992 Gerry Sutcliffe 1992 1994 Tony Cairns 1994 1997 John Ryan 1997 1998 Ian Greenwood 1998 2000 Margaret Eaton 2000 2006 Kris Hopkins 2006 May 2010 Ian Greenwood 25 May 2010 May 2012 David Green 22 May 2012 May 2016 Susan Hinchcliffe 17 May 2016 May 2026 Stephen Place 19 May 2026

Composition Following the 2026 election, and subsequent changes to June 2026, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in 2027, in which one-third of the council's seats will be up for election.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes took effect for the 2026 election, 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.

References

External links City of Bradford MDC Bradford District Museums & Galleries website Photograph archive website