City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Third of council elected three years out of four
Coat of arms
Council logo
Type
Type
HousesUnicameral
Term limits
None
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Gerry Barker,
Conservative
since 23 May 2023[1]
Susan Hinchcliffe,
Labour
since 17 May 2016
Lorraine O'Donnell
since 2023[2]
Structure
Seats90 councillors
Political groups
Administration (54)
  Labour (54)
Other parties (34)
  Conservative (15)
  Green Party (8)
  Liberal Democrat (5)
  Independent (8)
Joint committees
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Elections
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
2 May 2024
Meeting place
City Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford, BD1 1HY
Website
www.bradford.gov.uk

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the local authority of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of local government services in Bradford. Since 2014 it has been a constituent member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

History

The town of Bradford had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1793.[3] 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.[4] The borough boundaries were enlarged several times between 1847 and 1974.[5] Bradford was awarded city status in 1897, after which the corporation was also known as the city council. On 18 September 1907 the council was granted the right to appoint a Lord Mayor.

The modern district was created as a metropolitan borough in 1974, covering the county borough of Bradford plus the Borough of Keighley, the Urban Districts of Baildon, Bingley, Cullingworth, Denholme, Ilkley, Shipley and Silsden, along with part of Queensbury and Shelf Urban District and part of Skipton Rural District by the Local Government Act 1972. 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.[6] As such the council could call itself "Bradford City Council", which name is sometimes used for it in official documents and the media,[7][8] 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.[9]

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".[10]

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.[11] Since 2014 the council has been a constituent member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.[12] 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:[13]

Party in controlYears
Conservative1974–1980
Labour1980–1982
No overall control1982–1986
Labour1986–1988
No overall control1988–1990
Labour1990–2000
No overall control2000–2014
Labour2014–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 1979 have been:[14][15]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Brian Womersley Conservative19791980
Derek Smith Labour19801982
Tom Hall Conservative19821984
Ronnie Farley Conservative19841986
Phil Beeley Labour19861988
Eric Pickles Conservative19881990
Tommy Flanagan Labour19901992
Gerry Sutcliffe Labour19921994
Tony Cairns[16] Labour19941997
John Ryan Labour19971998
Ian Greenwood Labour19982000
Margaret Eaton Conservative20002006
Kris Hopkins Conservative200625 May 2010
Ian Greenwood Labour25 May 20106 May 2012
David Green Labour22 May 201217 May 2016
Susan Hinchcliffe Labour17 May 2016

Composition

Following the 2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to December 2023, the composition of the council was:[17]

Party Councillors
Labour54
Conservative15
Green8
Independent8
Liberal Democrats5
Total90

Of the eight independent councillors, four sit together as the "Bradford Independent" group, two form the "Bradford South Independents" and the other two do not belong to a group.[18] The next election is due in 2024.

Elections

Map of wards within the City of Bradford

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.[19]

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.[20]

Premises

Britannia House, Hall Ings: Council's main offices.

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.[21] The council's main offices are nearby in Britannia House on Hall Ings.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Council minutes, 23 May 2023". City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Young, Chris (3 July 2023). "Bradford Council set to appoint Lorraine O'Donnell as Chief Executive". Rombalds Radio. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "West Yorkshire Archive Service News". Bradford Historical and Antiquarian Society. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  4. ↑ Local Government Act 1888
  5. ↑ "Bradford Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "No. 46255". The London Gazette. 4 April 1974. p. 4400.
  7. ↑ "The City of Bradford (Mayoral Referendum) Order 2012", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2012/325, retrieved 26 December 2023
  8. ↑ "Storm Pia brings disruption to Yorkshire and Lincolnshire". BBC News. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Local Government Act 1985
  10. ↑ 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
  11. ↑ "Local elections 2012: RESEARCH PAPER 12/27" (PDF). UK: House of Commons Library. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "The West Yorkshire Combined Authority Order 2014", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2014/864, retrieved 26 December 2023
  13. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  14. ↑ "Council minutes". City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  15. ↑ "Bradford Timeline". Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  16. ↑ Young, Chris (15 February 2021). "Tributes paid to former Council leader and Lord Mayor Tony Cairns". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  17. ↑ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  18. ↑ "Your councillors by party". City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  19. ↑ "The City of Bradford (Electoral Changes) Order 2004", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2004/122, retrieved 26 December 2023
  20. ↑ "Your MPs". bradford.moderngov.co.uk. Bradford Council. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  21. ↑ Historic England. "Bradford City Hall (Grade I) (1133675)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  22. ↑ "Contact us". City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
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