City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

of the

City of Bradford Bradford (), also known as the City of Bradford, is a metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a larger area which includes the towns and villages of Keighley, Shipley, Wes ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, 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 A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropol ...

. It provides the majority of local government services in the city. The council has been a member of the

West Yorkshire Combined Authority The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) is the combined authority for West Yorkshire in England. It was established by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 on 1 April 2014. It is a ...

since 2014. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014. It meets at

Bradford City Hall Bradford City Hall is a 19th-century city and town halls, town hall in Centenary Square, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building which has a distinctive clock tower. History Before its relocation, between 1847 and ...

and has its main offices at Britannia House.

History

The town of

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

had been governed by

improvement commissioners Boards of improvement commissioners were ''ad hoc'' urban local government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its predecessors the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irel ...

from 1793. It was incorporated as a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

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 West Riding County Council (WRCC) was the county council of the administrative county of the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1 April 1889 to 31 March 1974. The council met at County Hall in Wakefield. The county council had jurisdiction over the ...

. The borough boundaries were enlarged several times between 1847 and 1974. Bradford was awarded

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

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 Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

. The modern

metropolitan district A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropol ...

and its council were in 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. 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 Baildon was an urban district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England between 1894 and 1974. It was enlarged on 1 April 1937 by gaining part of Wharfedale Rural District; 225 acres of the parishes of Esholt and Hawksworth were transferred. Bai ...

Bingley Urban District Bingley Urban District covered the town of Bingley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, and its surrounding areas for 80 years between 1894 and 1974. It had replaced an ''Improvement Commissioners'' council, and the UDC itself was replaced in 19 ...

* Bradford County Borough *

Denholme Denholme is a town and civil parish in the Bradford Metropolitan Borough, West Yorkshire, England. It is west of Bradford, from Keighley and roughly the same distance from Halifax. Administratively, it is part of the Bingley Rural ward of ...

Urban District *

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

Urban District *

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

Municipal Borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

Queensbury and Shelf Urban District Queensbury and Shelf was an urban district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1937 to 1974. The district was formed by a County Review Order by the amalgamation of Queensbury and Shelf urban districts. It contained only the civil parish of ...

( Queensbury only; Shelf went to

Calderdale Calderdale () is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the ...

) * Shipley Urban District *

Silsden Silsden is a town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and Leeds and Liverpool Canal between Keighley and Skipton, which had a population of 8,390 at the 2021 Census. The parish includes the ham ...

Urban District *

Skipton Rural District Skipton was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was named after Skipton, which constituted an urban district on its southern border. The district was expanded in 1937 by taking in the parishes of Steeton wit ...

(parishes of

Addingham Addingham (formerly Haddincham , Odingehem 1086)Mills, A. D. (2003). ', Encyclopedia.com is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford West Yorkshire, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated near the A65 road, A65, south-east ...

Kildwick Kildwick, or Kildwick-in-Craven, is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Skipton and Keighley and had a population of 191 in 2001, rising slightly to 194 at the 2011 census. Kildwick is a ...

and

Steeton with Eastburn Steeton with Eastburn is a civil parish within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has, according to the 2001 census, a population of 4,277, increasing to 4 ...

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 West Yorkshire County Council (WYCC) – also known as West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council (WYMCC) – was the top-tier local government administrative body for West Yorkshire from 1974 to 1986. A strategic authority, with responsibilitie ...

. 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 Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of all value for which a group or entity is responsible. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as complex process or manufacturing plants, infrastr ...

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

. The combined authority has been led by the directly elected

Mayor of West Yorkshire The mayor of West Yorkshire is a directly elected mayor responsible for the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire in England. The mayor chairs and leads the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and assumes the office and powers of the West Yorks ...

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:

Leadership

The role of Lord Mayor is largely ceremonial in Bradford. Political leadership is instead provided by the

leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

. The leaders since 1979 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was: 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

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 30

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, 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 An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

with six wards in each constituency: Bradford East, Bradford South,

Bradford West Bradford West is a constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Naz Shah of the Labour Party. Constituency profile Bradford West covers the Bradford city centre, Manningham, Allerton an ...

and Shipley.

Premises

The council meets at

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 Industrial Museum entrance-1000

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 Industrial Museum Bradford Industrial Museum, established 1974 in Moorside Mills, Eccleshill, Bradford, United Kingdom, specializes in relics of local industry, especially printing and textile machinery, kept in working condition for regular demonstrations to th ...

, Eccleshill *

Cartwright Hall Cartwright Hall is the civic art gallery in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, situated about a mile from the city centre in the Manningham district. It was built on the former site of Manningham Hall using a gift of £40,000 donated by Samue ...

Art Gallery, Bradford *

Cliffe Castle Museum Cliffe Castle Museum, Keighley, West Yorkshire, England, is a local heritage museum which opened in the grand, Victorian, neo-Gothic Cliffe Castle in 1959. Originating as Cliffe Hall in 1828, the museum is the successor to Keighley Museum which ...

and Park,

The organisation also has a Photograph Archive ("Photos Bradford District"), which is accessible online.

References

External links

City of Bradford MDCBradford District Museums & Galleries websitePhotograph Archive website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford Metropolitan District Council, City of Metropolitan district councils of England Local authorities in West Yorkshire Leader and cabinet executives Local education authorities in England Billing authorities in England 1974 establishments in England

Metropolitan District Council A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropol ...