2024 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council election

2024 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council election

2 May 2024
30 out of 90 seats to City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council 46 seats needed for a majority
Leader Susan Hinchcliffe Rebecca Poulsen Multiple Party Labour Conservative Independent Leader's seat Windhill and Wrose Worth Valley Last election 56 seats, 47.0% 16 seats, 24.0% 5 seats, 4.2% Current seats 53 15 9 Seats needed 31 37   Leader Matt Edwards Brendan Stubbs Party Green Liberal Democrats Leader's seat Tong Eccleshill Last election 8 seat, 14.5% 5 seats, 8.5% Current seats 8 5 Seats needed 38 41
Incumbent Leader Susan Hinchcliffe Labour

The 2024 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council election will take place on 2 May 2024. One third of councillors (30 out of 90) are to be elected. The election will take place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.

Background

Result of the council election when these seats were last contested in 2021

Result of the most recent council election in 2023

The Local Government Act 1972 created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and districts covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire starting in 1974. Bradford was a district of the West Yorkshire metropolitan county. The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority was established in 2014 and began electing the mayor of West Yorkshire in 2021.

Since its formation, Bradford has been variously under Labour control, Conservative control and no overall control. Councillors have predominantly been elected from the Labour Party, Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. The Green Party gained their first councillors on Bradford Council in 2002 and following these elections became the joint third largest group on the council.

Labour had regained control of the council from no overall control in the 2014 council election, gaining one seat to hold 46 out of 90 seats on the council. The Labour Party maintained its majority on the council in subsequent elections. Of the 30 seats contested in the previous election in 2023, Labour won 22 on 47.0% of the vote, the Conservatives won four seats on 24.0% of the vote, the Green Party won three seats on 14.5% of the vote, and the Liberal Democrats won one seat each on 8.5% of the vote.

Positions up for election in 2024 were last elected in 2021. In that election, fifteen Labour councillors, eleven Conservative councillors, three Liberal Democrat councillors, two Green councillors, and two independent councillors were elected.

Electoral process

The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election in the fourth year. The election will take place by first-past-the-post voting, with wards generally being represented by three councillors, with one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Bradford aged 18 or over will be entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters will be able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.

Previous council composition

After 2023 election			Before 2024 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Labour	56		Labour	53
	Conservative	16		Conservative	15
	Independent	5		Independent	9
	Green	8		Green	8
	Liberal Democrats	5		Liberal Democrats	5

Changes:

• June 2023: Mohammed Nazam is suspended from the Conservative Party after apologising for attending a Pride event and calling it a "lapse in judgement" that "contradicts [his] personal religious beliefs."
• October 2023: Sarfraz Nazir and Taj Salam resign from the Labour Party over Keir Starmer's comments on the Israel–Hamas war and join the Bradford Independent Group.
• March 13, 2024: Julie Lintern is suspended from the Labour Party after voting against the administration's budget.