Bradford South (UK Parliament constituency)

Bradford South
Bradford South
Borough constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of Bradford South in West Yorkshire
	Location of West Yorkshire within England
County	West Yorkshire
Population	101,545 (2011 census)
Electorate	69,667 (December 2019)
Major settlements	Bradford
Current constituency
Created	1918
Member of Parliament	Judith Cummins (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Elland

Bradford South is a constituency^{[n 1]} in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Judith Cummins of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile[edit]

The seat covers the southern suburbs of Bradford from Queensbury to Holmewood and has a large South Asian population.^[3]

Boundaries[edit]

Map of present boundaries

1918–1950: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Great Horton, Lister Hills, Little Horton, North Bierley East, and North Bierley West.

1950–1955: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Clayton, Great Horton, Lister Hills, North Bierley West, and Thornton.

1955–1974: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Clayton, North Bierley East, North Bierley West, and West Bowling, and the Urban District of Queensbury and Shelf.

1974–1983: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Clayton, Great Horton, Odsal, Tong, Wibsey, and Wyke, and the Urban District of Queensbury and Shelf.

1983–2010: The City of Bradford wards of Great Horton, Odsal, Queensbury, Tong, Wibsey, and Wyke.

2010–present: The City of Bradford wards of Great Horton, Queensbury, Royds, Tong, Wibsey, and Wyke.

Proposed[edit]

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be unchanged, apart from the gain of a small part of the Bowling and Barkerend ward (polling district 5F) from Bradford East in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range.^[4]

History[edit]

It was a Liberal-held seat from 1922 to 1924 and 1931–1945. Since the 1945 general election Bradford South has returned Labour Party MPs, although the Conservative Party came very close to gaining the seat in the 1980s.

Members of Parliament[edit]

	Member^[5]	Party
1918	Vernon Willey	Coalition Conservative
1922	Herbert Harvey Spencer	Liberal
1924	William Hirst	Co-operative
1931	Herbert Holdsworth	Liberal
1945	Meredith Titterington	Labour
1949 by-election	George Craddock	Labour
1970	Tom Torney	Labour
1987	Bob Cryer	Labour
1994 by-election	Gerry Sutcliffe	Labour
2015	Judith Cummins	Labour

Elections[edit]

Elections in the 2020s[edit]

Next general election: Bradford South
Party		Candidate
	Reform UK	Richard Hainsworth^[6]
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 2010s[edit]

General election 2019: Bradford South^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Judith Cummins	18,390	46.3	―8.2
	Conservative	Narinder Sekhon	16,044	40.4	+2.2
	Brexit Party	Kulvinder Manik	2,819	7.1	New
	Liberal Democrats	Alun Griffiths	1,505	3.8	+2.5
	Green	Matthew Edwards	983	2.5	+1.6
Majority			2,346	5.9	―10.4
Turnout			39,741	57.6	―3.0
	Labour hold		Swing	―5.2

General election 2017: Bradford South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Judith Cummins	22,364	54.5	+11.1
	Conservative	Tanya Graham	15,664	38.2	+11.9
	UKIP	Stephen Place	1,758	4.3	―19.8
	Liberal Democrats	Stuart Thomas	516	1.3	–1.6
	English Democrat	Therese Hirst	377	0.9	New
	Green	Darren Parkinson	370	0.9	―2.4
Majority			6,700	16.3	–0.9
Turnout			41,049	60.6	+1.5
	Labour hold		Swing	―0.4

General election 2015: Bradford South^[9]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Judith Cummins	16,328	43.4	+2.1
	Conservative	Tanya Graham	9,878	26.3	―2.8
	UKIP	Jason Smith	9,057	24.1	+20.6
	Green	Andy Robinson	1,243	3.3	New
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Tear	1,094	2.9	―15.4
Majority			6,450	17.1	+4.9
Turnout			37,600	59.1	―0.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.5

General election 2010: Bradford South^[11]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerry Sutcliffe	15,682	41.3	―7.0
	Conservative	Matthew Palmer	11,060	29.1	+4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Alun Griffiths	6,948	18.3	+3.8
	BNP	Sharon Sutton	2,651	7.0	―0.8
	UKIP	Jamie Illingworth	1,339	3.5	+2.0
	Democratic Nationalist	James Lewthwaite	315	0.8	New
Majority			4,622	12.2	―12.8
Turnout			37,995	59.8	+6.3
	Labour hold		Swing	―5.9

Elections in the 2000s[edit]

General election 2005: Bradford South^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerry Sutcliffe	17,954	49.0	−6.8
	Conservative	Geraldine Carter	8,787	24.0	−4.3
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Doyle	5,334	14.6	+4.0
	BNP	James Lewthwaite	2,862	7.8	New
	Green	Derek Curtis	695	1.9	New
	UKIP	Jason Smith	552	1.5	−0.7
	Veritas	Therese Muchewicz	421	1.2	New
Majority			9,167	25.0	-2.5
Turnout			36,605	54.2	+2.9
	Labour hold		Swing	−1.2

General election 2001: Bradford South^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerry Sutcliffe	19,603	55.8	−0.9
	Conservative	Graham Tennyson	9,941	28.3	+0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Alexander Wilson-Fletcher	3,717	10.6	−0.7
	UKIP	Peter North	783	2.2	New
	Socialist Labour	Tony Kelly	571	1.6	New
	Socialist Alliance	Ateeq Siddique	302	0.9	New
	Defend The Welfare State Against Blairism	George Riseborough	220	0.6	New
Majority			9,662	27.5	-1.2
Turnout			35,137	51.3	−14.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s[edit]

General election 1997: Bradford South^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerry Sutcliffe	25,558	56.7	+9.1
	Conservative	Ann G. Hawkesworth	12,622	28.0	−10.4
	Liberal Democrats	Alexander Wilson-Fletcher	5,093	11.3	−2.4
	Referendum	Marilyn Kershaw	1,785	4.0	New
Majority			12,936	28.7	+19.5
Turnout			45,058	65.9	-9.7
	Labour hold		Swing

1994 Bradford South by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerry Sutcliffe	17,014	55.3	+7.7
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Wright	7,350	23.9	+10.2
	Conservative	Ronnie Farley	5,475	17.8	−20.6
	Monster Raving Loony	David Sutch	727	2.4	New
	Natural Law	Keith Laycock	197	0.6	New
Majority			9,664	31.4	+22.2
Turnout			30,763	44.1	−31.5
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1992: Bradford South^[16]^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Cryer	25,185	47.6	+6.2
	Conservative	Andrew S. Popat	20,283	38.4	−2.4
	Liberal Democrats	Brian J. Boulton	7,243	13.7	−4.1
	Islamic Party	Mohammad Naseem	156	0.3	New
Majority			4,902	9.2	+8.6
Turnout			52,867	75.6	+2.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s[edit]

General election 1987: Bradford South^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Cryer	21,230	41.4	+3.9
	Conservative	Graham Hall	20,921	40.8	+3.5
	SDP	Trevor Lindley	9,109	17.8	-6.8
Majority			309	0.6	+0.4
Turnout			51,260	73.7	+2.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.2

General election 1983: Bradford South^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Torney	18,542	37.5
	Conservative	Graham Hall	18,432	37.3
	SDP	David Pearl	12,143	24.6	New
	Ecology	Robert Adset	308	0.6	New
Majority			110	0.2
Turnout			49,425	71.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s[edit]

General election 1979: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Torney	26,323	47.11
	Conservative	JK Hirst	22,005	39.38
	Liberal	R Taylor	7,127	12.75
	National Front	G Wright	422	0.76	New
Majority			4,318	7.73
Turnout			55,877	73.18
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Tom Torney	25,219	48.05
	Conservative	GC Littlewood	16,964	32.32
	Liberal	CJ Cawood	10,306	19.63
Majority			8,255	15.73
Turnout			52,489	71.64
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Torney	25,875	44.76
	Conservative	PG Dwyer	18,222	31.52
	Liberal	Margaretta Holmstedt	12,961	22.42
	Independent Powellite	R Pearson	749	1.30	New
Majority			7,653	13.24
Turnout			57,807	79.68
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Tom Torney	20,985	45.93
	Conservative	John Derek Whittaker Bottomley	19,009	41.61
	Liberal	George Dunkerley	5,694	12.46
Majority			1,976	4.32
Turnout			45,688	72.01
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.3

Elections in the 1960s[edit]

General election 1966: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	George Craddock	22,932	52.53
	Conservative	John Derek Whittaker Bottomley	15,435	35.35
	Liberal	George Dunkerley	5,291	12.12
Majority			7,497	17.18
Turnout			43,658	75.99
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.25

General election 1964: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	George Craddock	21,004	46.28
	National Liberal	John Derek Whittaker Bottomley	17,097	37.67
	Liberal	Allen Clegg	7,286	16.05
Majority			3,907	8.61
Turnout			45,387	78.57
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s[edit]

General election 1959: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	George Craddock	21,172	45.85
	National Liberal	Reginald Winston Jones	18,158	39.32
	Liberal	Hugh Womersley	6,850	14.83
Majority			3,014	6.53
Turnout			46,180	80.99
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	George Craddock	20,478	47.32
	National Liberal	Reginald Winston Jones	16,768	38.75
	Liberal	Arthur T Ellis	6,029	13.93
Majority			3,710	8.57
Turnout			43,275	80.36
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	George Craddock	21,364	47.16
	National Liberal	Geoffrey Francis Greenbank	17,863	39.43
	Liberal	Edward Rushworth	6,072	13.40
Majority			3,501	7.73
Turnout			45,299	86.21
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	George Craddock	21,344	47.50
	National Liberal	John Lightfoot Windle	15,998	35.60
	Liberal	Edward Rushworth	7,594	16.90
Majority			5,346	11.90
Turnout			44,936	86.19
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s[edit]

1949 Bradford South by-election^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Craddock	23,335	51.3	-1.2
	National Liberal	John Lightfoot Windle	19,313	42.4	+9.3
	Independent Liberal	Colin James Canning	2,882	6.3	New
Majority			4,022	8.9	-10.5
Turnout			45,530	74.4	-2.5
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.3

General election 1945: Bradford South^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Meredith Titterington	24,394	52.5	+11.0
	National Liberal	Herbert Walker Peel	15,392	33.1	New
	Liberal	Charles Ewart Hindley	6,707	14.4	-44.1
Majority			9,002	19.4	N/A
Turnout			46,493	76.9	+6.6
	Labour Co-op gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1939–40:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

Liberal National: Herbert Holdsworth
Labour: Meredith Titterington
Liberal: Charles Ewart Hindley

Elections in the 1930s[edit]

General election 1935: Bradford South^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Herbert Holdsworth	24,081	58.5	-7.9
	Labour Co-op	William Hirst	17,121	41.5	+7.9
Majority			6,960	17.0	-15.8
Turnout			41,202	70.3	-12.3
	Liberal hold		Swing

General election 1931: Bradford South^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Herbert Holdsworth	31,531	66.4	+40.6
	Labour Co-op	William Hirst	15,994	33.6	-15.3
Majority			15,537	32.8	N/A
Turnout			47,525	82.61	-0.4
	Liberal gain from Labour Co-op		Swing

Elections in the 1920s[edit]

General election 1929: Bradford South ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	William Hirst	23,251	48.9	+9.9
	Liberal	Frederick Ogden	12,279	25.8	-2.8
	Unionist	Geoffrey William Ferrand	12,050	25.3	-7.1
Majority			10,972	23.1	+16.5
Turnout			47,580	83.0	+0.8
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	+6.3

General election 1924: Bradford South^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	William Hirst	13,919	39.0	+4.1
	Unionist	George Mitcheson	11,586	32.4	+4.3
	Liberal	Herbert Harvey Spencer	10,237	28.6	-8.4
Majority			2,333	6.6	N/A
Turnout			35,742	82.2	+5.3
	Labour Co-op gain from Liberal		Swing

General election 1923: Bradford South^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Herbert Harvey Spencer	12,218	37.0	-1.0
	Labour Co-op	William Hirst	11,543	34.9	-0.4
	Unionist	George Mitcheson	9,270	28.1	+1.4
Majority			675	2.1	-0.6
Turnout			33,031	76.9	-5.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	-0.3

General election 1922: Bradford South ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Herbert Harvey Spencer	13,259	38.0	+13.4
	Labour Co-op	William Hirst	12,353	35.3	+4.4
	Unionist	Vernon Willey	9,334	26.7	-17.8
Majority			906	2.7	N/A
Turnout			34,946	82.2	+17.4
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing

Elections in the 1910s[edit]

General election 1918: Bradford South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
C	Unionist	Vernon Willey	11,949	44.5
	Co-operative Party	William Hirst	8,291	30.9
	Liberal	George Muff	6,613	24.6
Majority			3,658	13.6
Turnout			26,853	64.8
	Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Notes[edit]

^ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References[edit]

^ "Bradford South: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
^ "Constituency data: electorates – House of Commons Library". Parliament UK. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
^ UK Polling Report http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/bradfordsouth/
^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 9 Yorkshire and the Humber region.
^ "Hansard 1803-2005". Bradford South 1918-. UK Parliament. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
^ "Bradford South Constituency". Reform UK. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ "Bradford South Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
^ "Bradford South parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ "Bradford South". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ "UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Bradford South". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 102. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.

External links[edit]

nomis Constituency Profile for Bradford South — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.

53°46′N 1°46′W / 53.767°N 1.767°W / 53.767; -1.767

[3] A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)

[4] As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

[1] "Bradford South: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2015.

[2] "Constituency data: electorates – House of Commons Library". Parliament UK. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.

[5] UK Polling Report http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/bradfordsouth/

[6] "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 9 Yorkshire and the Humber region.

[7] "Hansard 1803-2005". Bradford South 1918-. UK Parliament. Retrieved 1 February 2015.

[8] "Bradford South Constituency". Reform UK. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[9] "Bradford South Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 1 November 2019.

[10] "Bradford South parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2017.

[electoralcalculus2015-11] "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

[2015_result-12] "Bradford South". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

[electoralcalculus2010-13] "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

[14] "UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Bradford South". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.

[electoralcalculus2005-15] "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus2001-16] "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1997-17] "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1992-18] "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[19] "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

[electoralcalculus1987-20] "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1983-21] "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[craig1918-22] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 102. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.

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v t e Bradford constituencies
Current	Bradford East Bradford South Bradford West Keighley and Ilkley Shipley
Historic	Bradford (1832–1885) Bradford Central (1885–1955) Bradford North (1918–2010)

v t e Constituencies in Yorkshire and the Humber (54)
Labour (30)	Barnsley Central Barnsley East Batley and Spen Bradford East Bradford South Bradford West Doncaster Central Doncaster North Halifax Hemsworth Huddersfield Kingston upon Hull East Kingston upon Hull North Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle Leeds Central Leeds East Leeds North East Leeds North West Leeds West Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford Rotherham Selby and Ainsty Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough Sheffield Central Sheffield Hallam Sheffield Heeley Sheffield South East Wakefield Wentworth and Dearne York Central
Conservative (24)	Beverley and Holderness Brigg and Goole Calder Valley Cleethorpes Colne Valley Dewsbury Don Valley East Yorkshire Elmet and Rothwell Great Grimsby Haltemprice and Howden Harrogate and Knaresborough Keighley Morley and Outwood Penistone and Stocksbridge Pudsey Richmond (Yorks) Rother Valley Scarborough and Whitby Scunthorpe Shipley Skipton and Ripon Thirsk and Malton York Outer
East Midlands East of England London North East England North West England Northern Ireland Scotland South East England South West England Wales West Midlands Yorkshire and the Humber