| City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council | |
| Coa Pic: | File:Coat of Arms of Bradford City Council.svg |
| Coa Caption: | Coat of arms |
| Coa Res: | 150px |
| Logo Pic: | City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council.svg |
| Logo Res: | 200px |
| House Type: | Metropolitan district council |
| Body: | City of Bradford |
| Foundation: | 1 April 1974 |
| Leader1 Type: | Lord Mayor |
| Leader1: | Bev Mullaney |
| Party1: | Labour |
| Election1: | 21 May 2024[1] |
| Leader2 Type: | Leader |
| Leader2: | Susan Hinchcliffe |
| Party2: | Labour |
| Election2: | 17 May 2016 |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Executive |
| Leader3: | Lorraine O'Donnell |
| Election3: | 2023[2] |
| Seats: | 90 councillors |
| Structure1: | Bradford Council 2024.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 200px |
| Political Groups1: |
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| Joint Committees: | West Yorkshire Combined Authority |
| Last Election1: | 2 May 2024 |
| Next Election1: | 7 May 2026 |
| Session Room: | Bradford City Hall by John Illingworth.jpg |
| Meeting Place: | City Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford, BD11HY |
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 member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority since 2014.
The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014. It meets at Bradford City Hall and has its main offices at Britannia House.
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 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:[6]
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,[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.
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 control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–1980 | ||
| 1980–1982 | ||
| 1982–1986 | ||
| 1986–1988 | ||
| 1988–1990 | ||
| 1990–2000 | ||
| 2000–2014 | ||
| 2014–present | ||
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]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Womersley | 1979 | 1980 | ||
| Derek Smith | 1980 | 1982 | ||
| Tom Hall | 1982 | 1984 | ||
| Ronnie Farley | 1984 | 1986 | ||
| Phil Beeley | 1986 | 1988 | ||
| 1988 | 1990 | |||
| Tommy Flanagan | 1990 | 1992 | ||
| Gerry Sutcliffe | 1992 | 1994 | ||
| Tony Cairns[16] | 1994 | 1997 | ||
| John Ryan | 1997 | 1998 | ||
| Ian Greenwood | 1998 | 2000 | ||
| Margaret Eaton | 2000 | 2006 | ||
| 2006 | 25 May 2010 | |||
| Ian Greenwood | 25 May 2010 | 6 May 2012 | ||
| David Green | 22 May 2012 | 17 May 2016 | ||
| Susan Hinchcliffe | 17 May 2016 | |||
Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | |||
| 13 | |||
| 10 | |||
| 13 | |||
| 5 | |||
| Total | 90 | ||
Of the independent councillors, ten sit together as the "Bradford Independent" group, one sits in a group with the Conservatives, and the other two do not belong to a group.[17] The next election is due in 2026.
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.[18]
The district is currently covered by five constituencies with six wards in each constituency: Bradford East, Bradford South, Bradford West, Keighley and Shipley.[19]
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.[20]