# 1996 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council election

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council elections were held on Thursday, 2 May 1996, with one third of the council up for election. Labour retained control of the council.

## Election result

Bradford Local Election Result 1996 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 23 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 76.7 | 49.4 | 58,339 | -5.0% |
| Conservative | 4 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 13.3 | 31.8 | 37,575 | +3.3% |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9.9 | 16.3 | 19,302 | +2.5% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1,825 | -0.4% |
| Independent Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.6 | 732 | -0.2% |
| Militant Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.3 | 362 | +0.1% |
This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:
| Party | Party | Previous council | New council |
| | Labour | 58 | 71 |
| | Conservative | 28 | 13 |
| | Liberal Democrat | 4 | 6 |
| Total | Total | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| Working majority | Working majority | 26 | 52 |

## Ward results

Baildon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | A. Micklem | 2,540 | 53.3 | +9.7 |
| | Conservative | R. Cope | 1,697 | 35.6 | +1.6 |
| | Labour | M. Yaqoob | 531 | 11.1 | −7.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 843 | 17.7 | +8.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,768 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.0 | |
Bingley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | E. Sinclair | 1,959 | 44.0 | −12.5 |
| | Conservative | C. Gill | 1,903 | 42.7 | +6.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | C. Svensgaard | 412 | 9.2 | +9.2 |
| | Green | M. Thompson | 179 | 4.0 | −3.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 56 | 1.3 | −18.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,453 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -9.4 | |
Bingley Rural :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | P. Pettit | 2,030 | 46.4 | +2.8 |
| | Labour | M. Leslie | 1,802 | 41.2 | −2.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | J. Hutton | 541 | 12.4 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 228 | 5.2 | +4.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,373 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.4 | |
Bolton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | H. Middleton | 2,073 | 54.0 | +15.7 |
| | Labour | B. Singh | 1,096 | 28.5 | −13.7 |
| | Conservative | M. Gaunt | 673 | 17.5 | −2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 977 | 25.4 | +21.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,842 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | +14.7 | |
Bowling :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Ryan | 1,819 | 57.1 | +5.6 |
| | Independent Labour | D. Coughlin | 732 | 23.0 | −3.7 |
| | Conservative | J. Ridyard | 362 | 11.4 | +3.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | R. Harrington | 273 | 8.6 | −3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,087 | 34.1 | +9.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,186 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.6 | |
Bradford Moor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | G. Khaliq | 2,046 | 50.0 | +5.7 |
| | Conservative | M. Choudhary | 1,642 | 40.1 | −2.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | J. Collins | 403 | 9.8 | −2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 404 | 9.9 | +8.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,091 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.3 | |
Clayton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | G. Whitfield | 1,992 | 51.2 | +0.5 |
| | Conservative | E. Byrom | 1,487 | 38.2 | −1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | A. Wilson-Fletche | 308 | 7.9 | +1.4 |
| | Green | M. Rawnsley | 104 | 2.7 | −0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 505 | 13.0 | +2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,891 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +1.0 | |
Craven :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | D. Harrison | 2,113 | 47.0 | +4.6 |
| | Labour | R. Kelly | 1,762 | 39.2 | −5.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | G. Morgan | 623 | 13.8 | +1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 351 | 7.8 | +5.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,498 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +5.2 | |
Eccleshill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | S. Rooney | 1,524 | 53.1 | −7.3 |
| | Conservative | H. Lycett | 903 | 31.4 | +5.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | M. Attenborough | 444 | 15.5 | +2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 621 | 21.6 | −12.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,871 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -6.3 | |
Great Horton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | F. Collard | 2,230 | 60.2 | −3.8 |
| | Conservative | M. Crabtree | 993 | 26.8 | +5.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | C. Wright | 370 | 10.0 | −1.7 |
| | Green | W. Taylor | 112 | 3.0 | +0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,237 | 33.4 | −9.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,705 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -4.6 | |
Heaton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | M. Ajeeb | 2,251 | 45.1 | −16.7 |
| | Conservative | J. King | 2,102 | 42.1 | +15.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | A. Cruden | 405 | 8.1 | +0.5 |
| | Green | J. Robinson | 231 | 4.6 | +1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 149 | 3.0 | −31.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,989 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -15.8 | |
Idle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | D. Ward | 2,173 | 52.7 | +15.0 |
| | Labour | F. Dale | 1,300 | 31.5 | −16.9 |
| | Conservative | A. White | 648 | 15.7 | +1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 873 | 21.2 | +10.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,121 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | +15.9 | |
Ilkley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | C. Powell | 2,421 | 51.5 | −4.3 |
| | Labour | R. Fox | 1,515 | 32.2 | −12.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | M. Cohen | 765 | 16.3 | +16.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 906 | 19.3 | +7.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,701 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.8 | |
Keighley North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | A. Macpherson | 2,512 | 55.6 | −7.3 |
| | Conservative | K. Jepson | 1,514 | 33.5 | +8.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | A. Carter | 490 | 10.8 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 998 | 22.1 | −15.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,516 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -7.6 | |
Keighley South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | S. Thomas | 2,411 | 75.5 | +1.0 |
| | Conservative | C. Coleman | 463 | 14.5 | +2.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | M. Hamid | 320 | 10.0 | −3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,948 | 61.0 | +0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,194 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.8 | |
Keighley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | A. Mudd | 2,511 | 61.5 | −3.9 |
| | Conservative | W. Redman | 1,099 | 26.9 | +5.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | J. Brooksbank | 470 | 11.5 | −1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,412 | 34.6 | −9.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,080 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -4.5 | |
Little Horton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | M. Mir | 1,857 | 65.8 | −5.6 |
| | Conservative | G. Johnson | 454 | 16.1 | +5.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | A. Griffiths | 359 | 12.7 | +5.4 |
| | Militant Labour | M. Dominguez | 151 | 5.3 | -3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,403 | 49.7 | −11.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,821 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -5.7 | |
Odsal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. O'Neill | 2,316 | 59.6 | −5.9 |
| | Conservative | J. Robertshaw | 1,037 | 26.7 | +6.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | K. Hall | 532 | 13.7 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,279 | 32.9 | −12.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,885 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -6.0 | |
Queensbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | M. Mason | 2,145 | 55.2 | −10.0 |
| | Conservative | L. Jagger | 1,241 | 32.0 | +8.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | J. Saul | 497 | 12.8 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 904 | 23.3 | −18.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,883 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -9.3 | |
Rombalds :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | D. Smith | 2,446 | 50.8 | +7.1 |
| | Labour | A. Atkins | 1,588 | 33.0 | +1.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | J. Main | 782 | 16.2 | −8.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 858 | 17.8 | +5.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,816 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.6 | |
Shipley East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | P. Thornton | 1,944 | 63.7 | −3.3 |
| | Conservative | D. Servant | 568 | 18.6 | +3.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | J. Hall | 431 | 14.1 | −0.1 |
| | Green | M. Love | 108 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,376 | 45.1 | −6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,051 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.4 | |
Shipley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | H. Gundry | 2,121 | 43.5 | −7.0 |
| | Conservative | J. Carroll | 1,766 | 36.2 | +2.2 |
| | Green | D. Ford | 554 | 11.4 | +3.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | J. Gregory | 433 | 8.9 | +1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 355 | 7.3 | −9.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,874 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -4.6 | |
Thornton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | D. Kettlewell | 1,561 | 47.0 | −4.7 |
| | Conservative | M. Ellis | 1,155 | 34.8 | −0.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | H. Wright | 477 | 14.4 | +3.8 |
| | Green | A. Suchi | 87 | 2.6 | −0.4 |
| | Militant Labour | L. Wilkinson | 38 | 1.1 | +1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 406 | 12.2 | −4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,318 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -2.4 | |
Toller :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | D. Brown | 2,891 | 52.2 | +8.6 |
| | Conservative | A. Rashid | 2,190 | 39.6 | −6.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | S. Devonshire | 280 | 5.1 | −2.9 |
| | Green | N. Taimuri | 131 | 2.4 | +0.2 |
| | Militant Labour | C. Thompson | 43 | 0.8 | +0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 701 | 12.7 | +9.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,535 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +7.6 | |
Tong :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Cairns | 1,555 | 73.7 | −3.7 |
| | Conservative | E. Harker | 301 | 14.3 | +0.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | C. Devonshire | 204 | 9.7 | +0.7 |
| | Green | P. Braham | 49 | 2.3 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,254 | 59.5 | −4.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,109 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -2.1 | |
Undercliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | P. Foord | 1,942 | 63.2 | −4.3 |
| | Conservative | E. Blackburn | 690 | 22.5 | +8.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | E. Hallmann | 440 | 14.3 | +1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,252 | 40.8 | −12.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,072 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -6.3 | |
University :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | S. Hussain | 3,331 | 72.3 | +3.9 |
| | Conservative | I. Grieve | 601 | 13.0 | −8.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | L. McKeever | 277 | 6.0 | +6.0 |
| | Green | N. Tart | 270 | 5.9 | −4.6 |
| | Militant Labour | S. Jackson | 130 | 2.8 | +2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,730 | 59.2 | +12.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,609 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.0 | |
Wibsey :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | V. McMath | 2,129 | 61.2 | −4.1 |
| | Conservative | R. Sheard | 909 | 26.1 | +3.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | B. Boulton | 439 | 12.6 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,220 | 35.1 | −7.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,477 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -3.8 | |
Worth Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Cope | 1,808 | 43.6 | −2.5 |
| | Conservative | G. Hodgson | 1,242 | 30.0 | −4.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | D. Samuels | 1,093 | 26.4 | +6.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 566 | 13.7 | +1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,143 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -3.2 | |
Wyke :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | A. Niland | 1,890 | 57.9 | −7.0 |
| | Conservative | V. Owen | 925 | 28.3 | +8.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | H. Boulton | 448 | 13.7 | −1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 965 | 29.6 | −15.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,263 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -7.9 | |

## By-elections between 1996 and 1998

Heaton by-election 26 September 1996 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John King | 2,041 | 50.4 | +8.3 |
| | Labour | | 1,808 | 44.6 | −0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 202 | 5.0 | −3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 233 | 5.8 | +2.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,051 | 34.8 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +4.4 | |
Shipley West by-election 9 October 1997 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Rowland Dale | 1,263 | 36.8 | −6.7 |
| | Conservative | | 1,222 | 35.6 | −0.6 |
| | Green | | 667 | 19.4 | +8.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 284 | 8.3 | −0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 41 | 1.2 | −6.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,436 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.0 | |
Baildon by-election 20 November 1997 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Cole | 1,614 | 52.3 | −1.0 |
| | Conservative | | 1,077 | 34.9 | −0.7 |
| | Labour | | 372 | 12.1 | +1.0 |
| | Independent | | 22 | 0.7 | +0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 537 | 17.4 | −0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,085 | 24.6 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | -0.1 | |