# Bradford East (UK Parliament constituency)

Bradford East is a constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Imran Hussain of the Labour Party.

## Constituency profile

Bradford East covers the north east and east parts of Bradford and has a significant number of non-white residents. Residents are poorer than the UK average.

## History

The constituency had existed from 1885 to 1974. Following a 2007–2009 review of parliamentary boundaries in West Yorkshire by the Boundary Commission for England, the Bradford North constituency was abolished and Bradford East created for the 2010 general election.

## Boundaries
### Municipal boundaries of Bradford

Bradford was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1847, covering the parishes of Bradford, Horton and Manningham. It became a county borough with the passing of the Local Government Act 1888. The county borough was granted city status by Letters Patent in 1897. Bradford was expanded in 1882 to include Allerton, Bolton and Undercliffe, Bowling, Heaton, Thornbury and Tyersal. In 1899 it was further expanded by adding North Bierley, Eccleshill, Idle, Thornton, Tong and Wyke. Clayton was added in 1930.
From 1974, the county borough was merged with the Borough of Keighley, the Urban Districts of Baildon, Bingley, Denholme, Cullingworth, Ilkley, Shipley and Silsden, along with part of Queensbury and Shelf Urban District and part of Skipton Rural District to create the Metropolitan Borough of Bradford.

### Parliamentary boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Bradford, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, was divided into three single-member constituencies from the 1885 general election. Bradford East was the eastern third of Bradford and was approximately rectangular in shape. It consisted of the wards of Bradford Moor, East, East Bowling, South, and West Bowling. It bordered Pudsey to the east, Elland in the south, Bradford Central to the west and Shipley in the north.
1918–1950: The Municipal Borough of Bradford wards of Bradford Moor, East Bowling, Tong, and West Bowling. It was located in the south-east corner of the city of Bradford.
1950–1955: The constituency was expanded to the south-west, to include territory formerly in the Bradford South seat. The Bradford Moor area, in the north of the old East division, was transferred to Bradford Central. The wards allocated to the East division from 1950 were East Bowling, Little Horton, North Bierley East, Tong, and West Bowling.
1955–1974: The 1955 redistribution removed the western part of the old East division and expanded the seat north. North Bierley East and West Bowling wards were transferred to Bradford South. The East seat from 1955 comprised the wards of East Bowling, Exchange, Listerhills, Little Horton, South, and Tong.
In 1974 the Bradford East seat was abolished. The Bowling area became part of Bradford North; Tong joined Bradford South; and Little Horton became part of Bradford West.
2010-2024: Bradford East was recreated as the successor seat to Bradford North, which was created for the 1918 general election. The report into the boundary review says;
    "5. The Assistant Commissioner reported that he was also called upon to consider alternative names submitted for Bradford East. He rejected a number of alternatives... as he considered they did not have any merit.... He also rejected the submissions that proposed that the name Bradford North should be retained...."
The wards in this new constituency were entirely within the Bradford city boundaries:
* Bolton and Undercliffe, Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor, Eccleshill, Idle and Thackley and Little Horton
2024-present: As above, apart from the loss of a small part of the Bowling and Barkerend ward (polling district 5F) to Bradford South.

## Members of Parliament
### MPs 1885–1974

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1885 | Sir Angus Holden, later Baron Holden | Liberal |
| 1886 | Henry Byron Reed | Conservative |
| 1892 | William Sproston Caine | Liberal |
| 1895 | Henry Byron Reed | Conservative |
| 1896 by-election | Ronald Greville | Conservative |
| 1906 | William Priestley | Liberal |
| 1918 | Charles Edgar Loseby | Coalition National Democratic |
| 1922 | Fred Jowett | Labour |
| 1924 | Thomas Fenby | Liberal |
| 1929 | Fred Jowett | Labour |
| 1931 | Joseph Hepworth | Conservative |
| 1945 | Frank McLeavy | Labour |
| 1966 | Edward Lyons | Labour |
| Feb 1974 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

### MPs since 2010

| Election | Member | Party |
| 2010 | David Ward | Liberal Democrats |
| Jul 2013 | David Ward | Independent |
| Oct 2013 | David Ward | Liberal Democrats |
| 2015 | Imran Hussain | Labour |
| 2024 | Imran Hussain | Independent |
| 2025 | Imran Hussain | Labour |

## Elections

The original constituency had its first contest at the 1885 general election and its last at the 1970 general election.

### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Imran Hussain | 14,098 | 37.9 | −25.1 |
| | Independent | Talat Sajawal | 7,909 | 21.3 | N/A |
| | Reform UK | Jacob Anstey | 4,952 | 13.3 | +7.1 |
| | Conservative | Aubrey Holt | 3,450 | 9.3 | −12.4 |
| | Green | Celia Hickson | 2,571 | 6.9 | +5.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert St John O'Carroll | 1,910 | 5.1 | −2.6 |
| | Independent | Mohammed Rahman | 817 | 2.2 | N/A |
| | Yorkshire | Lara Barras | 761 | 2.0 | N/A |
| | Independent | Amer Rehman | 683 | 1.8 | N/A |
| | SDP | Richard Riley | 65 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,189 | 16.6 | –24.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,216 | 49.5 | –10.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 75,167 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

### Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result :
| Party | Party | Vote | % |
| | Labour | 27,105 | 63.0 |
| | Conservative | 9,344 | 21.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 3,302 | 7.7 |
| | Brexit Party | 2,647 | 6.2 |
| | Green | 638 | 1.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 43,036 | 59.6 |
| Electorate | Electorate | 72,150 |
General election 2019: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Imran Hussain | 27,825 | 63.0 | −2.4 |
| | Conservative | Linden Kemkaran | 9,681 | 21.9 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jeanette Sunderland | 3,316 | 7.5 | +5.7 |
| | Brexit Party | Jonathan Barras | 2,700 | 6.1 | New |
| | Green | Andy Stanford | 662 | 1.5 | +0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,144 | 41.1 | −3.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,184 | 60.4 | −4.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 2017: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Imran Hussain | 29,831 | 65.4 | +18.8 |
| | Conservative | Mark Trafford | 9,291 | 20.4 | +9.1 |
| | Independent | David Ward | 3,576 | 7.8 | New |
| | UKIP | Jonathan Barras | 1,372 | 3.0 | −6.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Jewell | 843 | 1.8 | −27.7 |
| | Better for Bradford | Paul Parkins | 420 | 0.9 | New |
| | Green | Andy Stanford | 289 | 0.6 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20,540 | 45.0 | +27.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,622 | 64.8 | +2.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.8 | |
General election 2015: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Imran Hussain | 19,312 | 46.6 | +13.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Ward | 12,228 | 29.5 | −4.2 |
| | Conservative | Iftikhar Ahmed | 4,682 | 11.3 | −15.5 |
| | UKIP | Owais Rajput | 4,103 | 9.9 | New |
| | Green | David Stevens | 871 | 2.1 | New |
| | British Democrats | James Lewthwaite | 210 | 0.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,084 | 17.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,406 | 62.6 | +0.5 |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +9.0 | |
General election 2010: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Ward | 13,637 | 33.7 | +3.9 |
| | Labour | Terry Rooney | 13,272 | 32.8 | −11.3 |
| | Conservative | Mohammed Riaz | 10,860 | 26.8 | +9.4 |
| | BNP | Neville Poynton | 1,854 | 4.6 | −1.0 |
| | Independent | Raja Hussain | 375 | 0.9 | New |
| | Independent | Peter Shields | 237 | 0.6 | New |
| | National Front | Gerry Robinson | 222 | 0.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 365 | 0.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,457 | 62.1 | +8.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | +7.6 | |

### Election in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edward Lyons | 17,346 | 66.17 | |
| | Conservative | Christopher J Barr | 8,208 | 31.31 | |
| | Liberal | Ghulam Musa | 660 | 2.52 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,138 | 34.86 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,214 | 64.75 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Edward Lyons | 18,435 | 69.50 |
| | National Liberal | Henry Sissling | 8,091 | 30.50 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,344 | 39.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,526 | 65.12 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1964: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Frank McLeavy | 17,945 | 61.84 |
| | National Liberal | D Trevor Lewis | 11,075 | 38.16 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,870 | 23.68 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,020 | 66.84 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Frank McLeavy | 20,056 | 57.99 |
| | National Liberal | Desmond A Dagleish | 14,529 | 42.01 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,527 | 15.98 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,585 | 72.79 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1955: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Frank McLeavy | 23,588 | 61.59 |
| | National Liberal | George C Barber | 14,713 | 38.41 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,875 | 23.18 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,301 | 74.44 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1951: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Frank McLeavy | 28,796 | 62.88 |
| | National Liberal | Frederick William Howard Cook | 16,999 | 37.12 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,797 | 25.76 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,795 | 84.28 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1950: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frank McLeavy | 27,694 | 59.8 | +14.8 |
| | National Liberal | Geoffrey Francis Greenbank | 12,527 | 27.0 | +0.9 |
| | Liberal | Joseph Stanley Snowden | 5,565 | 12.0 | −2.3 |
| | Communist | H Green | 543 | 1.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,167 | 32.8 | +13.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,329 | 84.6 | +5.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Bradford East Electorate 44,305 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frank McLeavy | 15,743 | 45.0 | +23.3 |
| | Conservative | William Taylor | 9,109 | 26.1 | −6.9 |
| | Ind. Labour Party | Will Ballantine | 5,195 | 14.6 | −12.0 |
| | Liberal | Joseph Stanley Snowden | 5,010 | 14.3 | −4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,634 | 19.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,967 | 78.9 | +5.9 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Joseph Hepworth | 11,131 | 32.98 | |
| | Ind. Labour Party | Fred Jowett | 8,983 | 26.61 | New |
| | Labour | Wilfred Heywood | 7,329 | 21.71 | New |
| | Liberal | Thomas Fenby | 6,312 | 18.70 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,148 | 6.37 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,755 | 73.04 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1931: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Joseph Hepworth | 22,532 | 58.81 | |
| | Ind. Labour Party | Fred Jowett | 15,779 | 41.19 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,753 | 17.62 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,311 | 82.40 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Election in the 1920s

General election 1929: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Jowett | 21,398 | 54.7 | +4.8 |
| | Liberal | Thomas Fenby | 17,701 | 45.3 | −4.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,697 | 9.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,099 | 83.4 | +2.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,856 | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | +4.8 | |
General election 1924: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Fenby | 15,240 | 50.1 | +21.7 |
| | Labour | Fred Jowett | 15,174 | 49.9 | +1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 66 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,414 | 80.8 | +5.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 37,658 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Labour | Liberal gain from Labour | Swing | +10.0 | |
General election 6 December 1923: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Jowett | 13,579 | 48.1 | +2.7 |
| | Liberal | Eckersley Mitchell | 8,017 | 28.4 | +7.0 |
| | Unionist | James Clare | 6,622 | 23.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,562 | 19.7 | +7.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,218 | 75.6 | −5.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 37,323 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −2.2 | |
General election 6 December 1922: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Jowett | 13,573 | 45.4 | +7.5 |
| | National Liberal | Charles Edgar Loseby | 9,926 | 33.2 | −7.9 |
| | Liberal | Harry Medforth Dawson | 6,411 | 21.4 | +0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,647 | 12.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,910 | 81.4 | +19.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 36,758 | | |
| | Labour gain from National Democratic | Labour gain from National Democratic | Swing | +7.7 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | National Democratic | Charles Edgar Loseby | 9,390 | 41.1 | New |
| | Labour | Fred Jowett | 8,637 | 37.9 | New |
| | Liberal | William Priestley | 4,782 | 21.0 | −41.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 753 | 3.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,809 | 62.4 | −16.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 36,580 | | |
| | National Democratic gain from Liberal | National Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.
* British Socialist Party: John Stokes
General election December 1910: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Priestley | 7,778 | 62.2 | +8.9 |
| | Conservative | R.M.H.J. Mortimer | 4,734 | 37.8 | +3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,044 | 24.4 | +5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,512 | 78.8 | −2.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,884 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +2.9 | |
General election January 1910: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Priestley | 7,709 | 53.3 | +7.7 |
| | Conservative | J.H. Balfour-Browne | 5,014 | 34.7 | +3.1 |
| | Social Democratic Federation | Edward Hartley | 1,740 | 12.0 | −10.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,695 | 18.6 | +4.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,463 | 91.1 | +1.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,884 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +2.3 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1906: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Priestley | 6,185 | 45.6 | −1.3 |
| | Conservative | Vincent Caillard | 4,277 | 31.6 | −20.6 |
| | Social Democratic Federation | Edward Hartley | 3,090 | 22.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,908 | 14.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,552 | 89.5 | +6.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,136 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.7 | |
General election 1900: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ronald Greville | 6,121 | 52.2 | −1.0 |
| | Liberal | William Priestley | 5,514 | 46.9 | +0.1 |
| | Independent | J. Sheldon | 111 | 0.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 607 | 5.3 | −1.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,746 | 82.8 | −1.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 14,189 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.6 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

By-election, 1896: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ronald Greville | 4,921 | 43.2 | −10.0 |
| | Liberal | Alfred Billson | 4,526 | 39.7 | −7.1 |
| | Ind. Labour Party | Keir Hardie | 1,953 | 17.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 395 | 3.5 | −2.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,400 | 86.6 | +2.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,159 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.5 | |
General election 1895: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Henry Byron Reed | 5,843 | 53.2 | +4.1 |
| | Liberal | William Sproston Caine | 5,139 | 46.8 | −4.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 704 | 6.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,982 | 84.5 | −2.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,997 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +4.1 | |
General election 1892: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Sproston Caine | 5,575 | 50.9 | +2.6 |
| | Conservative | Henry Byron Reed | 5,373 | 49.1 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 202 | 1.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,948 | 87.2 | +6.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,556 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.6 | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Henry Byron Reed | 4,519 | 51.7 | +3.6 |
| | Liberal | Angus Holden | 4,223 | 48.3 | −3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 296 | 3.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,742 | 80.3 | −3.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,887 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +3.6 | |
General election 1885: Bradford East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Angus Holden | 4,713 | 51.9 | |
| | Conservative | John Taylor | 4,367 | 48.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 346 | 3.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,080 | 83.4 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,887 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |