# Bradford West (UK Parliament constituency)

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

## Constituency profile

Bradford West covers the Bradford city centre, Manningham, Allerton and Clayton. It has a significant Pakistani population and a majority of Muslim voters.

## History

The constituency was originally created in 1885, but was abolished in 1918. For the 1955 general election the constituency was recreated, following a boundary review.
Since its recreation in 1955, Labour and Conservative Parties held the seat marginally in various years up to 1974, since which time the Labour Party always won the seat, with the exception of the 2012 Bradford West by-election. In 1981, however, Edward Lyons, the sitting Bradford West MP, joined the newly established Social Democratic Party, consequently losing the seat at the 1983 general election.
This seat has a history of bucking the national trend. In 1997, the seat was one of only two Labour seats in the country, the other being Bethnal Green and Bow in London, to have seen a swing towards the Conservatives away from Labour. This was attributed to the local party association selecting a Sikh, Marsha Singh to stand when the majority of the seat's population is Muslim. In 2010, however, Singh retained his seat with a swing in his favour, against the national result.
George Galloway of the Respect Party won the seat in the 2012 Bradford West by-election with 55.9% of the votes cast; his 30.9% majority was at the time the largest majority in the history of the modern constituency, but he lost the seat in 2015 to the new Labour candidate Naz Shah by a substantial (28.3%) margin. Despite Galloway's threats to contest the result, he neither launched a legal challenge nor stood again in 2017, in which Shah surpassed his record by winning a majority of 48.1%, the largest margin for a Bradford West MP in any incarnation of the seat. Despite Galloway not standing, his former Respect colleague Salma Yaqoob did stand as an Independent, garnering 6,345 votes (13.9%), not far behind the second-placed Conservative candidate.
At the 2019 general election Shah increased her vote share by 11.5%. This was easily the highest increase in the Labour Party's vote share in any constituency in the United Kingdom, in an election where Labour's vote share decreased in all but 13 constituencies. This means that Bradford West has bucked the national trend thrice, as it also did in 1997 and 2010. Bradford West, during the 2019–24 Parliament, was the safest seat in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber for Labour. In 2024, when the Labour Party won a landslide nationally, the Labour share of the vote dropped dramatically to just 31% of the vote, reducing the Labour majority to 707 votes.

## Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Bradford wards of Allerton, Bolton, Great Horton, Heaton, and Manningham.
1955–1974: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Allerton, Great Horton, Heaton, Manningham, and Thornton.
1974–1983: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Allerton, Heaton, Little Horton, Manningham, Thornton, and University.
1983–2010: The City of Bradford wards of Clayton, Heaton, Little Horton, Thornton, Toller, and University.
2010–present: The City of Bradford wards of City, Clayton and Fairweather Green, Heaton, Manningham, Thornton and Allerton, and Toller.
The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies left the boundaries unchanged.

## Members of Parliament
### MPs 1885–1918

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1885 | Alfred Illingworth | Liberal |
| 1895 | Ernest Flower | Conservative |
| 1906 | Fred Jowett | Labour |
| 1918 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

### MPs since 1955

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1955 | Arthur Tiley | Conservative |
| 1966 | Norman Haseldine | Labour Co-op |
| 1970 | John Wilkinson | Conservative |
| Feb 1974 | Edward Lyons | Labour |
| 1981 | Edward Lyons | SDP |
| 1983 | Max Madden | Labour |
| 1997 | Marsha Singh | Labour |
| 2012 by-election | George Galloway | Respect |
| 2015 | Naz Shah | Labour |
| Apr 2016 | Naz Shah | Independent |
| July 2016 | Naz Shah | Labour |

## Election results
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Naz Shah | 11,724 | 31.6 | −44.6 |
| | Independent | Muhammed Islam | 11,017 | 29.7 | N/A |
| | Green | Khalid Mahmood | 3,690 | 10.0 | +8.2 |
| | Independent | Akeel Hussain | 3,547 | 9.6 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Nigel Moxon | 3,055 | 8.2 | −7.0 |
| | Reform UK | Jamie Hinton-Wardle | 2,958 | 8.0 | +4.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Imad Uddin Ahmed | 756 | 2.0 | −1.0 |
| | Independent | Umar Ghafoor | 334 | 0.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 707 | 1.9 | –59.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,081 | 47.6 | −14.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 77,897 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Naz Shah | 33,736 | 76.2 | +11.5 |
| | Conservative | Mohammed Afzal | 6,717 | 15.2 | −1.4 |
| | Brexit Party | Derrick Hodgson | 1,556 | 3.5 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Christie | 1,349 | 3.0 | +1.5 |
| | Green | Darren Parkinson | 813 | 1.8 | +0.8 |
| | Independent | Azfar Bukhari | 90 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 27,019 | 61.0 | +12.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,261 | 62.6 | −4.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.5 | |
General election 2017: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Naz Shah | 29,444 | 64.7 | +15.1 |
| | Conservative | George Grant | 7,542 | 16.6 | +1.3 |
| | Independent | Salma Yaqoob | 6,345 | 13.9 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Derrick Hodgson | 885 | 1.9 | −5.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alun Griffiths | 712 | 1.6 | −1.3 |
| | Green | Celia Hickson | 481 | 1.1 | −1.6 |
| | Independent | Hussain Khadim | 65 | 0.1 | N/A |
| | Independent | Muhammad Hijazi | 54 | 0.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,902 | 48.1 | +19.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,528 | 67.4 | +3.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 2015: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Naz Shah | 19,977 | 49.6 | +4.3 |
| | Respect | George Galloway | 8,557 | 21.2 | +18.1 |
| | Conservative | George Grant | 6,160 | 15.3 | −15.8 |
| | UKIP | Harry Boota | 3,140 | 7.8 | +5.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alun Griffiths | 1,173 | 2.9 | −8.8 |
| | Green | Celia Hickson | 1,085 | 2.7 | +0.4 |
| | Independent | James Kirkcaldy | 100 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | English Democrat | Therese Muchewicz | 98 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,420 | 28.4 | +14.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,290 | 63.6 | +13.6 |
| | Labour gain from Respect | Labour gain from Respect | Swing | N/A | |
2012 Bradford West by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Respect | George Galloway | 18,341 | 55.9 | +52.8 |
| | Labour | Imran Hussain | 8,201 | 25.0 | −20.3 |
| | Conservative | Jackie Whiteley | 2,746 | 8.4 | −22.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jeanette Sunderland | 1,505 | 4.6 | −7.1 |
| | UKIP | Sonja McNally | 1,085 | 3.3 | +1.3 |
| | Green | Dawud Islam | 481 | 1.5 | −0.8 |
| | Democratic Nationalists | Neil Craig | 344 | 1.0 | −0.1 |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 111 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,140 | 30.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,814 | 50.0 | −14.9 |
| | Respect gain from Labour | Respect gain from Labour | Swing | +36.6 | |
General election 2010: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Marsha Singh | 18,401 | 45.3 | +5.6 |
| | Conservative | Zahid Iqbal | 12,638 | 31.1 | −0.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Hall-Matthews | 4,732 | 11.7 | −7.4 |
| | BNP | Jenny Sampson | 1,370 | 3.4 | −3.5 |
| | Respect | Arshad Ali | 1,245 | 3.1 | N/A |
| | Green | David Ford | 940 | 2.3 | −0.7 |
| | UKIP | Jason Smith | 812 | 2.0 | N/A |
| | Democratic Nationalists | Neil Craig | 438 | 1.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,763 | 14.2 | +5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,576 | 64.9 | +10.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.9 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Marsha Singh | 14,570 | 40.1 | −7.9 |
| | Conservative | Haroon Rashid | 11,544 | 31.7 | −5.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mukhtar Ali | 6,620 | 18.2 | +11.8 |
| | BNP | Paul Cromie | 2,525 | 6.9 | N/A |
| | Green | Parvez Darr | 1,110 | 3.1 | −3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,026 | 8.4 | −2.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,369 | 54.0 | +0.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.2 | |
General election 2001: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Marsha Singh | 18,401 | 48.0 | +6.4 |
| | Conservative | Mohammed Riaz | 14,236 | 37.1 | +4.1 |
| | Green | John Robinson | 2,672 | 7.0 | +5.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Abdul Khan | 2,437 | 6.4 | −8.4 |
| | UKIP | Imran Hussain | 427 | 1.1 | N/A |
| | Asian League | Farhan Khokhar | 197 | 0.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,165 | 10.9 | +2.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,370 | 53.6 | −9.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.2 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Marsha Singh | 18,932 | 41.6 | −11.6 |
| | Conservative | Mohammed Riaz | 15,055 | 33.0 | −0.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Wright | 6,737 | 14.8 | +4.0 |
| | Socialist Labour Party (UK) | Abdul R. Khan | 1,551 | 3.4 | N/A |
| | Referendum Party | Christopher Royston | 1,348 | 3.0 | N/A |
| | Green | John Robinson | 861 | 1.9 | N/A |
| | BNP | Gary Osborn | 839 | 1.8 | N/A |
| | Socialist Party (England and Wales) | Sajjad Shah | 245 | 0.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,877 | 8.6 | −10.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,568 | 63.3 | −6.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -5.4 | |
General election 1992: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Max Madden | 26,046 | 53.2 | +1.3 |
| | Conservative | Andrew J. Ashworth | 16,544 | 33.8 | −2.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alun O. Griffiths | 5,150 | 10.5 | −0.9 |
| | Independent | Peter Braham | 735 | 1.5 | N/A |
| | Islamic Party of Britain | David Pidcock | 471 | 1.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,502 | 19.4 | +4.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,946 | 69.9 | −0.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.1 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Max Madden | 25,775 | 51.9 | +12.2 |
| | Conservative | Iain Duncan Smith | 18,224 | 36.7 | +3.8 |
| | SDP | Manzoor Moghal | 5,657 | 11.4 | −15.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,551 | 15.2 | +8.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,656 | 70.2 | +1.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.2 | |
General election 1983: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Max Madden | 19,499 | 39.7 | −14.1 |
| | Conservative | Stephen Day | 16,162 | 32.9 | −3.7 |
| | SDP | Edward Lyons | 13,301 | 27.1 | +19.0 |
| | Workers' Revolutionary Party (UK) | B. Slaughter | 139 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,337 | 6.8 | −10.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,101 | 68.9 | −0.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -5.2 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Edward Lyons | 24,309 | 53.82 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Stow | 16,554 | 36.65 |
| | Liberal | Nicholas Flood | 3,668 | 8.12 |
| | National Front | G. Brown | 633 | 1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,755 | 17.17 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,164 | 69.05 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election October 1974: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Edward Lyons | 21,133 | 48.53 |
| | Conservative | John Wilkinson | 16,192 | 37.18 |
| | Liberal | S. Harris | 5,884 | 13.51 |
| | Campaign for a More Prosperous Britain | Harold Smith | 339 | 0.78 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,941 | 11.35 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,548 | 69.47 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election February 1974: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Edward Lyons | 20,787 | 43.36 |
| | Conservative | John Wilkinson | 18,568 | 38.74 |
| | Liberal Party (UK) | Roderick Francis Hutton Taylor | 7,216 | 15.05 |
| | Anti-Immigration | Jim Merrick | 1,164 | 2.43 |
| | Ind Democratic Alliance | Ralph Oakden Herbert | 200 | 0.42 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,219 | 4.62 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,935 | 77.12 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | | |
General election 1970: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | John Wilkinson | 20,475 | 51.95 |
| | Labour | Norman Haseldine | 18,936 | 48.05 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,539 | 3.90 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,411 | 73.81 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour Co-op | Norman Haseldine | 19,704 | 52.03 |
| | Conservative | Arthur Tiley | 18,170 | 47.97 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,534 | 4.06 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,874 | 76.61 |
| | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | | |
General election 1964: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Arthur Tiley | 21,121 | 54.02 |
| | Labour Co-op | Norman Haseldine | 17,974 | 45.98 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,147 | 8.04 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,098 | 76.79 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Arthur Tiley | 23,012 | 56.24 |
| | Labour | Sydney Hyam | 17,906 | 43.76 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,106 | 12.48 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,918 | 81.76 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1955: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Arthur Tiley | 22,306 | 53.81 |
| | Labour Co-op | Muriel Ferguson | 19,147 | 46.19 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,453 | 81.72 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

## Elections 1885 - 1910
### Elections in the 1910s

General election December 1910: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Jowett | 7,729 | 64.0 | −2.6 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Flower | 4,339 | 36.0 | +2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,390 | 28.0 | −5.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,068 | 81.4 | −8.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.6 | |
General election January 1910: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Jowett | 8,880 | 66.6 | +27.5 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Flower | 4,461 | 33.4 | +0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,419 | 33.2 | +26.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,341 | 90.0 | −0.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +13.4 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1906: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Jowett | 4,957 | 39.1 | −10.7 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Flower | 4,147 | 32.7 | −17.5 |
| | Liberal | William Claridge | 3,580 | 28.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 810 | 6.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,684 | 90.8 | +10.3 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +14.1 | |
General election 1900: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Flower | 4,990 | 50.2 | +9.5 |
| | Labour | Fred Jowett | 4,949 | 49.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 41 | 0.4 | −4.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,939 | 80.5 | −5.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +14.1 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Flower | 3,936 | 40.7 | +7.2 |
| | Liberal | John Cousin Horsfall | 3,471 | 35.9 | −0.4 |
| | Ind. Labour Party | Ben Tillett | 2,264 | 23.4 | −6.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 465 | 4.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,671 | 86.3 | +2.8 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | 3.8 | |
General election 1892: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Alfred Illingworth | 3,306 | 36.3 | −23.9 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Flower | 3,053 | 33.5 | |
| | Bradford Labour Union | Ben Tillett | 2,749 | 30.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 253 | 2.8 | −13.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,108 | 83.5 | +13.5 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Alfred Illingworth | 3,975 | 60.2 | +2.3 |
| | Liberal Unionist | Archibald William Stirling | 2,623 | 39.8 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,352 | 20.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,598 | 70.0 | −15.9 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election 1885: Bradford West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Alfred Illingworth | 4,688 | 57.9 | |
| | Conservative | Henry Byron Reed | 3,408 | 42.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,280 | 15.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,096 | 85.9 | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |