# Bradford (UK Parliament constituency)

Bradford was a parliamentary constituency in Bradford, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until it was abolished for the 1885 general election.
It was then split into three new constituencies: Bradford Central, Bradford East, and Bradford West.

## Boundaries

The constituency was based upon the town of Bradford, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was enfranchised as a two-member parliamentary borough from 1832. Before 1832 the area was only represented as part of the county constituency of Yorkshire. After 1832 the non-resident Forty Shilling Freeholders of the area continued to qualify for a county vote (initially in the West Riding of Yorkshire seat, and from 1865 in a division of the West Riding).
Bradford, as a new parliamentary borough, had no voters enfranchised under the ancient rights preserved by the Reform Act 1832. All voters qualified under the new uniform, borough householder franchise.
The area was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1847, covering the parishes of Bradford, Horton and Manningham. Bradford was expanded in 1882 to include Allerton, Bolton, Bowling, Heaton, Thornbury and Tyersall. However the parliamentary boundaries were not affected until the redistribution of 1885.
After the expanded borough was divided into three single member seats in 1885, Bradford 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.

## Members of Parliament

Two MPs were elected at each general election. The table below shows the election years in which one or both of the MPs changed.
| Election | First member | First party | Second member | Second party |
| 1832 | Ellis Cunliffe Lister | Whig | John Hardy | Whig |
| 1835 | Ellis Cunliffe Lister | Whig | John Hardy | Conservative |
| 1837 | Ellis Cunliffe Lister | Whig | William Busfield | Whig |
| 1841 | John Hardy | Conservative | William Cunliffe Lister | Whig |
| 1841 by-election | John Hardy | Conservative | William Busfield | Whig |
| 1847 | Thomas Perronet Thompson | Radical | William Busfield | Whig |
| 1851 by-election | Thomas Perronet Thompson | Radical | Robert Milligan | Whig |
| 1852 | Henry Wickham Wickham | Conservative | Robert Milligan | Whig |
| 1857 | Henry Wickham Wickham | Peelite | Thomas Perronet Thompson | Radical |
| 1859 | Henry Wickham Wickham | Liberal | Titus Salt | Liberal |
| 1861 by-election | Henry Wickham Wickham | Liberal | William Edward Forster | Liberal |
| 1867 by-election | Matthew William Thompson | Liberal | William Edward Forster | Liberal |
| 1868 | Henry Ripley | Liberal | William Edward Forster | Liberal |
| 1869 by-election | Edward Miall | Liberal | William Edward Forster | Liberal |
| 1874 | Henry Ripley | Conservative | William Edward Forster | Liberal |
| 1880 | Alfred Illingworth | Liberal | William Edward Forster | Liberal |
| 1885 | constituency divided: see Bradford Central, Bradford East, and Bradford West | constituency divided: see Bradford Central, Bradford East, and Bradford West | constituency divided: see Bradford Central, Bradford East, and Bradford West | constituency divided: see Bradford Central, Bradford East, and Bradford West |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1830s

1837 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Ellis Cunliffe Lister | 635 | 30.5 | −6.5 |
| | Whig | William Busfield | 621 | 29.8 | +5.2 |
| | Conservative | John Hardy | 443 | 21.3 | +2.1 |
| | Conservative | William Busfeild | 383 | 18.4 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 178 | 8.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,060 | 78.7 | −4.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,347 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | −3.6 | |
| | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.3 | |
1835 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Hardy | 611 | 38.4 | +12.0 |
| | Whig | Ellis Cunliffe Lister | 589 | 37.0 | −5.7 |
| | Whig | George Hadfield | 392 | 24.6 | −6.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 219 | 13.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,013 | 82.7 | −2.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,225 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +12.0 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | −5.9 | |
1832 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Ellis Cunliffe Lister | 650 | 42.7 | N/A |
| | Whig | John Hardy | 471 | 30.9 | N/A |
| | Tory | George Banks (politician) | 402 | 26.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 69 | 4.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 967 | 84.9 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,139 | | |
| | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) |
| | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) |
Back to Elections

### Elections in the 1840s

1847 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | William Busfeild | 937 | 26.5 | −37.3 |
| | Radical | Thomas Perronet Thompson | 926 | 26.2 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Henry Wickham Wickham | 860 | 24.3 | +6.1 |
| | Conservative | Gathorne Hardy | 812 | 23.0 | +4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,768 (est) | 84.9 (est) | +3.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,083 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11 | 0.3 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | −24.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 116 | 3.2 | N/A |
| | Radical gain from Conservative | Radical gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |
By-election, 16 September 1841: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | William Busfeild | 526 | 50.2 | −13.6 |
| | Conservative | William Wilberforce | 522 | 49.8 | +13.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,048 | 75.0 | −6.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,398 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | −13.6 | |
* Caused by Lister's death
1841 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Hardy | 612 | 36.3 | −3.4 |
| | Whig | William Cunliffe Lister | 540 | 32.0 | +1.5 |
| | Whig | William Busfeild | 536 | 31.8 | +2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 76 | 4.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,144 | 81.8 | +3.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,398 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | −3.5 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | +1.6 | |
Back to Elections

### Elections in the 1850s

1859 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Henry Wickham Wickham | 2,076 | 41.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Titus Salt | 1,727 | 34.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Alfred Harris (banker) | 1,229 | 24.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 498 | 9.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,131 (est) | 87.0 (est) | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,599 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
1857 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Peelite | Henry Wickham Wickham | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Radical | Thomas Perronet Thompson | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,279 | | |
| | Peelite hold | Peelite hold | Peelite hold | Peelite hold | Peelite hold |
| | Radical gain from Whig | Radical gain from Whig | Radical gain from Whig | Radical gain from Whig | Radical gain from Whig |
1852 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Robert Milligan | 1,266 | 35.4 | +8.9 |
| | Conservative | Henry Wickham Wickham | 1,159 | 32.4 | −14.9 |
| | Radical | Thomas Perronet Thompson | 1,153 | 32.2 | +6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,789 (est) | 66.7 (est) | −18.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,683 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 107 | 3.0 | +2.7 |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | +8.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Conservative gain from Radical | Conservative gain from Radical | Swing | −10.5 | |
By-election, 21 October 1851: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Robert Milligan | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
* Caused by the death of Busfield.
Back to Elections

### Elections in the 1860s

By-election, 12 Mar 1869: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Edward Miall | 9,243 | 54.2 | +22.6 |
| | Liberal | Matthew William Thompson | 7,806 | 45.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,437 | 8.4 | +6.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,049 | 79.2 | +14.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 21,518 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
* Caused by Ripley's election at the 1868 general election being declared void.
By-election, 21 Dec 1868: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Edward Forster | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
* Caused by Forster's appointment as Vice-President of the Committee of the Privy Council for Education.
1868 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Edward Forster | 9,646 | 34.7 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Henry Ripley | 9,347 | 33.7 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Edward Miall | 8,768 | 31.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 579 | 2.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,881 (est) | 64.5 (est) | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 21,518 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |
By-election, 16 Oct 1867: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Matthew William Thompson | 2,210 | 55.0 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Edward Miall | 1,807 | 45.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 403 | 10.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,017 | 77.4 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,189 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |
* Caused by Wickham's death.
1865 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Edward Forster | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | Henry Wickham Wickham | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,189 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal |
By-election, 11 Feb 1861: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Edward Forster | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
* Caused by Salt's resignation.
Back to Elections

### Elections in the 1870s

1874 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Edward Forster | 11,945 | 30.9 | −3.8 |
| | Conservative | Henry Ripley | 10,223 | 26.4 | −7.3 |
| | Liberal | John Venimore Godwin | 8,398 | 21.7 | −9.9 |
| | Lib-Lab | James Hardaker | 8,115 | 21.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,341 (est) | 79.5 (est) | +15.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 24,331 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,722 | 4.5 | +2.4 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −0.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,825 | 4.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +3.1 | |
Back to Elections

### Elections in the 1880s

By-election, 8 May 1880: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Edward Forster | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
* Caused by Forster's appointment as Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
1880 general election: Bradford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Edward Forster | 14,245 | 39.4 | +8.5 |
| | Liberal | Alfred Illingworth | 12,922 | 35.7 | +14.0 |
| | Conservative | Henry Ripley | 9,018 | 24.9 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,904 | 10.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,263 (est) | 86.0 (est) | +6.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,049 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +4.6 | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +7.4 | |
Back to Elections