# 1979 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council election

Elections to City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council were held on were held on the same day as the general election, with one third of council up for election as well as double vacancies in Haworth, Oakworth & Oxenhope and Heaton. The University incumbent had defected from Labour to Independent Labour the year before. The election resulted in the Conservatives retaining control with voter turnout at 72.7%.

## Election result

Bradford Local Election Result 1979 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 16 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 48.5 | 46.1 | 113,102 | +7.4% |
| Conservative | 15 | 0 | 9 | -9 | 45.4 | 44.5 | 109,242 | -4.7% |
| Liberal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 9.3 | 22,706 | +0.5% |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 265 | -0.5% |
This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:
| Party | Party | Previous council | New council |
| | Conservatives | 60 | 51 |
| | Labour | 28 | 38 |
| | Liberals | 4 | 4 |
| | Independent Labour | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 93 | 93 | 93 |
| Working majority | Working majority | 27 | 9 |

## Ward results

Allerton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | A. Pollard | 4,716 | 48.4 | −10.0 |
| | Labour | R. Hallam | 3,913 | 40.1 | +8.3 |
| | Liberal | K. Buckley | 1,121 | 11.5 | +4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 803 | 8.2 | −18.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,750 | 72.3 | +36.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -9.1 | |
Baildon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | F. Atkinson | 4,516 | 46.5 | +27.0 |
| | Conservative | W. Nunn | 3,168 | 32.6 | −23.3 |
| | Labour | P. Clarke | 2,029 | 20.9 | −3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,348 | 13.9 | −17.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,713 | 81.9 | +35.2 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +25.1 | |
Bingley: Central, East, North & West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | T. Shaw | 5,074 | 52.0 | −10.2 |
| | Labour | W. Welsh | 2,870 | 29.4 | +3.4 |
| | Liberal | W. Tregonig | 1,812 | 18.6 | +6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,204 | 22.6 | −13.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,756 | 78.8 | +37.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -6.8 | |
Bolton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | R. Baxter | 3,999 | 51.2 | +13.4 |
| | Conservative | T. Hall | 3,815 | 48.8 | +1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 184 | 2.3 | −7.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,814 | 70.6 | +36.1 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +6.1 | |
Bowling :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | D. Coughlin | 3,420 | 65.3 | +5.2 |
| | Conservative | R. Swanson | 1,816 | 34.7 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,604 | 30.6 | +6.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,236 | 67.3 | +33.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.0 | |
Bradford Moor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Sheals | 5,142 | 65.5 | +15.4 |
| | Conservative | J. Rees | 2,750 | 34.8 | −1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,392 | 30.3 | +16.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,892 | 70.9 | +28.4 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +8.4 | |
Clayton, Ambler Thorn & Queensbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | J. Hurst | 6,712 | 52.9 | −8.9 |
| | Labour | G. Mitchell | 5,970 | 47.1 | +11.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 742 | 5.8 | −20.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,682 | 74.8 | +39.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -10.3 | |
Craven: Silsden, Addingham, Kildwick & Steeton with Eastburn :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | K. Hawkins | 5,013 | 62.2 | +3.1 |
| | Labour | J. Lawrence | 3,040 | 37.7 | −1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,973 | 24.5 | +4.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,053 | 80.9 | +40.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.0 | |
Denholme, Cullingworth, Bingley South & Wilsden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | D. Conquest | 5,051 | 60.2 | −13.9 |
| | Labour | K. Carey | 2,115 | 25.2 | +6.7 |
| | Liberal | S. Clemence | 1,229 | 14.6 | +7.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,936 | 35.0 | −20.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,395 | 79.2 | +36.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -10.3 | |
Eccleshill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | P. Lancaster | 4,153 | 54.3 | +11.2 |
| | Conservative | L. Riggs | 3,493 | 45.7 | +0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 660 | 8.6 | +6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,646 | 70.6 | +32.9 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +5.5 | |
Great Horton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | J. Rawnsley | 4,244 | 51.2 | +1.6 |
| | Labour | A. Corina | 4,047 | 48.8 | +1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 197 | 2.4 | +0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,291 | 75.6 | +34.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.0 | |
Haworth, Oakworth & Oxenhope :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | S. Midgley | 3,959 | 46.1 | −10.7 |
| | Conservative | L. Pickles | 3,236 | | |
| | Labour Co-op | H. Binns | 2,980 | 34.7 | +0.7 |
| | Labour | F. Hutchinson | 2,723 | | |
| | Liberal | B. Kershaw | 1,652 | 19.2 | +10.0 |
| | Liberal | H. Mortimer | 1,441 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 256 | 11.4 | −11.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,995 | 67.8 | +30.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -5.7 | |
Heaton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | D. Emmott | 3,718 | 47.6 | −9.7 |
| | Conservative | C. Hobson | 3,513 | | |
| | Labour | B. Lynch | 2,931 | 37.5 | +6.0 |
| | Labour | I. Qureshi | 2,254 | | |
| | Liberal | A. Brook | 1,165 | 14.9 | +6.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 582 | 10.1 | −15.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,814 | 66.5 | +22.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -7.8 | |
Idle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | A. Bagshaw | 3,370 | 37.5 | −56.1 |
| | Conservative | I. Marlowe | 2,888 | 32.1 | +32.1 |
| | Labour | K. Briggs | 2,732 | 30.4 | +30.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 482 | 5.4 | −81.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,990 | 75.6 | +40.2 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -44.1 | |
Ilkley: Ben Rhydding, Ilkley North, South & West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | J. Spencer | 4,677 | 60.1 | −11.1 |
| | Liberal | C. Svensgaard | 1,813 | 23.3 | −5.5 |
| | Labour | C. Haigh | 1,292 | 16.6 | +16.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,864 | 36.8 | −5.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,782 | 76.8 | +36.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -2.8 | |
Ilkley: Burley, Holme & Menston :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | W. Clavering | 3,585 | 56.1 | −7.4 |
| | Liberal | D. Turner | 1,765 | 27.6 | +13.3 |
| | Labour | L. Fox | 1,037 | 16.2 | −5.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,820 | 28.5 | −12.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,387 | 80.0 | +30.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -10.3 | |
Keighley: Keighley Central, East & South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | W. Clarkson | 4,529 | 54.3 | +1.5 |
| | Conservative | D. Robertshaw | 2,672 | 32.0 | −6.0 |
| | Liberal | J. Brooksbank | 1,144 | 13.7 | +6.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,857 | 22.2 | +7.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,345 | 75.7 | +34.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.7 | |
Keighley: Morton & Keighley North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | H. Milton | 2,745 | 44.4 | −5.6 |
| | Labour | J. Watson | 2,162 | 35.0 | +5.5 |
| | Liberal | G. Sims | 1,275 | 20.6 | +2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 583 | 9.4 | −11.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,182 | 79.0 | +38.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -5.5 | |
Keighley: North West & West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | S. Bowen | 4,406 | 47.3 | −1.8 |
| | Conservative | I. Cowen | 3,666 | 39.3 | −9.4 |
| | Liberal | W. Edge | 1,244 | 13.3 | +13.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 740 | 7.9 | +7.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,316 | 77.5 | +34.8 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +3.8 | |
Laisterdyke :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | T. Wood | 3,595 | 70.3 | +2.3 |
| | Conservative | H. Thorne | 1,521 | 29.7 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,074 | 40.5 | +4.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,116 | 65.0 | +33.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.3 | |
Little Horton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | K. Ryallis | 4,736 | 68.4 | +22.6 |
| | Conservative | K. Warrillow | 1,583 | 22.9 | −9.5 |
| | Liberal | N. Baggley | 600 | 8.7 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,153 | 45.6 | +32.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,919 | 61.4 | +32.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +16.0 | |
Manningham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | M. Ajeeb | 4,037 | 62.1 | +7.6 |
| | Conservative | S. Bali | 2,200 | 33.8 | +5.6 |
| | Independent | R. Shahid-Delvhi | 265 | 4.1 | −5.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,837 | 28.2 | +2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,502 | 62.9 | +26.6 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +1.0 | |
Odsal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | D. Bentley | 4,177 | 53.0 | +12.1 |
| | Conservative | C. Lang | 3,696 | 46.9 | −12.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 481 | 6.1 | −11.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,873 | 74.6 | +39.0 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.1 | |
Shipley: Central, North & East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | B. Chadwick | 5,273 | 64.4 | +5.0 |
| | Conservative | R. Wright | 2,920 | 35.6 | −5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,353 | 28.7 | +10.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,193 | 75.2 | +35.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +5.0 | |
Shipley: South & West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | O. Messer | 5,125 | 63.5 | −8.0 |
| | Labour | F. Bastow | 2,940 | 36.5 | +8.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,185 | 27.1 | −16.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,065 | 77.7 | +34.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -8.0 | |
Thornton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | R. Smith | 4,226 | 54.0 | −8.5 |
| | Labour | R. Holroyde | 3,606 | 46.0 | +16.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 620 | 7.9 | −24.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,832 | 75.1 | +37.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -12.3 | |
Tong :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | D. Smith | 5,445 | 69.9 | +5.1 |
| | Conservative | J. Owen | 2,343 | 30.1 | −1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,102 | 39.8 | +6.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,788 | 61.7 | +34.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.2 | |
Undercliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | R. Sowman | 3,476 | 54.7 | +1.1 |
| | Conservative | H. Ibbotson | 2,880 | 45.3 | +3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 596 | 9.4 | −2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,356 | 72.8 | +31.0 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -1.2 | |
University :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | G. Armitage | 4,209 | 72.6 | +13.7 |
| | Conservative | D. Bagley | 1,588 | 27.4 | +5.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,621 | 45.2 | +8.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,797 | 61.4 | +20.1 |
| | Labour gain from Independent Labour | Labour gain from Independent Labour | Swing | +4.1 | |
Wibsey :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | L. Kearns | 3,826 | 50.3 | +13.6 |
| | Conservative | P. Gross | 3,782 | 49.7 | −10.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 44 | 0.6 | −22.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,608 | 71.1 | +36.1 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.0 | |
Wyke :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | D. Mangham | 5,015 | 58.1 | −4.3 |
| | Conservative | K. Porter | 3,616 | 41.9 | +4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,399 | 16.2 | −8.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,631 | 71.2 | +35.7 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -4.3 | |