# Bradford North (UK Parliament constituency)

Bradford North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until it was abolished for the 2010 general election, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

## Boundaries

1918–1950: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Allerton, Bolton, Eccleshill, Heaton, Idle, and Thornton.
1950–1955: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Allerton, Bolton, Eccleshill, Heaton, and Idle.
1955–1974: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Bolton, Bradford Moor, Eccleshill, Idle, and North East.
1974–1983: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Bolton, Bowling, Bradford Moor, Eccleshill, Idle, Laisterdyke, and Undercliffe.
1983–2010: The City of Bradford wards of Bolton, Bowling, Bradford Moor, Eccleshill, Idle, and Undercliffe.
The constituency covered the northern part of Bradford.
Following the review of parliamentary representation in West Yorkshire by the Boundary Commission for England, Bradford was significantly altered, and the resulting constituency was renamed as Bradford East, with effect from the 2010 general election.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1918 | Archibald Boyd-Carpenter | Unionist |
| 1923 | Walter Rea | Liberal |
| 1924 | Eugene Ramsden | Unionist |
| 1929 | Norman Angell | Labour |
| 1931 | Eugene Ramsden | Conservative |
| 1945 | Muriel Nichol | Labour |
| 1950 | William Taylor | Conservative |
| 1964 | Ben Ford | Labour |
| 1983 | Geoffrey Lawler | Conservative |
| 1987 | Pat Wall | Labour |
| 1990 by-election | Terry Rooney | Labour |
| 2010 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections

This constituency was replaced by Bradford East for the 2010 general election.

### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Archibald Boyd-Carpenter | 11,042 | 49.7 | |
| | Labour | John Palin | 6,499 | 29.2 | |
| | Liberal | Everett Binns | 4,688 | 21.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,543 | 20.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,229 | 67.3 | |
| | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Archibald Boyd-Carpenter | 10,260 | 36.5 | −13.2 |
| | Liberal | Walter Rea | 9,008 | 32.0 | +10.9 |
| | Labour | John Palin | 8,869 | 31.5 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,252 | 4.5 | −16.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,137 | 84.0 | +12.7 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
General election 1923: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Walter Rea | 9,365 | 34.0 | +2.0 |
| | Unionist | Archibald Boyd-Carpenter | 9,192 | 33.3 | −3.2 |
| | Labour | Thomas Blythe | 9,036 | 32.7 | +1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 173 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,593 | 81.7 | −2.3 |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +2.6 | |
General election 1924: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Eugene Ramsden | 11,459 | 39.6 | +6.3 |
| | Labour | Frank Wise | 9,442 | 32.7 | 0.0 |
| | Liberal | Walter Rea | 8,007 | 27.7 | −6.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,017 | 6.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,908 | 84.7 | +3.0 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1929: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Norman Angell | 17,873 | 41.0 | +8.3 |
| | Unionist | Eugene Ramsden | 15,413 | 35.4 | −4.2 |
| | Liberal | Joseph Burton Hobman | 10,290 | 23.6 | −4.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,460 | 5.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,576 | 84.5 | −0.2 |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +6.2 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Eugene Ramsden | 31,537 | 71.8 | +36.4 |
| | Labour | Philip Butler | 12,401 | 28.2 | −12.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,136 | 43.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,938 | 83.1 | −1.4 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election 1935: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Eugene Ramsden | 21,150 | 53.0 | −18.8 |
| | Labour | Muriel Nichol | 14,047 | 35.2 | +7.0 |
| | National Dividend | Reginald Kenney | 4,684 | 11.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,103 | 17.8 | −25.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,881 | 72.3 | −8.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1939–40:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
* National Labour: George R Carter
* Labour: Muriel Nichol

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Muriel Nichol | 20,268 | 43.6 | +8.4 |
| | Conservative | John Andrews Benn | 16,824 | 36.2 | −16.8 |
| | Liberal | Basil Robert Wilson Town | 9,337 | 20.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,444 | 7.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,429 | 79.6 | +7.3 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.7 | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | William Taylor | 20,628 | 45.71 | |
| | Labour | Muriel Nichol | 18,517 | 41.03 | |
| | Liberal | Jack Kitching | 5,985 | 13.26 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,111 | 4.68 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,130 | 87.70 | |
| | National Liberal gain from Labour | National Liberal gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election 1951: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | National Liberal | William Taylor | 24,524 | 54.29 |
| | Labour | Edward J Parris | 20,647 | 45.71 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,877 | 8.58 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,171 | 87.14 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | |
General election 1955: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | National Liberal | William Taylor | 21,084 | 50.08 |
| | Labour | Maurice Webb | 21,015 | 49.92 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 69 | 0.16 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,099 | 81.79 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | |
General election 1959: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | National Liberal | William Taylor | 22,850 | 53.10 |
| | Labour | John Marshall | 20,179 | 46.90 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,671 | 6.20 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,029 | 82.82 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ben Ford | 17,905 | 43.61 | |
| | National Liberal | William Taylor | 16,507 | 40.21 | |
| | Liberal | Edgar Robinson | 6,642 | 16.18 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,398 | 3.40 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,054 | 80.40 | |
| | Labour gain from National Liberal | Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1966: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ben Ford | 21,727 | 55.35 |
| | Conservative | WH Peter Laycock | 17,528 | 44.65 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,199 | 10.70 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,255 | 77.71 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ben Ford | 20,141 | 52.11 |
| | Conservative | WH Peter Laycock | 18,511 | 47.89 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,630 | 4.22 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,652 | 73.84 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election February 1974: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ben Ford | 22,381 | 43.34 | |
| | Conservative | Patrick Thompson | 15,764 | 30.52 | |
| | Liberal | Gordon Lishman | 13,115 | 25.39 | New |
| | Independent | A Marriott | 386 | 0.75 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,617 | 12.82 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,646 | 78.84 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ben Ford | 22,841 | 49.05 |
| | Conservative | Patrick Thompson | 14,252 | 30.60 |
| | Liberal | Gordon Lishman | 9,475 | 20.35 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,589 | 18.45 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,568 | 70.41 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1979: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ben Ford | 25,069 | 50.94 |
| | Conservative | Neil Hamilton | 17,548 | 35.66 |
| | Liberal | A Bagshawe | 5,819 | 11.83 |
| | National Front | Andrew Brons | 614 | 1.25 |
| | Workers Revolutionary | CE Smith | 158 | 0.32 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,521 | 15.28 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,208 | 71.81 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Geoffrey Lawler | 16,094 | 34.3 | |
| | Labour | Pat Wall | 14,492 | 30.9 | |
| | SDP | Peter Birkby | 11,962 | 25.5 | |
| | Independent Labour | Ben Ford | 4,018 | 8.6 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Arthur Howarth | 194 | 0.4 | New |
| | BNP | Michael Easter | 193 | 0.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,602 | 3.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,953 | 70.8 | −1.0 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election 1987: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Pat Wall | 21,009 | 42.8 | +11.9 |
| | Conservative | Geoffrey Lawler | 19,376 | 39.5 | +5.2 |
| | SDP | Adrian Berkley | 8,656 | 17.7 | −7.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,633 | 3.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49041 | 72.7 | +1.9 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +6.7 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

1990 Bradford North by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Terry Rooney | 18,619 | 51.7 | +8.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Ward | 9,105 | 25.3 | +7.6 |
| | Conservative | Joy Atkin | 6,048 | 16.8 | −22.7 |
| | Islamic Party | David Pidcock | 800 | 2.2 | New |
| | Green | Michael Knott | 447 | 1.2 | New |
| | National Front | Robert Tenney | 305 | 0.8 | New |
| | Independent | Joseph Floyd | 219 | 0.6 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Wild Willi Beckett | 210 | 0.6 | New |
| | Liberal | Noel Nowosielski | 187 | 0.5 | New |
| | Ind. Conservative | Malcolm Wigglesworth | 89 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,514 | 26.4 | +23.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,029 | 53.4 | −19.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1992: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Terry Rooney | 23,420 | 47.8 | +5.0 |
| | Conservative | Mohammed Riaz | 15,756 | 32.2 | −7.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Ward | 9,133 | 18.7 | +1.0 |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Wild Willi Beckett | 350 | 0.9 | N/A |
| | Islamic Party | Mohamed H. Nasr | 304 | 0.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,664 | 15.6 | +12.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,963 | 73.4 | +0.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +10.8 | |
General election 1997: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Terry Rooney | 23,493 | 56.1 | +8.3 |
| | Conservative | Rasjid Skinner | 10,723 | 25.6 | −6.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Terry Browne | 6,083 | 14.5 | −4.2 |
| | Referendum | Harry Wheatley | 1,227 | 2.9 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Wild Willi Beckett | 369 | 0.9 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,770 | 30.5 | +14.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,895 | 63.3 | −10.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +7.4 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Terry Rooney | 17,419 | 49.7 | −6.4 |
| | Conservative | Zahid Iqbal | 8,450 | 24.1 | −1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Ward | 6,924 | 19.8 | +5.3 |
| | BNP | John Brayshaw | 1,613 | 4.6 | New |
| | Green | Steven Schofield | 611 | 1.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,969 | 25.6 | −4.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,017 | 52.7 | −10.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −10.6 | |
General election 2005: Bradford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Terry Rooney | 14,622 | 42.5 | ―7.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Ward | 11,111 | 32.3 | +12.5 |
| | Conservative | Teck Khong | 5,569 | 16.2 | ―7.9 |
| | BNP | Lynda Cromie | 2,061 | 6.0 | +1.4 |
| | Green | Steven Schofield | 560 | 1.6 | ―0.1 |
| | Respect | Umit Yildiz | 474 | 1.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,511 | 10.2 | ―15.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,397 | 53.3 | +0.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | ―9.8 | |