1973 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council election

The first elections to the newly created City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council were held on 10 May 1973, with the entirety of the 93 seat council - three seats for each of the 31 wards - up for vote. The Local Government Act 1972 stipulated that the elected members were to shadow and eventually take over from the predecessor corporation on 1 April 1974. The order in which the councillors were elected dictated their term serving, with third-place candidates serving two years and up for re-election in 1975, second-placed three years expiring in 1976 and 1st-placed five years until 1978.

As well as replacing the County Borough of Bradford, the new council included:

• Municipal Borough of Keighley
• Baildon Urban District
• Bingley Urban District
• Denholme Urban District
• Ilkley Urban District
• Queensbury and Shelf Urban District (part)
• Shipley Urban District
• Silsden Urban District
• Skipton Rural District (part)

The election resulted in the Conservatives gaining control.^[1][2]

Election result

Bradford Local Election Result 1973^[1]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	53	0	0	0	57.0	42.8	52,999	N/A
	Labour	31	0	0	0	33.3	36.7	45,477	N/A
	Liberal	9	0	0	0	9.7	12.4	15,426	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	0	0	0	0	0.0	5.1	6,363	N/A
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0	2.3	2,900	N/A
	Ind. Conservative	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.3	328	N/A
	Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.3	326	N/A
	Social Credit	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	102	N/A

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:^[2]

Party		New council
	Conservatives	53
	Labour	31
	Liberals	9
Total		93
Working majority		13

Ward results

Allerton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Ripley	1,989	38.9	N/A
	Conservative	N. Walker	1,958
	Conservative	A. Pollard	1,944
	Liberal	E. Evans	1,406	27.5	N/A
	Labour	R. Hallam	1,314	25.7	N/A
	Labour	J. Ruscoe	1,247
	Labour	H. Purton	1,246
	Liberal	A. Roberts	1,211
	Liberal	A. McCallum	1,187
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	R. Hemmingway	400	7.8	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	M. Noble	321
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	J. Holden	316
Majority			583	11.4	N/A
Turnout			5,109		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Baildon^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Lightowler	2,602	40.6	N/A
	Conservative	D. Moore	2,423
	Liberal	F. Atkinson	2,338	36.5	N/A
	Conservative	O. Merser	2,215
	Liberal	J. Bywell	2,028
	Liberal	M. Greenwood	1,939
	Labour	J. Lambert	1,468	22.9	N/A
	Labour	B. Prince	1,417
	Labour	G. Tiplady	1,351
Majority			264	4.1	N/A
Turnout			6,408		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Bingley #25 (Denholme, Cullingworth, Bingley South & Wilsden)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Hall	2,616	70.1	N/A
	Conservative	M. Nelson	2,531
	Conservative	C. James	2,527
	Labour	J. Lough	1,115	29.9	N/A
	Labour	J. Tatham	1,107
	Labour	M. Priestley	1,071
Majority			1,501	40.2	N/A
Turnout			3,731		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Bingley #26 (Bingley Central, East, North & West)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Chapman	2,937	60.8	N/A
	Conservative	M. Carter	2,884
	Conservative	T. Shaw	2,884
	Labour	D. Mytom	1,896	39.2	N/A
	Labour	H. Rankin	1,620
	Labour	P. Wall	1,162
Majority			1,041	21.5	N/A
Turnout			4,833		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Bolton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. Rogers	1,236	34.2	N/A
	Liberal	F. Sugden	1,209
	Conservative	T. Hall	1,198	33.2	N/A
	Liberal	D. Wright	1,182
	Conservative	J. Cook	1,166
	Conservative	S. Dalgleish	1,158
	Labour	E. Brown	851	23.5	N/A
	Labour	W. Bramhall	812
	Labour	A. Swindlehurst	787
	Ind. Conservative	H. Sissling	328	9.1	N/A
Majority			38	1.0	N/A
Turnout			3,613		N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Bowling^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Brown	1,164	59.4	N/A
	Labour	G. Moody	1,162
	Labour	D. Coughlin	1,136
	Conservative	B. Thresh	794	40.5	N/A
	Conservative	W. Stenhouse	792
	Conservative	E. Woodhead	755
Majority			370	18.9	N/A
Turnout			1,958		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Bradford Moor^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Johnson	1,546	43.0	N/A
	Labour	J. McKenna	1,399
	Labour	M. Thornton	1,344
	Conservative	J. Ambler	1,232	34.3	N/A
	Conservative	J. Rees	1,176
	Conservative	K. Warrilow	1,125
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	G. Lupton	688	19.1	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	O. Noble	622
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	D. Regan	601
	Communist	W. Speck	129	3.6	N/A
Majority			314	8.7	N/A
Turnout			3,595		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Clayton, Ambler Thorn & Queensbury^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Goodwin	3,007	52.9	N/A
	Conservative	J. Hirst	2,749
	Conservative	A. Ormoncroyd	2,686
	Labour	C. Smith	1,941	34.2	N/A
	Labour	M. Hallam	1,641
	Labour	K. Ryalis	1,537
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	S. Merrick	734	12.9	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	A. Parkes	666
Majority			1,066	18.8	N/A
Turnout			5,682		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Eccleshill^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	M. Thackray	1,382	36.3	N/A
	Liberal	N. Todd	1,299
	Liberal	W. Sheffield	1,186
	Conservative	N. Hudson	1,148	30.2	N/A
	Conservative	W. Smith	1,138
	Conservative	B. Moore	1,107
	Labour	E. Birkhead	1,041	27.4	N/A
	Labour	L. Dunne	1,019
	Labour	P. Bowe	1,012
	Independent	C. Holland	231	6.1	N/A
Majority			234	6.1	N/A
Turnout			3,802		N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Great Horton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Dennison	1,892	45.4	N/A
	Conservative	J. Horsfail	1,891
	Conservative	E. Johnson	1,890
	Labour	A. Hardman	1,683	40.4	N/A
	Labour	C. Richardson	1,607
	Labour	S. Bennett	1,546
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	J. Merrick	588	14.1	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	A. Charlesworth	432
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	M. Lupton	405
Majority			209	5.0	N/A
Turnout			4,163		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Heaton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. King	1,970	48.7	N/A
	Conservative	H. Lee	1,949
	Conservative	L. Hamer	1,926
	Labour	J. McElroy	882	21.8	N/A
	Labour	J. Bower	861
	Labour	B. Wright	796
	Liberal	G. Roberts	782	19.3	N/A
	Liberal	F. Toczek	659
	Liberal	B. Turner	622
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	V. Browning	414	10.2	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	J. Gough	413
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	L. Knighton	357
Majority			1,088	26.9	N/A
Turnout			4,048		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Idle^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	P. Hockney	2,878	48.1	N/A
	Liberal	J. Rennison	2,525
	Liberal	A. Bagshaw	2,084
	Conservative	E. Garnett	1,435	24.0	N/A
	Conservative	T. Keighley	1,212
	Labour	S. Dunne	1,157	19.3	N/A
	Labour	K. Hemingway	1,149
	Labour	O. Hanson	1,125
	Conservative	R. Brook	1,040
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	A. Webster	509	8.5	N/A
Majority			1,443	24.1	N/A
Turnout			5,979		N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Ilkley #27 (Burley, Holme & Menston)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Smith	2,103	46.8	N/A
	Conservative	K. Elmsley	1,928
	Conservative	J. Spencer	1,903
	Liberal	C. Svensgaard	1,672	37.2	N/A
	Liberal	P. Normandale	1,644
	Liberal	F. Austick	1,525
	Labour	A. Fairburn	715	15.9	N/A
	Labour	D. Warwick	666
	Labour	M. Fulker	622
Majority			431	9.6	N/A
Turnout			4,490		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Ilkley #28 (Ben Rhydding, Ilkley North, South & West)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Wright	2,719	56.5	N/A
	Conservative	J. Lightband	2,556
	Conservative	H. Illingworth	2,511
	Labour	C. Dougherty	927	19.3	N/A
	Labour	J. Beattle	920
	Liberal	J. Hefferon	886	18.4	N/A
	Labour	E. Hutchinson	832
	Liberal	M. Laing	770
Majority			1,792	37.3	N/A
Turnout			4,808		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Keighley #20 (Haworth, Oakworth & Oxenhope)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Kemp	2,553	54.9	N/A
	Conservative	E. Harker	2,484
	Conservative	S. Midgley	2,435
	Labour	D. Hanson	2,100	45.1	N/A
	Labour	H. Binns	2,040
	Labour	K. Clark	2,027
Majority			453	9.7	N/A
Turnout			4,653		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Keighley #21: Keighley West & North West^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Leech	2,335	44.8	N/A
	Labour	H. Peacock	2,289
	Labour	M. Dempster	2,243
	Conservative	A. Smith	1,996	32.3	N/A
	Conservative	J. Whitehead	1,918
	Conservative	A. Ogden	1,903
	Liberal	J. Arnold	886	17.0	N/A
Majority			339	6.5	N/A
Turnout			5,217		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Keighley #22 (Keighley Central, East & South)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Rogers	2,735	68.1	N/A
	Labour	W. Clarkson	2,679
	Labour	E. Newby	2,713
	Conservative	J. Snowden	1,282	31.9	N/A
	Conservative	R. Clough	1,267
	Conservative	A. Moran	1,238
Majority			1,453	36.2	N/A
Turnout			4,017		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Keighley #23 (Morton & Keighley North East)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Womersley	1,844	55.7	N/A
	Conservative	A. Trigg	1,818
	Conservative	H. Milton	1,762
	Labour	G. Werham	1,468	44.3	N/A
	Labour	F. Jeffrey	1,314
	Labour	E. Loud	1,263
Majority			376	11.4	N/A
Turnout			3,312		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Laisterdyke^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Moran	1,162	61.7	N/A
	Labour	W. Anderson	1,071
	Labour	T. Wood	1,056
	Conservative	G. Farrar	459	24.4	N/A
	Conservative	R. Murray	417
	Conservative	C. York	376
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	A. Cureton	263	14.0	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	J. McDonald	263
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	D. Pickles	248
Majority			703	37.3	N/A
Turnout			1,884		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Little Horton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. McKee	1,529	59.7	N/A
	Labour	T. Brown	1,513
	Labour	E. Capps	1,504
	Conservative	C. Hill	603	23.5	N/A
	Conservative	M. Whitehead	592
	Conservative	C. Harvey	582
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	F. Boyes	431	16.8	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	F. Coward	386
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	J. Whelan	371
Majority			926	36.1	N/A
Turnout			2,563		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Manningham^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Curtis	1,139	31.7	N/A
	Conservative	M. Wood	1,123
	Conservative	R. Smith	1,094
	Independent	R. Sahid	1,033	28.7	N/A
	Labour	B. Rhodes	942	26.2	N/A
	Labour	H. Fielden	899
	Labour	C. Khan	863
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	H. Gomersall	379	10.5	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	J. Woodrow	342
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	J. Tomilty	326
	Social Credit	J. Jennings	102	2.8	N/A
Majority			106	2.9	N/A
Turnout			3,595		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Odsal^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Mellor	1,724	49.9	N/A
	Conservative	K. Carroll	1,707
	Conservative	C. Lang	1,561
	Labour	F. Bastow	1,472	42.6	N/A
	Labour	C. Garnett	1,463
	Labour	H. Parr	1,581
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	J. Pearson	261	7.5	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	R. Roberts	243
Majority			252	7.3	N/A
Turnout			3,457		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Shipley Central, North & East^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Free	2,756	61.5	N/A
	Labour	E. Armitage	2,506
	Labour	F. Thornton	2,430
	Conservative	E. Holgate	1,530	34.1	N/A
	Conservative	W. Oldfield	1,281
	Conservative	B. Raper	1,255
	Communist	L. Sheilds	197	4.4	N/A
Majority			1,226	27.3	N/A
Turnout			4,483		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Shipley South & West^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S. Arthur	2,917	69.5	N/A
	Conservative	J. Evans	2,910
	Conservative	E. Mason	2,896
	Labour	E. Saville	1,277	30.4	N/A
	Labour	R. Wilkes	1,267
	Labour	S. Saville	1,229
Majority			1,640	39.1	N/A
Turnout			4,194		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Silsden #31 (Silsden, Addingham, Kildwick & Steeton with Eastburn)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Barker	2,357	35.1	N/A
	Conservative	A. Jerome	1,822
	Conservative	P. Pettit	1,762
	Independent	W. Cathey	1,636	24.3	N/A
	Labour	B. Thorne	1,449	21.6	N/A
	Liberal	D. Robinson	1,278	19.0	N/A
	Labour	A. Rye	1,263
	Labour	D. Watt	1,212
	Liberal	W. Spinks	923
Majority			721	10.7	N/A
Turnout			6,720		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Thornton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Foers	1,594	41.0	N/A
	Conservative	E. Kinder	1,506
	Conservative	J. Singleton	1,354
	Labour	H. Pickering	1,063	27.3	N/A
	Labour	L. Clarke	1,014
	Labour	L. Wassell	959
	Liberal	R. Taylor	682	17.5	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	P. Barrows	550	14.1	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	H. Scholes	432
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	W. Thay	402
Majority			531	13.6	N/A
Turnout			3,889		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Tong^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Senior	1,830	74.1	N/A
	Labour	T. Mahon	1,764
	Labour	D. Smith	1,735
	Conservative	P. Brear	640	25.9	N/A
	Conservative	G. Hobson	632
Majority			1,190	48.2	N/A
Turnout			2,470		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Undercliffe^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Coope	1,444	50.3	N/A
	Labour	E. Newby	1,424	49.7	N/A
	Conservative	H. Ibbotson	1,406
	Conservative	J. Mears	1,397
	Labour	R. Kitson	1,332
	Labour	L. Coughlin	1,300
Majority			20	0.7	N/A
Turnout			2,868		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

University^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Hussain	1,196	48.6	N/A
	Labour	G. Rawnsley	1,130
	Labour	A. Bennett	1,067
	Conservative	R. Heaton	694	28.2	N/A
	Conservative	R. Robinson	680
	Conservative	Z. Wyszecki	647
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	T. Brown	571	23.2	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	R. Connop	541
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	N. Ratcliffe	510
Majority			502	20.4	N/A
Turnout			2,461		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Wibsey^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Hillam	1,634	56.0	N/A
	Conservative	A. Hodgson	1,542
	Conservative	R. Gross	1,519
	Labour	B. Howell	998	34.2	N/A
	Labour	G. Clay	942
	Labour	F. Maden	935
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	I. Jenkinson	288	9.9	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	J. Stones	276
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	J. Cusack	261
Majority			636	21.8	N/A
Turnout			2,920		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Wyke^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Seal	2,043	67.8	N/A
	Labour	D. Birdsall	2,024
	Labour	L. Kearns	1,984
	Conservative	R. Eaton	968	32.1	N/A
	Conservative	M. Cook	916
Majority			1,075	35.7	N/A
Turnout			3,011		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

References