Bradford Central (UK Parliament constituency)


Bradford Central was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Elections were held under the first-past-the-post voting system.
The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, when the Redistribution of Seats Act split the two-member Bradford constituency into three single-seat divisions. It was abolished for the 1955 general election.

Political history

For most of its existence, Bradford Central was a marginal seat, initially between the Liberal Party and the Conservatives or their Liberal Unionist allies. The Liberals held it for all but eleven of the years from 1885 to 1918, after which it became a Labour-Conservative marginal. Control alternated between Labour and the Conservatives through the 1920s and 1930s, and in 1945 it became a safe seat for Labour.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Bradford wards of Exchange, Lister Hills, Little Horton, North, and West.
1918–1950: The County Borough of Bradford wards of East, Exchange, Manningham, North, South, and West.
1950–1955: The County Borough of Bradford wards of Bradford Moor, Exchange, Manningham, North East, and South.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

Forster's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1914/15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s