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%.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Election result

Bradford Local Election Result 1979^[1]^[3]
	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:

Allerton^[1]^[3]
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			803	8.2	-18.3
Turnout			9,750	72.3	+36.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-9.1

Baildon^[1]^[3]
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			1,348	13.9	-17.3
Turnout			9,713	81.9	+35.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	+25.1

Bingley: Central, East, North & West^[1]^[3]
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			2,204	22.6	-13.6
Turnout			9,756	78.8	+37.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	-6.8

Bolton^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Baxter	3,999	51.2	+13.4
	Conservative	T. Hall	3,815	48.8	+1.1
Majority			184	2.3	-7.7
Turnout			7,814	70.6	+36.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.1

Bowling^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Coughlin	3,420	65.3	+5.2
	Conservative	R. Swanson	1,816	34.7	-0.8
Majority			1,604	30.6	+6.1
Turnout			5,236	67.3	+33.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.0

Bradford Moor^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Sheals	5,142	65.5	+15.4
	Conservative	J. Rees	2,750	34.8	-1.4
Majority			2,392	30.3	+16.8
Turnout			7,892	70.9	+28.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+8.4

Clayton, Ambler Thorn & Queensbury^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Hurst	6,712	52.9	-8.9
	Labour	G. Mitchell	5,970	47.1	+11.7
Majority			742	5.8	-20.6
Turnout			12,682	74.8	+39.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.3

Craven: Silsden, Addingham, Kildwick & Steeton with Eastburn^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Hawkins	5,013	62.2	+3.1
	Labour	J. Lawrence	3,040	37.7	-1.0
Majority			1,973	24.5	+4.2
Turnout			8,053	80.9	+40.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.0

Denholme, Cullingworth, Bingley South & Wilsden^[1]^[3]
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			2,936	35.0	-20.6
Turnout			8,395	79.2	+36.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.3

Eccleshill^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Lancaster	4,153	54.3	+11.2
	Conservative	L. Riggs	3,493	45.7	+0.2
Majority			660	8.6	+6.2
Turnout			7,646	70.6	+32.9
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+5.5

Great Horton^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Rawnsley	4,244	51.2	+1.6
	Labour	A. Corina	4,047	48.8	+1.5
Majority			197	2.4	+0.1
Turnout			8,291	75.6	+34.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.0

Haworth, Oakworth & Oxenhope^[1]^[3]
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			256	11.4	-11.3
Turnout			7,995	67.8	+30.2
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.7

Heaton^[1]^[3]
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			582	10.1	-15.7
Turnout			7,814	66.5	+22.0
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing	-7.8

Idle^[1]^[3]
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			482	5.4	-81.8
Turnout			8,990	75.6	+40.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	-44.1

Ilkley: Ben Rhydding, Ilkley North, South & West^[1]^[3]
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			2,864	36.8	-5.6
Turnout			7,782	76.8	+36.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.8

Ilkley: Burley, Holme & Menston^[1]^[3]
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			1,820	28.5	-12.9
Turnout			6,387	80.0	+30.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.3

Keighley: Keighley Central, East & South^[1]^[3]
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			1,857	22.2	+7.5
Turnout			8,345	75.7	+34.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.7

Keighley: Morton & Keighley North East^[1]^[3]
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			583	9.4	-11.1
Turnout			6,182	79.0	+38.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.5

Keighley: North West & West^[1]^[3]
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			740	7.9	+7.6
Turnout			9,316	77.5	+34.8
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.8

Laisterdyke^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Wood	3,595	70.3	+2.3
	Conservative	H. Thorne	1,521	29.7	-2.3
Majority			2,074	40.5	+4.5
Turnout			5,116	65.0	+33.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.3

Little Horton^[1]^[3]
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			3,153	45.6	+32.1
Turnout			6,919	61.4	+32.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+16.0

Manningham^[1]^[3]
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			1,837	28.2	+2.0
Turnout			6,502	62.9	+26.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.0

Odsal^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Bentley	4,177	53.0	+12.1
	Conservative	C. Lang	3,696	46.9	-12.1
Majority			481	6.1	-11.9
Turnout			7,873	74.6	+39.0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+12.1

Shipley: Central, North & East^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Chadwick	5,273	64.4	+5.0
	Conservative	R. Wright	2,920	35.6	-5.0
Majority			2,353	28.7	+10.0
Turnout			8,193	75.2	+35.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.0

Shipley: South & West^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	O. Messer	5,125	63.5	-8.0
	Labour	F. Bastow	2,940	36.5	+8.0
Majority			2,185	27.1	-16.0
Turnout			8,065	77.7	+34.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.0

Thornton^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Smith	4,226	54.0	-8.5
	Labour	R. Holroyde	3,606	46.0	+16.1
Majority			620	7.9	-24.6
Turnout			7,832	75.1	+37.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	-12.3

Tong^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Smith	5,445	69.9	+5.1
	Conservative	J. Owen	2,343	30.1	-1.3
Majority			3,102	39.8	+6.4
Turnout			7,788	61.7	+34.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.2

Undercliffe^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Sowman	3,476	54.7	+1.1
	Conservative	H. Ibbotson	2,880	45.3	+3.5
Majority			596	9.4	-2.4
Turnout			6,356	72.8	+31.0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-1.2

University^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Armitage	4,209	72.6	+13.7
	Conservative	D. Bagley	1,588	27.4	+5.4
Majority			2,621	45.2	+8.2
Turnout			5,797	61.4	+20.1
	Labour gain from Independent Labour		Swing	+4.1

Wibsey^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L. Kearns	3,826	50.3	+13.6
	Conservative	P. Gross	3,782	49.7	-10.4
Majority			44	0.6	-22.9
Turnout			7,608	71.1	+36.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+12.0

Wyke^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Mangham	5,015	58.1	-4.3
	Conservative	K. Porter	3,616	41.9	+4.3
Majority			1,399	16.2	-8.7
Turnout			8,631	71.2	+35.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-4.3