2026 Bradford Council local elections guide

An overview of everything you need to know about the upcoming all-out elections across the district on Thursday 7 May 2026 🗳️

For the first time in years, Bradford Council will be subject to all-out elections on Thursday 7 May 2026. It’s the result of boundary changes. That basically means that all 90 council seats are being contested across the entire district for the first time since 2004.

Usually councillors are elected for four year terms in thirds (30 per election councillors) over a three year period with no elections in year four (sometimes referred to as a fallow year).

This time around, instead of just one councillor being elected for a ward, three councillors will be elected in one go. The candidate bagging first place will get to serve four years, the runner-up will serve three years and the bronze medalist will serve just one year.

You can see how the district has tended to vote on a ward-by-ward basis for Bradford Council between 2019 and 2024 here. For one councillor’s take on the boundary changes, head here.

Elections are also taking place in other local authorities throughout West Yorkshire (with all-out elections in Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield, too), England, Scotland and Wales.

It’ll be the biggest set of elections since the 2024 general election, which took place separately to the local elections in July that year (local elections were held, as usual, in May). Even more so in fact with news that other local elections, which had been earmarked for postponement as part of the wider reorganisation of local government that is currently underway, will now go ahead.

To get you up to speed with everything ahead of the local elections in Bradford this year we’ve put together a bumper guide. Here’s what it covers:

• A timeline for the local elections in Bradford

• An overview of the current composition of the council

• A breakdown of the current leadership

• An overview of the leaders of the other parties

• A breakdown of what the council does

• A list of key issues

• Key stats about the district’s wards

• Key documents

Timeline for the local elections in Bradford

There are some key dates to be aware ahead of the 2026 Bradford Council elections, courtesy of The Electoral Commission:

• Monday 20 April: deadline for being registered to vote (if you’re not registered, you can do it here)

• Tuesday 21 April up to 5pm: deadline to apply for a postal or postal-proxy vote (see here for more)

• Tuesday 28 April: deadline to submit application to vote by proxy (more info here) and to apply for free voter ID (if you don’t have the required ID, you can present a voter authority certificate instead. You can apply here)

• Thursday 7 May, 7am–10pm: polling day – aka the day you get to vote

Essential information

Ahead of the election you’ll receive a polling card through the post with info on where your polling station will be. Remember, you don’t need this to vote but you do need to show ID at the polling station. See here for more info on accepted forms of ID, which include a passport or a photographic version of a driving licence.

You can find out who is standing in your ward after Thursday 9 April, when a full list of candidates for Bradford Council will be published.

If you have any questions, you can contact the Electoral Services Unit at Bradford Council via email or telephone (01274 432287).

Standing as a councillor

If you’re looking to stand as a candidate, either for a political party or as an independent, you have until 4pm on 9 April 2026 to submit your nomination papers in person to electoral services on the third floor of City Hall in Bradford.

All the documents needed can be acquired here, too. If you can’t get to the actual office, you should still be able to get your nomination papers sent out to you. Email electoralservices@bradford.gov.uk or call 01274 432287 to find out more.

To stand as a councillor you must, among other things:

• Be at least 18

• Be a British citizen

• Be registered to vote or have lived or worked in the district for at least a year or be the owner or tenant of land or premises in the area

• Not work for the council

• Not hold a politically restricted post

• Not have received a prison sentence of three months or more within the last five years

You can find out more about standing as a candidate via the Electoral Commission website here.

Bradford Council current composition

The council is made up of 90 councillors representing 30 wards that make up the Bradford District. There are three councillors per ward.

The party split on Bradford Council is:

• 🔴 Labour: 47

• 🔵 Conservative and Queensbury Independent: 14

• 🟢 Green Party: 10

• ⚪️ The Bradford Independent Group: 9

• 🟠 Liberal Democrat: 5

• ⚪️ Independents: 5

Bradford Council's current leadership

With 47 seats to its name, Labour has a majority (46 seats is the threshold). In fact, it’s had a majority since 2014 – prior to that the council had been under no overall control since the turn of the 21st century.

It’s led by …