The local authorityCouncil · metropolitan_borough · England · 1 of 36 councils (metropolitan_borough)

Bradford.

Labour Party-controlled metropolitan_borough. £616m net revenue. 30 wards across 5 parliamentary constituencies.

Typemetropolitan_borough
Seats37 councillors · 30 wards
Last election2 May 2024
Websitebradford.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£616m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,246
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
14/37
Labour Party 38%
Westminster
5
constituencies overlap · 2 MP parties
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, 2-party MP geography.

Bradford is a metropolitan_borough controlled by Labour Party (14 of 37 seats). Net revenue is £616m for 2025-26. It covers 30 wards spanning 5 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 2 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§ 01Composition.37 seats · last contested 2 May 2024

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 14Independent Berwick Hills Resident 9Con 5Green 5LD 4

Labour Party 38% · last contested 2 May 2024

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Debbie DaviesConBaildon2024
Marcus Peter DeardenLabBingley2024
Geoff WinnardConBingley Rural2024
Paul SullivanConBingley Rural2023
David WardIndBolton Undercliffe2024
Suhail Mushtaq ChoudhryLabBolton Undercliffe2023
Ismail UddinIndBowling Barkerend2024
Riaz AhmedLDBradford Moor2024
Rizwan SaleemIndCity2024
Mozalfa IlyasLabClayton Fairweather Green2024
Neil Charles WhitakerGrnCraven2024
Janet RussellGrnCraven2023
Showing 12 of 37·All 37 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

42%
Council tax
£259.2m · median 44%
42%
Central grants
£258.9m · median 41%
16%
Business rates
£97.8m · median 14%

Revenue mix is close to the councils (metropolitan_borough) median: 42% council tax, 42% central grants.

Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)

Band-D bill.

Council slice£1,872
County / upper-tier£0
Police£263
Fire & rescue£84
GLA precept£0
Parish average£27
Total Band-D£2,246

Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish

For household tax breakdown

Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.

§ 03Service spend, ranked against peers.10 buckets · vs 35 other councils (metropolitan_borough)

How does Bradford split its revenue across services, compared with peer councils (metropolitan_borough)-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.

Education33.4% of net spend · cohort median 41%
30 of 35-18% vs median
Children's Services23.9% of net spend · cohort median 15%
1 of 35+58% vs median
Adult Social Care23.7% of net spend · cohort median 26%
26 of 35-8% vs median
Public Health5.1% of net spend · cohort median 4%
6 of 35+19% vs median
Waste & Recycling4.7% of net spend · cohort median 4%
12 of 35+14% vs median
Corporate & Central2.3% of net spend · cohort median 3%
28 of 35-26% vs median
Culture & Leisure2.1% of net spend · cohort median 2%
23 of 35-10% vs median
Planning & Economic Development2.1% of net spend · cohort median 2%
6 of 35+35% vs median
Housing & Homelessness1.7% of net spend · cohort median 2%
17 of 35+2% vs median
Highways & Transport1.0% of net spend · cohort median 2%
26 of 35-36% vs median
How to read these bars

The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.

Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.

§ 04Top suppliers.37,818 payments · £259.4m gross · 4 Dec 202530 Apr 2026

Every invoice over £500, published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Best-effort, not statutory — counts and totals net negatives (refunds/reversals).

Top by total — last 180 days

SupplierPaidSharePmts
BRADFORD CHILDREN AND FAMILIES£63.37m24.4%42
WEST YORKSHIRE COMBINED AUTHORITY£15.86m6.1%10
INTEGRATED BRADFORD SPV 2 LIMITED£7.81m3.0%4
INTEGRATED BRADFORD SPVONE LTD£4.01m1.5%4
COMENSURA LTD£3.96m1.5%18
BRADFORD DISTRICT CARE NHS FOUNDATI£3.68m1.4%20
WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE£3.68m1.4%6
COMENSURA LTD£3.05m1.2%11
ASSOCIATED WASTE MANAGEMENT LTD£2.84m1.1%57
ASSOCIATED WASTE MANAGEMENT LTD£2.79m1.1%31

By service area · top supplier

ServiceTop supplierPaid
Childrens ServicesBRADFORD CHILDREN AND FAMILIES£23.02m
Waste And RecyclingASSOCIATED WASTE MANAGEMENT LTD£2.79m
Corporate And CentralNPOWER (ELECTRIC) YPO CONTRACT£1.73m
Adult Social CareTURNING POINT£1.04m
EducationKIDS PLANET DAY NURSERIES LIMITED£0.80m
§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.30 wards split across 5 parliamentary seats

Bradford’s territory crosses 5 Westminster constituencies, with 2 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.

ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Bradford South723% Judith CumminsLab
Bradford West620% Naz ShahLab
Keighley and Ilkley620% Robbie MooreCon
Shipley620% Anna DixonLab
Bradford East517% Imran HussainLab
Of note · the mixed-MP geography

This council holds 4 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Labour Party-controlled metropolitan_borough — most weeks one MP is asking the council for something and another is praising it.

Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
CompositionDemocracy Club (live)
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Net revenueMHCLG Final LGFS
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
Service spendDerived from MHCLG CSP shares
vs 35 other councils (metropolitan_borough)
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
37,818 payments · 4 Dec 202530 Apr 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level