Bradford West
Notional 2005 Results:
Labour: 14359 (39.6%)
Conservative: 11779 (32.5%)
Liberal Democrat: 6659 (18.4%)
Other: 3472 (9.6%)
Majority: 2580 (7.1%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 11544 (31.7%)
Labour: 14570 (40.1%)
Liberal Democrat: 6620 (18.2%)
BNP: 2525 (6.9%)
Green: 1110 (3.1%)
Majority: 3026 (8.3%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 14236 (37.1%)
Labour: 18401 (48%)
Liberal Democrat: 2437 (6.4%)
UKIP: 427 (1.1%)
Green: 2672 (7%)
Other: 197 (0.5%)
Majority: 4165 (10.9%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 15055 (33%)
Labour: 18932 (41.5%)
Liberal Democrat: 6737 (14.8%)
Referendum: 1348 (3%)
Other: 3496 (7.7%)
Majority: 3877 (8.5%)
Boundary changes: changes to take account of war boundary changes. The seat loses part of Bowling and Barkerend and a large part of Little Horton to Bradford East, and a small part of Queensbury to Bradford South. It gains part of City and part of Manningham from the old Bradford North, part of Clayton and Fairweather Green from Bradford South and a large chunk of Heaton from shipley.
Profile: One of three seats in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford. Bradford West is a diverse seat, stretched from the city centre itself and the student population of Bradford University, through the deprived areas of Toller and Manningham which have some of the most overcrowded and run-down housing stock of the city and are largely Pakistani and which were the sites of rioting in 1995 and 2001, all the way out to the semi-rural outskirts of Bradford Clayton, Thornton and Allerton.
Bradford West was held by the Labour party throughout the 1980s, but is now a Conservative target. In 1997 when the Labour party swept the rest of the country, Bradford West was one of the few seats where the Conservatives advanced, possibly due to sectarian reason – the sitting Labour MP, Marsha Singh is a Sikh representing a largely Muslim seat, while his 1997 Conservative opponent, Mohammed Riaz, is Muslim.
There is some history of success for minor parties, in 2005 the BNP managed 6.9% of the vote, in 2001 the Greens pushed the Liberal Democrats into fourth place.
Current MP: Marsha Singh(Labour) born 1954, Punjab. Educated at Belle Vue Grammar and Loughborough University. Formerly a development manager with Bradford Health Trust. First elected as MP for Bradford West in 1997 (more information at They work for you)
Candidates: 
Zahid Iqbal (Conservative) Educated at Preisthorpe Comprehensive and Leeds Metropolitan Polytechnic. Contested Bradford North in 2001.
Mukhtar Ali (Liberal Democrat) Bradford councillor 1995-2005, orginally for Labour. Contested Bradford West 2005.
Jason Smith (UKIP) Administration supervisor and IT co-ordinator. Contested Bradford South 2005.
2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 97913
Male: 48.8%
Female: 51.2%
Under 18: 29.1%
Over 60: 15.5%
Born outside UK: 23.8%
White: 52.6%
Black: 1.5%
Asian: 43%
Mixed: 2%
Other: 0.9%
Christian: 39.5%
Hindu: 1.8%
Muslim: 38%
Sikh: 1%
Full time students: 11.1%
Graduates 16-74: 15.6%
No Qualifications 16-74: 38.4%
Owner-Occupied: 65.5%
Social Housing: 18.6% (Council: 11.3%, Housing Ass.: 7.3%)
Privately Rented: 12.3%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 26.3%
How fantastic. Now if only the national parties realised that the reform of local government should be to reduce the size and increase the numbers of local authorities in general rather than the opposite.
Certainly local authorities should be smaller and have
more responsibilities and leeway on the provision of services, levels and types of revenue raised etc. But I don’t think that needs to
mean we have fewer councillors.
We are, after all, already the least well
represented people in Europe.
The local paper claims that this seat is a must win for the Tories if they want a hung parliament. Personally, I am not sure if the Tories would gain this particular seat, but I think a hung parliament is more than likely now.
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4842611.Marsha_s_seat_identified_as_marker_for_change/
The University of Bradford is in this ward and as a former student, I have found that the university was rather left wing in nature thus indicating a preference for the ‘radical left’ ie the LibDems and Greens. (Respect doesn’t feature much here, though IMHO it has potential in this type of seat) In 2005 the Iraq war seemed to be dominant here, thus indicating a small rise for the LibDems. However, the LibDems would struggle to make an impact this time round due to the lack of the ‘Iraq factor’ as well its u-turn on tuition fees (thus making all the main parties unpopular with students). Therefore, I think the Greens could benefit from the student population, but it wouldn’t be enough to overtake the LibDems into 3rd place here.
Perhaps if other parties keep portraying the Lib Dem fees policy incorrectly for political gain it will be a problem but otherwise not necessarily. If students want rid of fees they are surely more likely to vote for a party that will scrap them but on a slightly longer timescale than previously hoped than for either the party that brought them in or the party that wants to keep them and increase them
The Chief Executive/Acting Returning Officer has confirmed that the counting of votes in the 5 seats in this district will commence after 10pm on election night. As for the council elections, counting will commence on the Friday afternoon (providing that they are both held on the same day).
Which seats have included City ward, is it split between two constituencies? The Cathedral is in Bradford North while the National Media Museum is in Bradford West
Harry, According to Electoral Calculus 206 voters from City which is currently in Bradford North are transferred into Bradford West. 10622 voters remain in Bradford West. Therefore City ward is now unified in Bradford West.