Bradford South is a constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Judith Cummins of the Labour Party.
Constituency profile
The Bradford South constituency lies within the City of Bradford metropolitan borough in the county of West Yorkshire. It contains the suburban areas to the south of Bradford city centre, including Holme Wood, Bierley, Wibsey and Great Horton, as well as the outlying villages of Wyke and Queensbury. The area has an industrial heritage; Bradford was once a global centre for textile manufacturing, particularly in the wool trade. Like much of post-industrial Northern England, Bradford has experienced economic decline with the decrease in importance of the textile industry.
The constituency contains areas with high deprivation, but is generally wealthier than the neighbouring constituencies of Bradford East and Bradford West. Compared to national averages, residents of Bradford South have low levels of income, education and professional employment. White people make up 70% of the population, which is lower than the national figure but higher than the rest of Bradford. Asians are the largest ethnic minority group, representing 22% of residents, most of whom are of Pakistani origin. Asians make up a majority of the population in some areas close to the city centre. Similarly to the rest of the city, most parts of Bradford South are represented by Labour Party or independent councillors at the local district council. Voters in the constituency strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 67% voted in favour of Brexit, one of the highest rates in the country.
History
It was a Liberal-held seat from 1922 to 1924 and 1931–1945. Since the 1945 general election Bradford South has returned Labour Party MPs, although the Conservative Party came very close to gaining the seat in the 1980s.
Members of Parliament
Elland prior to 1918
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="2"| Election !! Member
! Party
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1918 || Vernon Willey || Coalition Conservative
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1922 || Herbert Harvey Spencer || Liberal
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1924 || William Hirst || Co-operative
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1931 || Herbert Holdsworth || Liberal
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1945 || Meredith Titterington || Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1949 by-election || George Craddock || Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1970 || Tom Torney || Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1987 || Bob Cryer || Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|1994 by-election || Gerry Sutcliffe || Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 2015 || Judith Cummins || Labour
|}
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 2019 notional result
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
|
| Labour ||align=right| 19,110 ||align=right| 46.7
|-
|
| Conservative ||align=right| 16,381 ||align=right| 40.1
|-
|
| Brexit Party ||align=right| 2,872 ||align=right| 7.0
|-
|
| Liberal Democrats ||align=right| 1,519 ||align=right| 3.7
|-
|
| Green ||align=right| 1,007 ||align=right| 2.5
|-
|colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"|
|-
|colspan="2"|Turnout
|align=right|40,889
|align=right|57.7
|-
|colspan="2"|Electorate
|align=right|70,890
|}