Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Bradford elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: William Edward Forster (Liberal) and Alfred Illingworth (Liberal). This page covers every general election in Bradford from 1832 to 1880.
This constituency elected more than one MP at once in some years. Before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (and in a shrinking number of boroughs through 1948), most UK constituencies elected two or more MPs together by "multi-member plurality" (block vote): each elector could cast one vote per available seat, and the top vote-getters overall were all elected. In those elections below, "Elected" lists every MP returned, "Votes" is the count that secured the last seat, and "Majority" is the gap between that seat and the first candidate who missed out.
Full Election History, 1832–1880
Election
Elected
Votes
Vote Share
Runner-up
Majority
Turnout
1832
Ellis Cunliffe Lister (Whig); John Hardy (Whig)
471
42.7% (top seat)
George Banks (Conservative)
69 (4.5 pts)
66.9%
1835
John Hardy (Conservative); Ellis Cunliffe Lister (Whig)
589
38.4% (top seat)
George Hadfield (Whig)
197 (12.4 pts)
65.0%
1837
Ellis Cunliffe Lister (Whig); William Busfield (Whig)
621
30.5% (top seat)
John Hardy (Conservative)
178 (8.6 pts)
77.3%
1841
John Hardy (Conservative); William Cunliffe Lister (Whig)
540
36.3% (top seat)
William Busfeild (Whig)
4 (0.2 pts)
81.8%
1847
William Busfeild (Whig); Thomas Perronet Thompson (Radical)
926
26.5% (top seat)
Henry Wickham Wickham (Conservative)
66 (1.9 pts)
84.9%
1852
Robert Milligan (Whig); Henry Wickham Wickham (Conservative)
1,159
35.4% (top seat)
Thomas Perronet Thompson (Radical)
6 (0.2 pts)
66.7%
1857
Henry Wickham Wickham (Peelite); Thomas Perronet Thompson (Radical)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1859
Henry Wickham Wickham (Liberal); Titus Salt (Liberal)
1,727
41.3% (top seat)
Alfred Harris (Conservative)
498 (9.9 pts)
69.9%
1865
William Edward Forster (Liberal); Henry Wickham Wickham (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
William Edward Forster (Liberal); Henry William Ripley (Liberal)
9,347
34.7% (top seat)
Edward Miall (Liberal)
579 (2.1 pts)
64.5%
1874
William Edward Forster (Liberal); Henry William Ripley (Conservative)
10,223
30.9% (top seat)
John Venimore Godwin (Liberal)
1,825 (4.7 pts)
79.5%
1880
William Edward Forster (Liberal); Alfred Illingworth (Liberal)
12,922
39.4% (top seat)
Henry William Ripley (Conservative)
3,904 (10.8 pts)
66.9%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Ellis Cunliffe Lister
Whig
650
42.7%
Yes
John Hardy
Whig
471
30.9%
Yes
George Banks
Conservative
402
26.4%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Hardy
Conservative
611
38.4%
Yes
Ellis Cunliffe Lister
Whig
589
37.0%
Yes
George Hadfield
Whig
392
24.6%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Ellis Cunliffe Lister
Whig
635
30.5%
Yes
William Busfield
Whig
621
29.8%
Yes
John Hardy
Conservative
443
21.3%
No
William Busfeild
Conservative
383
18.4%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Hardy
Conservative
612
36.3%
Yes
William Cunliffe Lister
Whig
540
32.0%
Yes
William Busfeild
Whig
536
31.8%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Busfeild
Whig
937
26.5%
Yes
Thomas Perronet Thompson
Radical
926
26.2%
Yes
Henry Wickham Wickham
Conservative
860
24.3%
No
Gathorne Hardy
Conservative
812
23.0%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Milligan
Whig
1,266
35.4%
Yes
Henry Wickham Wickham
Conservative
1,159
32.4%
Yes
Thomas Perronet Thompson
Radical
1,153
32.2%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Wickham Wickham
Peelite
Unopposed
Yes
Thomas Perronet Thompson
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Wickham Wickham
Liberal
2,076
41.3%
Yes
Titus Salt
Liberal
1,727
34.3%
Yes
Alfred Harris
Conservative
1,229
24.4%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Edward Forster
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Henry Wickham Wickham
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Edward Forster
Liberal
9,646
34.7%
Yes
Henry William Ripley
Liberal
9,347
33.7%
Yes
Edward Miall
Liberal
8,768
31.6%
No
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Edward Forster
Liberal
11,945
30.9%
Yes
Henry William Ripley
Conservative
10,223
26.4%
Yes
John Venimore Godwin
Liberal
8,398
21.7%
No
James Hardaker
Liberal-Labour
8,115
21.0%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Edward Forster
Liberal
14,245
39.4%
Yes
Alfred Illingworth
Liberal
12,922
35.7%
Yes
Henry William Ripley
Conservative
9,018
24.9%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Bradford has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Radical, Peelite, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Bradford in the 1880 general election?
William Edward Forster (Liberal), Alfred Illingworth (Liberal) won Bradford in 1880.
Which parties have won Bradford since 1832?
Since 1832, Bradford has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Peelite, Radical, Whig.
What was the closest result in Bradford?
The closest result on record for Bradford was 1841, when Conservative beat Whig by just 4 votes (0.2 percentage points).
Did Bradford ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Bradford elected multiple MPs at once in some elections on this page (a system called multi-member plurality, or 'block vote'), each voter casting one vote per available seat.