The City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council elections were held on Thursday, 7 May 1987, with one third of the council and a vacancy in Bingley to be elected. Labour retained control of the council.^[1]^[2]

Election result

Bradford Local Election Result 1987^[1]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Conservative	18	3	2	+1	58.1	40.4	64,445	+5.5%
Labour	12	1	3	-2	38.7	35.2	56,065	-9.4%
Alliance	1	1	0	+1	3.2	20.8	33,182	+0.9%
Independent Ratepayer & Residents	0	0	0	0	0.0	3.2	5,107	+3.2%
Green	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.3	475	+0.1%
Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	140	+0.1%

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:

Party		Previous council	New council
	Labour	51	49
	Conservatives	37	38
	Alliance	2	3
Total		90	90
Working majority		12	8

Ward results

Baildon^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Poulton	3,010	44.0	-4.8
	Alliance (Liberal)	S. Duckham	2,939	43.0	+12.6
	Labour	S. Callaghan	777	11.4	-6.3
	Green	C. Harris	112	1.6	-1.4
Majority			71	1.0	-17.4
Turnout			6,838
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.7

Bingley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. Shaw	2,404	40.8	-3.7
	Conservative	G. Seager	2,058
	Labour	M. Beeley	1,287	21.8	-13.8
	Labour	J. Womersley	1,267
	Independent Ratepayers	R. Jackson	1,103	18.7	+18.7
	Alliance (Liberal)	S. Whitehead	1,098	18.6	-1.2
	Alliance (Liberal)	C. Mawhinney	841
Majority			1,117	19.0	+10.1
Turnout			5,892
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.0

Bingley Rural^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Conquest	2,762	47.6	-4.1
	Independent Ratepayers	L. Reay	1,216	20.9	+20.9
	Alliance (Liberal)	B. Parker	1,053	18.1	-5.4
	Labour	M. Gregory	777	13.4	-11.4
Majority			1,546	26.6	-0.3
Turnout			5,808
	Conservative hold		Swing	-12.5

Bolton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Lee	2,150	45.8	+12.2
	Labour	E. English	1,514	32.2	-5.5
	Alliance (SDP)	I. Glenn	1,031	22.0	-6.7
Majority			636	13.5	+9.4
Turnout			4,695
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.8

Bowling^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Coughlin	2,767	60.6	-8.1
	Conservative	G. Moore	1,048	23.0	+7.3
	Alliance (SDP)	G. Beacher	747	16.4	+0.8
Majority			1,719	37.7	-15.4
Turnout			4,562
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.7

Bradford Moor^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Singh	2,712	56.4	-11.5
	Conservative	H. Gill	1,257	26.1	+5.8
	Alliance (SDP)	P. Cowling	837	17.4	+5.7
Majority			1,455	30.3	-17.3
Turnout			4,806
	Labour hold		Swing	-8.6

Clayton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Farley	3,107	54.2	+14.6
	Labour	P. Donohue	1,840	32.1	-13.7
	Alliance (SDP)	J. Brennan	787	13.7	-0.9
Majority			1,267	22.1	+15.8
Turnout			5,734
	Conservative hold		Swing	+14.1

Craven^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	J. Wells	2,687	44.0	+4.6
	Conservative	W. Newby	2,611	42.8	+3.3
	Labour	L. Whiteley	806	13.2	-7.8
Majority			76	1.2	+1.2
Turnout			6,104
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing	+0.6

Eccleshill^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Mitchell	1,871	41.6	+12.3
	Labour	B. Hughes	1,736	38.6	-7.6
	Alliance (Liberal)	J. Taylor	895	19.9	+1.4
Majority			135	3.0	-13.9
Turnout			4,502
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+9.9

Great Horton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Godward	2,234	43.1	-10.1
	Conservative	J. Beeson	2,192	42.3	+10.6
	Alliance (SDP)	T. Figgess	754	14.6	-0.5
Majority			42	0.8	-20.7
Turnout			5,180
	Labour hold		Swing	-10.3

Heaton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Hobson	2,709	44.3	+3.5
	Labour	V. Fanning	2,162	35.3	-6.9
	Alliance (SDP)	J. Hewitt	923	15.1	-1.3
	Independent Ratepayers	R. Sample	325	5.3	+5.3
Majority			547	8.9	+7.5
Turnout			6,119
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.2

Idle^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Lycett	1,689	33.3	+0.7
	Alliance (Liberal)	I. Horner	1,585	31.2	-0.0
	Labour	K. Baxter	1,534	30.2	-3.2
	Independent Ratepayers	R. Reay	265	5.2	+5.2
Majority			104	2.0	+1.2
Turnout			5,073
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+0.3

Ilkley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Smith	3,302	53.7	+5.8
	Alliance (Liberal)	S. Moorhouse	2,121	34.5	-4.2
	Labour	R. Fox	720	11.7	-1.5
Majority			1,181	19.2	+10.0
Turnout			6,143
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.0

Keighley North^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Owens	2,512	40.9	+0.6
	Labour	J. Leitch	2,223	36.2	+2.5
	Alliance (SDP)	R. Quayle	1,406	22.9	-3.1
Majority			289	4.7	-1.8
Turnout			6,141
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.9

Keighley South^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Sunderland	2,559	60.3	-10.2
	Conservative	V. Earle	974	22.9	+6.7
	Alliance (Liberal)	J. Brooksbank	711	16.7	+3.5
Majority			1,585	37.3	-17.0
Turnout			4,244
	Labour hold		Swing	-8.5

Keighley West^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Thorne	2,473	45.0	-4.6
	Conservative	N. Phillips	1,888	34.3	+3.5
	Alliance (Liberal)	S. Green	820	14.9	-4.7
	Residents	M. Jones	315	5.7	+5.7
Majority			585	10.6	-8.1
Turnout			5,496
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.0

Little Horton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Hameed	2,338	58.9	-13.8
	Conservative	G. Johnson	856	21.6	+4.7
	Alliance (SDP)	D. Jagger	774	19.5	+9.1
Majority			1,482	37.3	-18.5
Turnout			3,968
	Labour hold		Swing	-9.2

Odsal^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Whaites	2,504	44.8	+13.1
	Labour	S. Khokhar	1,792	32.1	-19.2
	Alliance (SDP)	D. Hopkins	1,293	23.1	+6.1
Majority			712	12.7	-6.8
Turnout			5,589
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+16.1

Queensbury^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Hirst	2,429	41.7	+2.3
	Labour	L. Woodward	1,841	31.6	-11.7
	Alliance (SDP)	M. Dowson	839	14.4	-2.8
	Independent Ratepayers	K. Craven	714	12.3	+12.3
Majority			588	10.1	+6.2
Turnout			5,823
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.0

Rombalds^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Whiteman	3,545	54.7	+4.2
	Alliance (SDP)	J. Ryan	1,966	30.4	-3.5
	Labour	B. Wheeler	965	14.9	-0.6
Majority			1,579	24.4	+7.7
Turnout			6,476
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.8

Shipley East^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Saville	2,190	48.4	-13.0
	Conservative	J. Duckworth	1,406	31.1	+9.6
	Alliance (SDP)	M. Attenborough	929	20.5	+3.4
Majority			784	17.3	-22.6
Turnout			4,525
	Labour hold		Swing	-11.3

Shipley West^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Evans	2,758	44.3	+0.1
	Labour	J. O'Neill	1,654	26.6	-7.7
	Alliance (Liberal)	T. Willis	1,218	19.6	+0.5
	Independent Ratepayers	G. Thompson	506	8.1	+8.1
	Green	C. Ormondroyd	88	1.4	-1.0
Majority			1,104	17.7	+7.8
Turnout			6,224
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.9

Thornton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Kinder	2,368	47.6	-1.5
	Labour	R. Redfern	1,684	33.8	-17.1
	Alliance (SDP)	J. McKenna	587	11.8	+11.8
	Independent Ratepayers	K. McGill	338	6.8	+6.8
Majority			684	13.7	+11.9
Turnout			4,977
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.8

Toller^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Y. Tough	2,665	48.9	-6.0
	Conservative	V. Binney	1,906	35.0	+2.4
	Alliance (SDP)	H. Heywood	551	10.1	-2.4
	Independent Ratepayers	J. Sugden	325	6.0	+6.0
Majority			759	13.9	-8.4
Turnout			5,447
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-4.2

Tong^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Mahon	2,069	60.4	-6.9
	Conservative	B. Thorne	782	22.8	+5.2
	Alliance (SDP)	R. Dowson	576	16.8	+2.4
Majority			1,287	37.5	-12.0
Turnout			3,427
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.0

Undercliffe^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Engel	2,277	49.0	-9.3
	Conservative	R. Cope	1,614	34.8	+7.6
	Alliance (SDP)	E. Hallmann	752	16.2	+1.6
Majority			663	14.3	-16.9
Turnout			4,643
	Labour hold		Swing	-8.4

University^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Rooney	3,488	59.1	-18.0
	Conservative	A. Skinner	2,001	33.9	+19.4
	Green	D. Ford	275	4.7	+4.7
	Communist	S. Simpson	140	2.4	+2.4
Majority			1,487	25.2	-37.4
Turnout			5,904
	Labour hold		Swing	-18.7

Wibsey^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Butterfield	2,250	44.6	+10.0
	Labour	E. Hey	1,621	32.1	-13.2
	Alliance (Liberal)	B. Boulton	1,178	23.3	+3.2
Majority			629	12.5	+1.7
Turnout			5,049
	Conservative hold		Swing	+11.6

Worth Valley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Eric Pickles	2,842	56.1	+8.1
	Labour	D. Grievson	1,305	25.8	-8.6
	Alliance (SDP)	M. Malone	917	18.1	+0.4
Majority			1,537	30.3	+16.7
Turnout			5,064
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.3

Wyke^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Wardman	2,055	41.4	-13.1
	Conservative	R. Buonvino	1,698	34.2	+8.3
	Alliance (SDP)	R. Blagboro	1,208	24.3	+4.7
Majority			357	7.2	-21.4
Turnout			4,961
	Labour hold		Swing	-10.7

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af "District results: Bradford". The Yorkshire Post. 8 May 1987.
^ "Vote 2012: Bradford". BBC News Online. Retrieved 20 February 2013.

v t e (1986 ←) 1987 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1988)
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bradford Bolton Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
District councils (England)	Adur Allerdale Alnwick Amber Valley Arun Ashfield Ashford Aylesbury Vale Babergh Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Bath Berwick-upon-Tweed Blaby Blackburn Blackpool Blyth Valley Bolsover Boothferry Boston Bournemouth Bracknell Forest Braintree Breckland Brentwood Bridgnorth Brighton Bristol Broadland Bromsgrove Broxbourne Broxtowe Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Canterbury Caradon Carlisle Carrick Castle Morpeth Castle Point Charnwood Chelmsford Cheltenham Cherwell Chester Chesterfield Chester-le-Street Chichester Chiltern Chorley Christchurch Cleethorpes Colchester Congleton Copeland Corby Cotswold Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Dacorum Darlington Dartford Daventry Derby Derwentside Dover Durham Easington East Cambridgeshire East Devon East Hampshire East Hertfordshire East Lindsey East Northamptonshire East Staffordshire East Yorkshire East Yorkshire Borough of Beverley Eastbourne Eastleigh Eden Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Epping Forest Epsom and Ewell Erewash Exeter Fareham Fenland Forest Heath Forest of Dean Fylde Gedling Gillingham Glanford Gloucester Gosport Gravesham Great Grimsby Great Yarmouth Guildford Halton Hambleton Harborough Harlow Harrogate Hart Hartlepool Hastings Havant Hereford Hertsmere High Peak Hinckley and Bosworth Holderness Horsham Hove Hull Huntingdonshire Hyndburn Ipswich Kennet Kerrier Kettering King's Lynn and West Norfolk Kingswood Lancaster Langbaurgh Leicester Leominster Lewes Lichfield Lincoln Luton Macclesfield Maidstone Maldon Malvern Hills Mansfield Medina Melton Mendip Mid Bedfordshire Mid Devon Mid Suffolk Mid Sussex Middlesbrough Milton Keynes Mole Valley New Forest Newark Newbury Newcastle-under-Lyme North Bedfordshire North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Derbyshire North Hertfordshire North Kesteven North Norfolk North Shropshire North Warwickshire North West Leicestershire North Wiltshire Northampton Northavon Norwich Nottingham Nuneaton and Bedworth Oadby and Wigston Oswestry Oxford Pendle Penwith Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Preston Purbeck Reading Redditch Reigate and Banstead Restormel Ribble Valley Richmondshire Rochester-upon-Medway Rochford Rossendale Rother Rugby Runnymede Rushcliffe Rushmoor Rutland Ryedale Salisbury Scarborough Scunthorpe Sedgefield Sedgemoor Selby Sevenoaks Shepway Shrewsbury and Atcham Slough South Bedfordshire South Bucks South Cambridgeshire South Derbyshire South Hams South Herefordshire South Holland South Kesteven South Lakeland South Norfolk South Northamptonshire South Oxfordshire South Ribble South Shropshire South Somerset South Staffordshire South Wight Southampton Southend-on-Sea Spelthorne St Albans St Edmundsbury Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stevenage Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Suffolk Coastal Surrey Heath Swale Tamworth Tandridge Taunton Deane Teesdale Teignbridge Tendring Test Valley Tewkesbury Thamesdown Thanet The Wrekin Three Rivers Thurrock Tonbridge and Malling Torbay Torridge Tunbridge Wells Tynedale Uttlesford Vale of White Horse Vale Royal Wansbeck Wansdyke Warrington Warwick Watford Waveney Waverley Wealden Wear Valley Wellingborough Welwyn Hatfield West Derbyshire West Devon West Dorset West Lancashire West Lindsey West Oxfordshire West Somerset West Wiltshire Weymouth and Portland Wimborne Winchester Windsor and Maidenhead Woking Wokingham Woodspring Worcester Worthing Wychavon Wycombe Wyre Wyre Forest York
District councils (Wales)	Aberconwy Alyn and Deeside Anglesey - Ynys Môn Arfon Blaenau Gwent Brecknock Cardiff Carmarthen Ceredigion Colwyn Cynon Valley Delyn Dinefwr Dwyfor Glyndŵr Islwyn Llanelli Lliw Valley Meirionnydd Merthyr Tydfil Monmouth Montgomeryshire Neath Newport Ogwr Port Talbot Preseli Pembrokeshire Radnor Rhondda Rhuddlan Rhymney Valley South Pembrokeshire Swansea Taff-Ely Torfaen Vale of Glamorgan Wrexham Maelor
See also: UK General election

v t e Council elections in West Yorkshire
Mayor	2021 2024
Bradford	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Calderdale	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Kirklees	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Leeds	1945 1946 1947 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Wakefield	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
West Yorkshire CC	1973 1977 1981 Abolished
West Riding CC	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 Abolished
See also: Wards Boundary changes