Battle lines have been drawn with 119 candidates contesting 31 seats on Bradford Council on Thursday, May 5.

The political make up of the Council stands at Labour with 39 seats, Conservatives with 31, the Liberal Democrats 13, Green party three, British National Party two and Independent one.

Labour has 13 seats up for re-election compared to ten Conservatives, five Liberal Democrats and one each held by the Greens and the BNP.

The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats have candidates standing in all 31 seats. The Greens have 18 candidates, UKIP has four, the Democratic Nationalists have three and the BNP has one.

Five councillors are retiring and Councillor Ed Hall (Lib-Dem, Idle and Thackley) has resigned, citing personal reasons. A by-election in that ward will be held on the same day as the district election, resulting in 31 seats being contested in all.

High-profile councillors standing for re-election include Liberal Democrat group leader Jeanette Sunderland (Idle and Thackley) and Labour’s executive members Ralph Berry (Wibsey), Amir Hussain (Toller) and Ghazanfer Khaliq (Bradford Moor).

The Deputy Lord Mayor, Coun Mohammed Jamil (Bowling and Barkerend, Con) is also vying to keep his seat.

Among the retirees are Councillor Carol Beardmore (Lib Dem, Eccleshill), who is stepping down for personal and health reasons, the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Coun Peter Hill (Con, Worth Valley), and a former Lord Mayor, Coun Robin Owens (Con, Bingley Rural).

Councillors Adrian Longthorn (Lab, Clayton and Fairweather Green) and Sandra Haigh (Lab, Keighley West) are the others who are standing down.

The Bradford Council counts will start as soon as possible after polling stations close at 10pm with the full results expected to be known in the early hours of May 6.

Counts for parish and town council elections start at 1pm on May 6. The count for the national referendum on the voting system used to return MPs will start after 4pm on May 6.

The Council has set up an elections helpline from 8.30am to 5pm and Fridays, 8.30am to 4.30pm. Call (01274) 431360.

The deadline to apply to be on the district’s register of electors is 5pm on Thursday, April 14, which is also the last day for applications to alter existing postal vote arrangements.

Applications to vote by proxy must reach the Electoral Registration Officer no later than 5pm on Thursday, April 21. In cases of unforeseen illness or incapacity, applicants will be allowed to respond by 5pm on Thursday, May 5.