West Yorkshire
§ This page provides an overview of an England's ceremonial county. Our website has 48 such county pages.
Overview ⁞ West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the heart of northern England, historically a powerhouse of the textile and wool industries. Created in 1974 from parts of the West Riding, it includes the cities of Leeds and Bradford, and towns such as Wakefield, Huddersfield, and Halifax. Its urban centres are surrounded by scenic Pennine countryside. Local governance is divided among five metropolitan boroughs—Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Kirklees, and Calderdale—each with its own council, while the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Mayor oversee regional transport and strategic development.
Is West Yorkshire a historic county? No—West Yorkshire is not a historic county; it was created in 1974 largely from the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. Administratively, the ceremonial county comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Kirklees, and Calderdale (with no county council since 1986).
West Yorkshire has 5 Local Authority Districts. The chart below shows how this compares with other counties in England.
Local Authorities in West Yorkshire
- Bradford City Council (Metropolitan District) 🔗 bradford.gov.uk
- Calderdale Borough Council (Metropolitan District) 🔗 calderdale.gov.uk
- Kirklees Borough Council (Metropolitan District) 🔗 kirklees.gov.uk
- Leeds City Council (Metropolitan District) 🔗 leeds.gov.uk
- Wakefield City Council (Metropolitan District) 🔗 wakefield.gov.uk
West Yorkshire, in northern England, is a metropolitan county made up of five local authorities known as metropolitan boroughs: Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Kirklees, and Calderdale. Each borough encompasses a mix of urban centres, historic towns, and rural landscapes, with Leeds standing as the region’s largest city and commercial hub, Bradford noted for its cultural diversity and industrial heritage, Wakefield known for its cathedral and market towns, Kirklees stretching across the Pennines with towns like Huddersfield and Dewsbury, and Calderdale covering the scenic Calder Valley with settlements such as Halifax, Hebden Bridge, and Todmorden.
Districts in West Yorkshire
(ITL 1) Yorkshire and the Humber
(ITL 2) ⇒ West Yorkshire
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Bradford ⁞ Leeds ⁞ Calderdale and Kirklees ⁞ Wakefield
Constituencies in West Yorkshire
- Bradford East
- Bradford South
- Bradford West
- Calder Valley
- Colne Valley
- Dewsbury and Batley
- Halifax
- Huddersfield
- Keighley and Ilkley
- Leeds Central and Headingley
- Leeds East
- Leeds North East
- Leeds North West
- Leeds South
- Leeds South West and Morley
- Leeds West and Pudsey
- Normanton and Hemsworth
- Ossett and Denby Dale
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Selby
- Shipley
- Spen Valley
- Wakefield and Rothwell
- Wetherby and Easingwold
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 54 of them are in Yorkshire and the Humber region, 24 of them are in West Yorkshire.