Bradford had held the seat since the February 1974 general election, initially for the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party, but since 1978 as a UUP member.

The DUP stood William McCrea, a minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster and member of Magherafelt District Council who had been associated with the Third Force paramilitary group.

Despite the possibility of a split Unionist vote between the UUP and the DUP, a win looked out of their reach, but they hoped to increase their share and retain second place.

The UUP turned the tide of losses to the DUP; they held the seat with a convincing 39.3% of the vote, and giving them hope for the upcoming 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election.

McMichael's policies failed to find favour, but even he was able to beat the rapidly declining figure of Labourism in Northern Ireland; Caul took only 0.7%.