Following the 1997 general election he became a junior minister at the Department of Social Security, and then became Deputy Chief Whip and Treasurer of the Queen's Household in 1998.

He was a junior minister in the Home Office for Criminal Justice, Sentencing, and Law Reform from 2001 to 2002, and then a backbench MP and member of the Health Select Committee.

Bradley lost his seat in Parliament when he was defeated by a swing of over 17% to the Liberal Democrat candidate, John Leech, in the 2005 general election.

In October 2006 it was announced that Keith Bradley had been appointed to the board of The Christie Hospital as a non executive director.

[4] His sister, Sally Bradley and her partner William (Billy) Harrop, were killed on Sunday 21 April during breakfast at one of the Hotels in the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings.