Bradford's chances of becoming European Capital of Culture 2008 aren't looking good, according to betting odds which place the district joint second from bottom.

The list, compiled by betting agency Blue Square, gives Bradford odds of 14-1, putting it ahead of Milton Keynes only.

Belfast is tipped as the favourite, at odds of 7-2.

The odds were put together by Ed Pownall of Blue Square, who says the decision on who becomes Capital of Culture will be purely political.

Bradford's bid - along with the bids of the 12 other British cities it is competing against - must be submitted to the Government on March 31. A shortlist of between three and six cities will be announced in September. A final decision will be made by the Prime Minister in March 2003.

Mr Pownall said: "Choosing a winner is going to be a huge political headache for Tony Blair.

"I think my odds are pretty realistic. Scotland had a good run last time - when Glasgow was City of Culture 1990 - so it probably won't go to Inverness. But Mr Blair likes to go for where he has little support, and where he can develop good international relations, so I think Belfast is a strong contender.

"He has an affiliation with Newcastle, but might be seen as biased if he chooses it.

"Liverpool is a big city with good venues, and Cardiff has the only international stadium out of all the cities, so they've got good odds."

Mr Pownall claimed Bradford's lack of big venues would hold it back.

"If Bradford had better communication and entertainment venue sizes it would probably do better," he said.

"Obviously the culture title would do Bradford a lot of good, particularly race relations wise, and I think Tony Blair will wax lyrical about this. But at the end of the day he won't give it to Bradford.

"As for Milton Keynes - I'm assuming that's a joke!"