2024 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election

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2 May 2024

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20 out of 60 seats to Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
31 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Nick Peel	Martyn Cox	Roger Hayes
Party	Labour	Conservative	Liberal Democrats
Last election	26 seats, 40.4%	17 seats, 32.7%	6 seat, 9.8%
Seats before	27	15	7
Seats won	9	3	2
Seats after	26	15	6
Seat change	1		1
Popular vote	24,475	14,124	5,388
Percentage	33.7%	19.5%	7.4%
Swing	6.7%	13.2%	2.4%

	Fourth party	Fifth party	Sixth party

Leader	David Grant	Paul Sanders
Party	Horwich and Blackrod First	Farnworth and Kearsley First	Green
Last election	6 seats, 4.8%	2 seats, 1.6%	0 seats, 1.8%
Seats before	6^[a]	3	0
Seats won	3	2	1
Seats after	6	5	1
Seat change		2	1
Popular vote	5,370	2,900	6,493
Percentage	7.4%	4.0%	8.9%
Swing	2.6%	2.4%	7.1%

	Seventh party

Party	Independent
Last election	0 seats, 0.9%
Seats before	2
Seats won	1
Seats after	1
Seat change	1
Popular vote	3,964
Percentage	5.5%
Swing	4.6%

Winner of each seat at the 2024 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election

Leader before election

Nick Peel
Labour Party
No overall control

Leader after election

Nick Peel
Labour Party
No overall control

The 2024 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2024. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom. The council remained under no overall control and continued to be run by a Labour minority administration.

In December 2022, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England made The Bolton (Electoral Changes) Order 2022, which officially abolished all 20 existing wards and established 20 new wards with new boundaries. All 60 wards were contested at the 2023 elections. The elected councillor who received the least number of votes in each ward at the previous election will have their seat up in this election.^[1]

Electoral process

The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election in the fourth year.^[2]^[3] The election will take place by first-past-the-post voting, with wards being represented by three councillors, with one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Bolton aged 18 or over will be entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters will be able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.

Previous council composition

After 2023 election			Before 2024 election			After 2024 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Labour	26		Labour	27		Labour	26
	Conservative	17		Conservative	15		Conservative	15
	Liberal Democrats	6		Liberal Democrats	7		Liberal Democrats	6
	Horwich and Blackrod First	6		Horwich and Blackrod First	6^[a]		Horwich and Blackrod First	6
	Farnworth and Kearsley First	2		Farnworth and Kearsley First	3		Farnworth and Kearsley First	5
	Green	0		Green	0		Green	1
	Independent	0		Independent	2		Independent	1
	One Kearsley	3		One Kearsley	0		One Kearsley	0

Changes 2023–2024:

4 May 2023: Derek Bullock (Conservative) was re-elected at the 2023 elections as a Conservative after being selected by the local Conservative Association, but has sat as an independent after being expelled by the national Conservative Party in April 2023 due to racist comments.^[4]
2 October 2023: Paul Heslop (One Kearsley) resigns; by-election scheduled for 16 November 2023.^[5]
2 October 2023: Bernadette Eckersley-Fallon (Conservative) resigns; by-election scheduled for 16 November 2023.^[6]
3 October 2023: Debbie Newall and Melanie Livsey (One Kearsley) join the Labour Party, marking the dissolution of their former party.^[7]
16 November 2023: Tracey Wilkinson wins Kearsley by-election; Farnworth and Kearsley First gain seat from One Kearsley.^[8]
16 November 2023: Deirdre McGeown wins Westhoughton North and Hunger Hill by-election; Liberal Democrats gain seat from the Conservatives.^[9]
14 March 2024: Craig Rotheram (Horwich and Blackrod First) resigns; by-election scheduled for 2 May 2024.^[10]
April 2024: Amjid (Jack) Khan (Rumworth) expelled from Labour for seeking to stand as an MP for other parties.^[11]

Summary

Following the election the council remained under no overall control.^[12] Labour made a net loss of one seat from their pre-election position, but remained the largest party and continued to form a minority administration after the election.^[13]

Election result

2024 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	9	1	42.9	17	26	44.1	24,475	33.7	–6.7
	Conservative	3		14.3	12	15	25.4	14,124	19.5	–13.2
	Liberal Democrats	2	1	9.5	4	6	10.2	5,388	7.4	–2.4
	Horwich and Blackrod First	3		14.3	3	6	10.2	5,370	7.4	+2.6
	Farnworth and Kearsley First	2	2	9.5	2	4	6.8	2,900	4.0	+2.4
	Green	1	1	4.8	0	1	1.7	6,493	8.9	+7.1
	Independent	1	1	4.8	0	1	1.7	3,964	5.5	+4.6
	Bolton for Change	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	8,020	11.0	+6.1
	Workers Party	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	1,388	1.9	N/A
	Westhoughton First	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	385	0.5	+0.1
	UKIP	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	98	0.1	N/A

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Toby Hewitt	1,560	38.0	–6.5
	Labour Co-op	Kate Taylor*	1,559	38.0	+2.7
	Green	Mark Devereux	555	13.5	+4.4
	Bolton for Change	Mike Armstrong	433	10.5	+5.0
Majority			1	0.0	N/A
Turnout			4,107
	Conservative gain from Labour Co-op		Swing	4.6

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Jackie Schofield	1,436	40.3	+5.4
	Conservative	Ciaran Tully	1,388	39.0	–8.2
	Bolton for Change	Sandra Harris	433	12.2	+4.1
	Green	Matthew Miller	177	5.0	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Becky Forrest	125	3.5	–6.4
Majority			48	1.3	N/A
Turnout			3,559
	Labour Co-op gain from Conservative		Swing	6.8

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Robert Morrisey*	1,293	42.4	+1.1
	Conservative	Becky Campbell	1,130	37.1	–5.3
	Bolton for Change	Georgia Lloyd	425	13.9	+2.1
	Green	Wendy Shepherd	139	4.6	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Gradwell	60	2.0	–2.6
Majority			163	5.3	N/A
Turnout			3,047
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	3.2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nadim Muslim*	1,763	46.3	–1.6
	Labour	Ian Brown	1,359	35.7	+5.5
	Bolton for Change	Amy Hare	368	9.7	+1.2
	Green	Lee Harrison	204	5.4	–3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Priest	113	3.0	–1.8
Majority			404	10.6
Turnout			3,807
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.6

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Susan Haworth*	908	32.8	–19.4
	Farnworth and Kearsley First	Mark Bailey	700	25.3	N/A
	Conservative	Mazhar Iqbal	520	18.8	+0.3
	Bolton for Change	Dylan Evans	298	10.8	–6.2
	Green	Philip Kochitty	273	9.9	+2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Tonge	71	2.6	–1.7
Majority			208	7.5	N/A
Turnout			2,770
	Labour hold

2024 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election

Electoral process

Previous council composition

Summary

Election result

Ward results

Astley Bridge

Bradshaw

Breightmet

Bromley Cross

Farnworth North

Farnworth South

Great Lever

Halliwell

Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor

Horwich North

Horwich South & Blackrod

Hulton

Kearsley

Little Lever & Darcy Lever

Queens Park & Central

Rumworth

Smithills

Tonge with the Haulgh

Westhoughton North & Hunger Hill

Westhoughton South

Notes

References

Related Articles

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Farnworth and Kearsley First	Paula Connor-Bennett	975	43.1	+0.4
	Labour	Champak Mistry*	752	33.2	+0.7
	Bolton for Change	Julie Pattison	292	12.9	–0.8
	Conservative	Carol Forshaw	105	4.6	–1.6
	Green	Jordan Greenhalgh	105	4.6	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Tonge	35	1.5	–3.4
Majority			223	9.9	N/A
Turnout			2,264
	Farnworth and Kearsley First gain from Labour		Swing	0.2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karen Hon*	1,521	48.4	–4.5
	Green	Mahboob Alom	1,009	32.1	+26.0
	Bolton for Change	Tracey Earp	355	11.3	+7.6
	Conservative	Kalim Muslim	259	8.2	–26.5
Majority			512	16.3	N/A
Turnout			3,144
	Labour hold		Swing	15.3

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Hanif Alli	1,523	45.1	+41.3
	Labour Co-op	Kevin Morris*	1,273	37.7	–9.0
	Bolton for Change	Norman Cryer	268	7.9	+3.0
	Liberal Democrats	Caroline Turner-Preece	178	5.3	+1.9
	Conservative	Kubbar Alom	132	3.9	–37.3
Majority			250	7.4	N/A
Turnout			3,374
	Green gain from Labour Co-op		Swing	25.2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andy Morgan*	1,975	44.2	–2.1
	Labour Co-op	Bill Lovat	1,130	25.3	–0.7
	Independent	Gordon Campbell	497	11.1	–3.9
	Green	Jennifer Entwistle	358	8.0	N/A
	Bolton for Change	Graham McGreavy	319	7.1	+1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Martin	192	4.3	–2.3
Majority			845	18.9	N/A
Turnout			4,471
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.7

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Horwich and Blackrod First	Victoria Rigby*	2,028	52.8	+11.4
	Horwich and Blackrod First	Charlotte Sears	1,835	47.8	+6.4
	Labour	Kevin McKeon	1,401	36.5	+4.7
	Labour	George Butler	1,117	29.1	–2.7
	Conservative	Michael Baines	385	10.0	–3.6
	Conservative	Hannah Wright	319	8.3	–5.3
	Green	Glenys Johnson	150	3.9	–1.3
	Bolton for Change	Taylor Jones	140	3.6	+0.2
	Bolton for Change	Stephen Tonge	128	3.3	–0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Matt Turner-Allen	126	3.3	–1.3
	Liberal Democrats	Scott Turner-Preece	48	1.3	–3.3
Turnout
	Horwich and Blackrod First hold
	Horwich and Blackrod First hold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Horwich and Blackrod First	Samantha Williamson*	1,507	48.4	+5.0
	Labour	Michael Jarvis	878	28.2	+5.7
	Conservative	Paul Norris	404	13.0	–9.0
	Bolton for Change	Eddie Carr	138	4.4	+1.1
	Green	Helen Alker	109	3.5	–2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Liz Turner-Allen	77	2.5	–0.2
Majority			629	20.2	N/A
Turnout			3,113
	Horwich and Blackrod First hold		Swing	0.4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Fazeelah Khan	1,213	29.9	–9.1
	Conservative	Shafi Patel	824	20.3	–17.8
	Independent	Derek Bullock*	786	19.4	N/A
	Workers Party	Sajid Pathan	546	13.4	N/A
	Bolton for Change	Rob Lowe	354	8.7	+0.6
	Green	Pete Hopkinson	231	5.7	–4.2
	Liberal Democrats	Linda Maher	108	2.7	–2.3
Majority			389	9.6	N/A
Turnout			4,062
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing	4.4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Farnworth and Kearsley First	Sylvia Crossley	1,225	49.9	+6.3
	Labour	Melanie Livesey*	853	34.8	+8.7
	Bolton for Change	Dale Gregory	149	6.1	–5.3
	Conservative	Glenys Ratcliffe	142	5.8	–11.3
	Green	Nadeem Jojo	52	2.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Cooper	32	1.3	–0.5
Majority			372	15.1	N/A
Turnout			2,453
	Farnworth and Kearsley First gain from Labour		Swing	1.2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Liam Barnard*	1,201	37.7	+9.6
	Conservative	Fred Khan	861	27.1	–8.3
	Independent	Sean Hornby	615	19.3	–0.1
	Bolton for Change	Brett Varnam	393	12.4	–1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Martin	112	3.5	+0.2
Majority			340	10.6	N/A
Turnout			3,182
	Labour hold		Swing	9.0

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Linda Thomas*	1,256	43.7	–23.0
	Workers Party	Omar Shafiq	842	29.3	N/A
	Bolton for Change	Sandra Harvey	221	7.7	–1.0
	Green	Martin McLoughlin	220	7.6	N/A
	Conservative	Shahjahan Shah	168	5.8	–8.3
	Liberal Democrats	Rebekah Fairhurst	94	3.3	–3.2
	Independent	Don Abraham Halliwell	76	2.6	N/A
Majority			414	14.4	N/A
Turnout			2,877
	Labour Co-op hold

Rumworth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ayyub Patel	1,990	48.3	*N/A*
	Labour	Hanif Adia	1,244	30.2	–18.2
	Green	Alan Johnson	550	13.3	+6.0
	Conservative	Marcellus Mbah	153	3.7	–35.5
	Bolton for Change	Colin Speakman	139	3.4	+0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Gillian Wroe	48	1.2	–0.7
Majority			746	18.1	N/A
Turnout			4,124
	Independent hold

Westhoughton North & Hunger Hill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Deirdre McGeown*	1,137	33.8	+3.6
	Conservative	Colin Higson	842	25.1	–4.4
	Labour	Karen Millington	776	23.1	+2.9
	Bolton for Change	Jennifer Armstrong	314	9.3	+4.2
	Westhoughton First	Jill Reynolds	189	5.6	–4.8
	Green	Charlie Barrett	102	3.0	–1.6
Majority			295	8.7	N/A
Turnout			3,360
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	4.0

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Garry Veevers*	1,690	45.9	–4.9
	Labour	Sorie Sesay	859	23.3	–0.8
	Green	Vicki Attenborough	448	12.2	+4.7
	Bolton for Change	Helen Shaw	365	9.9	+4.6
	Conservative	Raymond Ndokwo	319	8.7	–3.7
Majority			831	22.6	N/A
Turnout			3,681
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.6

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Emily Mort*	1,300	44.8	–3.7
	Bolton for Change	Trevor Jones	827	28.5	+11.7
	Conservative	Emma Meen	465	16.0	–8.7
	Green	Alexander McAllister	200	6.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Frank Harasiwka	113	3.9	–2.3
Majority			473	16.3	N/A
Turnout			2,905
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	7.7

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John McHugh	1,146	35.2	+2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Maher*	1,029	31.6	–0.8
	Conservative	Cathryn Norris	410	12.6	–5.5
	Bolton for Change	Dave Price	292	9.0	+2.4
	Westhoughton First	Jack Speight	196	6.0	–3.9
	UKIP	Richard Bates	98	3.0	N/A
	Green	Heather Rylance	88	2.7	N/A
Majority			117	3.6	N/A
Turnout			3,259
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	1.5

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See also: Wards Boundary changes

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