Bolton council local election 2024 results in full

Chris Gee
·3-min read

Labour remains the largest party on Bolton Council despite a reduction of two councillors after more than a third of members were elected to decide who runs the borough.

They gained a seat in Bradshaw from the Conservatives and dramatically lost a councillor in Astley Bridge where Conservative candidate Toby Hewitt won by a single vote

Labour also lost to an Independent, Ayyub Chota Patel in Rumworth and Bolton has it's first ever Green Party councillor, Hanif Alli, who defeated Labour in Halliwell.

READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community

Labour finished the night with 26 councillors, down two, the Tories, who previously controlled the council until May 2023, maintained their overall position and still have 15 members of the 60 strong council.

At the count held at Bolton Arena, the Liberal Democrats lost a seat to Labour leaving them with six councillors and Horwich and Blackrod Independent’s swept the board in the two wards they stood in, leaving them with six councillors at the Town Hall.

Farnworth and Kearsley First now have five members, gaining seats from Labour in both Farnworth South and Kearsley.

Labour leader and current leader of the council Nick Peel, said that 'two elections' had taken place, with results in wards with high South Asian populations affected by the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

He said: "We did very well taking a seat from the Conservatives in Bradshaw and the Lib Dems in Westhoughton and lost by the smallest margin of one vote in Astley Bridge.

"I think the Palenstine issue dominating the headlines affected the Labour vote in some wards.

"It's up to the Labour Party, both at national level and in Bolton to engage with communities in a clearer way."

Conservative leader Martyn Cox, said: "It's relatively pleasing to maintain the same number of councillors given the current circumstances.

"We did well in Breightmet, coming close to winning in a seat that was a very difficult ask and I'm delighted to gain the seat from Labour in Astley Bridge."

Leader of Farnworth and Kearsley First, Tracey Wilkinson, said the electorate in those two towns had 'once again rejected national parties'.

She said: "We're delighted to make gains. People were saying to us they did not want to vote for traditional parties and wanted people from the area to represent them

"They were voting for councillors who can affect the day to day things that matter to them, the state of the roads, missed bin collections and other local issues."

In Astley Bridge, after two recounts, Conservative Toby Hewitt won by the narrowest margin possible, defeating Labour incumbent Kate Taylor 1,560 votes to 1,559.

In his acceptance speech, Coun Hewitt, said: "If nothing else, this proves that in local elections every single vote counts and can be decisive."

As the council remains in no overall control informal discussions are expected to take place between the parties before the council elects a new leader at its annual general meeting at a date to be decided. decided later this month.

Greater Manchester local election results 2024

Here are all the local election results where you live in Greater Manchester:

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories