Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council elections
# Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council elections

Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time. Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, generally known as Bolton Council, is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2004, 60 councillors have been elected from 20 wards. New ward boundaries are being prepared to take effect from the 2023 election.

## Political control

From 1889 to 1974 Bolton was a county borough, independent of any county council. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it had its territory enlarged and became a metropolitan borough, with Greater Manchester County Council providing county-level services. The first election to the reconstituted borough council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its revised powers on 1 April 1974. Greater Manchester County Council was abolished in 1986 and Bolton became a unitary authority. Political control of the council since 1973 has been held by the following parties:

| Party in control | Years |
| - | - |
| Conservative | 1973–1980 |
| Labour | 1980–2003 |
| No overall control | 2003–2011 |
| Labour | 2011–2019 |
| No overall control | 2019–present |

### Leadership

The first leader of the metropolitan borough council, John Hanscomb, had been the last leader of the old county borough council (or corporation) of Bolton. The leaders of the council since 1974 have been:

| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| - | - | - | - |
| John Hanscomb | Conservative | 1974 | 1980 |
| Bob Howarth | Labour | 1980 | 13 Jun 2004 |
| Barbara Ronson | Liberal Democrats | Jun 2004 | May 2006 |
| Cliff Morris | Labour | May 2006 | 31 Dec 2017 |
| Linda Thomas | Labour | 5 Feb 2018 | 22 May 2019 |
| David Greenhalgh | Conservative | 22 May 2019 | 29 Jul 2021 |
| Martyn Cox | Conservative | 25 Aug 2021 | 16 May 2023 |
| Nick Peel | Labour | 16 May 2023 | Incumbent |

## Council elections

Between 1973 and 1980, there were 69 councillors; three seats for each of the 23 wards. Following ward boundary changes for the 1980 election, the number of wards was reduced to 20 and all 60 seats were contested. Further boundary changes were made for the 2004 election and again all council seats were contested.

* 1973 election
* 1975 election
* 1976 election
* 1978 election
* 1979 election
* 1980 election
* 1982 election
* 1983 election
* 1984 election
* 1986 election
* 1987 election
* 1988 election
* 1990 election
* 1991 election
* 1992 election
* 1994 election
* 1995 election
* 1996 election
* 1998 election
* 1999 election
* 2000 election
* 2002 election
* 2003 election
* 2004 election
* 2006 election
* 2007 election
* 2008 election
* 2010 election
* 2011 election
* 2012 election
* 2014 election
* 2015 election
* 2016 election
* 2018 election
* 2019 election
* 2021 election
* 2022 election
* 2023 election

## By-election results

Daubhill ward by-election 10 April 1997 (Triggered by the disqualification of Cllr. Martin Donaghy) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Dennis Barlow | 1,402 | 68.8 | |
| | Conservative | Jean Walsh | 332 | 16.3 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Margaret Rothwell | 182 | 8.9 | |
| | Socialist Labour | Doris Kelly | 120 | 5.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,070 | 52.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,036 | 24.0 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

Daubhill ward by-election 21 November 2002 (Triggered by the death of Cllr. Dennis Barlow) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Paul Fitzpatrick | 721 | 37.3 | -18.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Linden Greensitt | 625 | 32.3 | +15.3 |
| | Conservative | Yakub Jiva | 587 | 30.4 | +3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 96 | 5.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,933 | 21.4 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

Crompton ward by-election 13 July 2006 (Triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Iqbal Patel) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Hanif Darvesh | 1,793 | 57.4 | +33.8 |
| | Conservative | Donald Fairclough | 978 | 31.3 | +11.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Cronnelly | 224 | 7.2 | -39.8 |
| | Green | Rachel Mann | 96 | 3.1 | +3.1 |
| | Socialist Labour | Lynne Lowe | 35 | 1.1 | -3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 815 | 26.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,126 | 30.7 | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats |

Daubhill ward by-election 1 October 2009 (Triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Emma Scowcroft) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Guy Harkin | 1,528 | 47.4 | -2.6 |
| | Conservative | Kath Kavanagh | 935 | 29.0 | +1.0 |
| | Independent | Mohmed Alli | 377 | 11.7 | +11.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anne Warren | 284 | 8.8 | -13.2 |
| | Green | Angela Tibke | 99 | 3.1 | +3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 593 | 18.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,223 | 31.0 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

Harper Green ward by-election 19 December 2013 (Triggered by the death of Cllr. Margaret Clare) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Asha Ali Ismail | 744 | 51.9 | -15.2 |
| | Conservative | Robert Tyler | 325 | 22.7 | +1.1 |
| | UKIP | Peter McGeehan | 252 | 17.6 | +17.6 |
| | Green | Kathy Sykes | 60 | 4.2 | +4.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Wendy Connor | 53 | 3.7 | -7.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 419 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,450 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

Harper Green ward by-election 16 October 2014 (Triggered by the death of Cllr. Asha Ali Ismail) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Susan Haworth | 1,176 | 50.7 | -6.3 |
| | UKIP | Jeff Armstrong | 777 | 33.5 | +9.3 |
| | Conservative | Robert Tyler | 282 | 12.2 | 0.0 |
| | Green | James Tomkinson | 38 | 1.6 | -2.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rebekah Fairhurst | 28 | 1.2 | -1.7 |
| | Independent | Joseph Holt | 19 | 0.8 | +0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 399 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

Crompton ward by-election 11 February 2016 (Triggered by the death of Cllr. Sufrana Bashir-Ismail) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Bilkis Bashir-Ismail | 1,961 | 70.9 | +7.9 |
| | UKIP | Paul Eccles | 320 | 11.6 | +11.6 |
| | Conservative | Ryan Haslam | 302 | 10.9 | -10.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Garry Veevers | 117 | 4.2 | -6.1 |
| | Green | Laura Diggle | 65 | 2.4 | -2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,641 | 28.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

Rumworth ward by-election 6 October 2016 (Triggered by the death of Cllr. Rosa Kay) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Shamim Abdullah | 2,152 | 77.1 | +4.9 |
| | UKIP | Jonathan Baxendale | 251 | 9.0 | -1.0 |
| | Conservative | Mohammed Waqas | 167 | 6.0 | -4.5 |
| | Green | Alan Johnson | 126 | 4.5 | -0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rebecca Forrest | 96 | 3.4 | +1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,901 | 68.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 28.4 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

Hulton ward by-election 18 January 2018 (Triggered by the death of Cllr. Darren Whitehead) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Toby Hewitt | 1,455 | 49.4 | +16.7 |
| | Labour | Rabiya Jiva | 1,179 | 40.1 | +3.0 |
| | UKIP | Beverley Fletcher | 190 | 6.5 | -18.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Derek Gradwell | 67 | 2.3 | -0.2 |
| | Green | James Tomkinson | 52 | 1.8 | -1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 276 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour |

Farnworth ward by-election 8 March 2018 (Triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Asif Ibrahim) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Farnworth and Kearsley First | Paul David Sanders | 1,204 | 47.5 | +47.5 |
| | Labour | Rebecca Jane Minors | 969 | 38.2 | -10.5 |
| | UKIP | Dave Harvey | 169 | 6.7 | -30.0 |
| | Conservative | Matthew Thomas Littler | 153 | 6.0 | -2.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Andrew Walsh | 23 | 0.9 | -2.2 |
| | Green | David Figgins | 18 | 0.7 | +0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 235 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 24.32 | |
| | Farnworth and Kearsley First gain from Labour | Farnworth and Kearsley First gain from Labour | Farnworth and Kearsley First gain from Labour | Farnworth and Kearsley First gain from Labour | Farnworth and Kearsley First gain from Labour |

Bromley Cross ward by-election 28 October 2021 (Triggered by the death of Cllr. David Greenhalgh) :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Amy Cowen | 1,732 | 70.0 | +7.5 |
| | Labour | Emily Mort | 409 | 16.5 | +0.5 |
| | Green | Liz Spencer | 165 | 6.7 | -0.5 |
| | Bolton for Change | Laura Armstrong | 99 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Haslam | 68 | 2.7 | -3.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,323 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,473 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
