Labour will hope the party’s resurgence and the collapse in support for the Conservatives will see it reclaim control of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council at the 2024 Local Elections. The council is currently under no overall control, with Labour holding 28 of 60 seats and needing to gain an additional three to hold an outright majority.
Bolton operates by electing one third of the council each year, with one rest year in each four year cycle. This year, a total of 21 seats are being contested, with one from each ward available and an additional vacancy in Horwich North after the resignation of Craig Rotheram last month due to ill health.
While the Bolton Conservatives will hope they can outperform polling and recent byelections experienced by the party nationally, there will be plenty of opposition from Reform UK. The party has teamed up with Bolton for Change to field 22 candidates under one banner and will stand in every ward.
Full list of candidates
Astley Bridge:
- Mike Armstrong - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Mark Devereux - Green
- Toby Hewitt - Conservative
- Kate Elizabeth Taylor - Labour
Bradshaw:
- Becky Forrest - Liberal Democrats
- Sandra Harris - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Matthew Miller - Green
- Jackie Schofield - Labour
- Ciaran Tully - Conservative
Breightmet:
- Becky Campbell - Conservative
- Derek Gradwell - Liberal Democrats
- Georgia Lloyd - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Robert Morrisey - Labour
- Wendy Shepherd - Green
Bromley Cross:
- Ian Brown - Labour
- Amy Hare - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Lee Harrison - Green
- Nadim Muslim - Conservative
- Peter Priest - Liberal Democrats
Farnworth North:
- Mark Bailey - Farnworth & Kearsley First Party
- Dylan Evans - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Susan Haworth - Labour
- Mazhar Iqbal - Conservative
- Philip Kochitty - Green
- Jennifer Tonge - Liberal Democrats
Farnworth South:
- Paula Connor-Bennett - Farnworth & Kearsley First Party
- Carol Forshaw - Conservative
- Jordan Greenhalgh - Green
- Champak Mistry - Labour
- Julie Pattison - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Andrew Tonge - Liberal Democrats
Great Lever:
- Mahboob Alom - Green
- Tracey Earp - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Karen Hon - Labour
- Kalim Muslim - Conservative
Halliwell:
- Hanif Alli - Green
- Kubbar Alom - Conservative
- Norman Cryer - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Kevin Morris - Labour
- Caroline Turner-Preece - Liberal Democrats
Heaton Lostock and Chew Moor:
- Gordon Campbell - Independent
- Jennifer Entwistle - Green
- Bill Lovat - Labour
- Paul Martin - Liberal Democrats
- Graham McGreavy - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Andy Morgan - Conservative
Horwich North (two to be elected):
- Michael Baines - Conservative
- George Butler - Labour
- Glenys Johnson - Green
- Taylor Jones - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Kevin Mckeon - Labour
- Victoria Rigby - Horwich & Blackrod First Independents
- Charlotte Sears - Horwich & Blackrod First Independents
- Stephen Tonge - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Matt Turner-Allen - Liberal Democrats
- Scott Turner-Preece - Liberal Democrats
- Hannah Wright - Conservative
Horwich South & Blackrod:
- Helen Alker - Green
- Eddie Carr - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Michael Jarvis - Labour
- Paul Norris - Conservative
- Liz Tuner-Allen - Liberal Democrats
- Samantha Williamson - Horwich & Blackrod First Independents
Hulton:
- Derek Bullock - Independent
- Pete Hopkinson - Green
- Fazeelah Khan - Labour
- Rob Lowe - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Linda Maher - Liberal Democrats
- Shafi Patel - Conservative
- Sajid Pathan - Workers Party of Britain
Kearsley:
- Charles Cooper - Liberal Democrats
- Sylvia Crossley - Farnworth & Kearsley First Party
- Dale Gregory - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Nadeem Jojo - Green
- Melanie Livesey - Labour
- Glenys Ratcliffe - Conservative
Little Lever & Darcy Lever
- Liam Barnard - Labour
- Sean Hornby - Independent
- Fred Khan - Conservative
- Susan Martin - Liberal Democrats
- Brett Varnam - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
Queens Park & Central Ward
- Don Prof Reis Abraham Halliwell PRF - Independent
- Rebekah Fairhurst - Liberal Democrats
- Sandra Harvey - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Martin McLoughlin - Green
- Omar Shafiq - Workers Party of Britain
- Shahjahan Shah - Conservative
- Linda Carol Thomas - Labour
Rumworth:
- Hanif Adia - Labour
- Ismail Ibrahim - Workers Party of Brotain
- Alan Johnson - Green
- Marcelius Mbah - Conservative
- Ayyub Chota Patel - Independent
- Colin Speakman - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Gillian Wroe - Liberal Democrats
Smithills Ward:
- Vicki Attenborough - Green
- Raymond Ndokwo - Conservative
- Sorie Sesay - Labour
- Helen Shaw - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Garry Veevers - Liberal Democrats
Tonge with the Haulgh:
- Frank Harasiwka - Liberal Democrats
- Trevor Jones - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Alexander John Mell Mcallister - Green
- Emma Meen - Conservative
- Emily Grace Amelia Mort - Labour
Westhoughton North & Hunger Hill:
- Jennifer Armstrong - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Charlie Barrett - Green
- Colin Higson - Conservative
- Deirdre McGeown - Liberal Democrats
- Karen Millington - Labour
- Jill Reynolds - Westhoughton First Independents
Westhoughton South:
- Richard Adam Bates - UKIP
- Neil Maher - Liberal Democrats
- John Stewart McHugh - Labour
- Cathryn Norris - Conservative
- Dave Price - Reform UK & Bolton for Change
- Heather Rylance - Green
- Jack Speight - Westhoughton First Independents
This election could see the council return to being led by one party outright as Labour attempt to secure a majority. It currently leads the local authority but does so with only 28 of the 60 seats. As it stands, the Conservatives have 15 seats, the Lib Dems have seven, Horwich and Blackrod have five and Farnworth and Kearsley First have three. There is also one independent and one vacancy to be filled.
While the two main parties and Reform & Bolton For Change will contest every ward, the Lib Dems and Greens will each stand in 19 areas. The Workers Party of Britain are contesting three seats, while UKIP have on candidate and there are five would-be independent representatives.
Exclusively local names also appear on the list, with Farnworth and Kearsley First, Horwich and Blackrod First and Westhoughton First all represented.
In the run up to polling day, lots of attention is centred on the authority’s financial state, with the Labour administration facing criticism for raising council tax by 5% for the 2024/25 financial year.
Other contested decisions included within that budget were a change from two-weekly to four-weekly collections for beige bins and a move to reduce street lighting to 70% brightness to cut costs.
While the multi-million pound redevelopment of Bolton town centre has grabbed many headlines, the impact of cuts like these dominate much of the talk from candidates, particularly those local-only ones.
Bolton for Change, which was initially set up by two Brexit Party members, says it is working with Reform UK to improve matters both locally and nationally, arguing that changing votes between the two main parties is ineffective.
Greater Manchester mayoral election
Thursday, May 2 will also see the next mayor of Greater Manchester elected. The role was created in 2017 when extra powers and funding were given to the area and involves acting as a figurehead for all 10 of its local authorities.
Current Mayor Andy Burnham is again standing as the Labour candidate and is widely expected to be re-elected. Among those competing against him, Dan Barker had been selected to stand as the Conservative candidate but defected to Reform UK last month. The full list is:
- Jake Auston - Liberal Democrats
- Dan Barker - Reform UK
- Nick Buckley - Independent
- Andy Burnham - Labour
- Laura Evans - Conservative
- Hannah Spencer - Green
How to vote in the Bolton local election:
Before the election, you’ll receive a polling card in the post which will tell you where to go to vote - don’t worry if you’ve lost it as you can find out your polling station by entering your postcode on the Electoral Commission’s website.
If you’re voting in person, you do not need to take your polling card with you but you must take photo ID. This became a requirement for the first time in 2023 and means anyone who does not bring an acceptable form of ID will be turned away.
Polls will open between 7am-10pm on Thursday, 2 May.
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