Bolton elects one third of the council each year, with a rest year every four years, and Labour will be hoping to reclaim control
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.
Astley Bridge:
Bradshaw:
Breightmet:
Bromley Cross:
Farnworth North:
Farnworth South:
Great Lever:
Halliwell:
Heaton Lostock and Chew Moor:
Horwich North (two to be elected):
Horwich South & Blackrod:
Hulton:
Kearsley:
Little Lever & Darcy Lever
Queens Park & Central Ward
Rumworth:
Smithills Ward:
Tonge with the Haulgh:
Westhoughton North & Hunger Hill:
Westhoughton South:
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.
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:
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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