Bolton West (UK Parliament constituency)

"Bolton West" redirects here. For other uses, see Bolton (disambiguation).

Bolton West is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Phil Brickell, a Labour Party politician.^{[n 2]}

Bolton West
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bolton West in North West England
County	Greater Manchester
Population	94,523 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	72,125 (2023) [2]
Major settlements	Blackrod, Heaton, Horwich, Westhoughton
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Phil Brickell (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Bolton

Constituency profile

The seat is on the outskirts of Greater Manchester with fields making for separate villages and towns, these buffer zones most often designated as Green belt, which includes areas for sport such as the ground of Bolton Wanderers at the University of Bolton Stadium. It includes the generally affluent towns of Blackrod, Horwich and Westhoughton in the western half of Bolton borough though from 2010 to 2024 Atherton from the Wigan borough was added, a more Labour-leaning former coal mining town.

History

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election when the two-member seat of Bolton was split between the single member seats of Bolton East and Bolton West. The Labour Party candidate won in 1950 but, at the next three elections, the Conservative Party did not stand, allowing Arthur Holt of the Liberal Party to hold the seat from 1951 to 1964. Subsequently, it has been a marginal seat^{[n 3]} between Labour and Conservative, although at the 2019 election, it was also the safest Conservative seat in Greater Manchester, with a larger majority than Altrincham and Sale West. This was overturned when the seat was won by Labour in the 2024 election.

Boundaries

Map of boundaries from 2024

Historic

Bolton West in Lancashire, boundaries used 1974–83

1950–1983: The County Borough of Bolton wards of Deane-cum-Lostock, Derby, Halliwell, Heaton, Rumworth, Smithills, and West.

1983–1997: The Borough of Bolton wards of Blackrod, Deane-cum-Heaton, Halliwell, Horwich, Hulton Park, Smithills, and Westhoughton.

1997–2010: The Borough of Bolton wards of Blackrod, Deane-cum-Heaton, Horwich, Hulton Park, Smithills, and Westhoughton.

2010–2024: The Borough of Bolton wards of Heaton and Lostock, Horwich and Blackrod, Horwich North East, Smithills, Westhoughton North and Chew Moor, and Westhoughton South, and the Borough of Wigan ward of Atherton.

There were major boundary changes to Bolton West in 1983 when part of its area went to create Bolton North East, but compensated by taking most of the former Westhoughton constituency. 2010 saw the town of Atherton added from the Wigan borough, previously in the Leigh constituency.

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 general election, the constituency is defined as comprising the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton as they existed on 1 December 2020:

• Heaton and Lostock; Horwich and Blackrod; Horwich North East; Hulton; Smithills; Westhoughton North and Chew Moor; Westhoughton South.^[3]

The Wigan Borough ward of Atherton was transferred back out, to the new constituency of Leigh and Atherton, offset by the addition of Hulton ward from Bolton South East (abolished).

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023,^[4][5] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton from the 2024 general election:

• Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor; Horwich North; Horwich South & Blackrod; Hulton (nearly all); Smithills; Westhoughton North & Hunger Hill; Westhoughton South; and a very small part of Rumsworth.^[6]

Members of Parliament

Election	Member[7]	Party
1950	John Lewis		Labour
1951	Arthur Holt		Liberal
1964	Gordon Oakes		Labour
1970	Robert Redmond		Conservative
October 1974	Ann Taylor		Labour
1983	Tom Sackville		Conservative
1997	Ruth Kelly		Labour
2010	Julie Hilling		Labour
2015	Chris Green		Conservative
2024	Phil Brickell		Labour

Elections

Bolton West election results

Bolton West election turnout

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Bolton West^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Phil Brickell	17,363	38.9	+3.7
	Conservative	Chris Green	12,418	27.8	–28.7
	Reform UK	Dylan Evans	8,517	19.1	+18.3
	Green	Vicki Attenborough	4,132	9.3	+7.5
	Liberal Democrats	Donald McIntosh	1,966	4.4	–1.2
	English Democrat	Patrick McGrath	202	0.5	N/A
Majority			4,945	11.1	–6.9
Turnout			44,803	59.8	–7.6
Registered electors			74,933
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+14.5

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[9]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	28,197	56.5
	Labour	17,578	35.2
	Liberal Democrats	2,815	5.6
	Green	893	1.8
	Brexit Party	385	0.8
Turnout		49,868	69.1
Electorate		72,125

General election 2019: Bolton West^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Chris Green	27,255	55.3	+7.4
	Labour	Julie Hilling	18,400	37.3	–8.8
	Liberal Democrats	Rebecca Forrest	2,704	5.5	+2.6
	Green	Paris Hayes	939	1.9	N/A
Majority			8,855	18.0	+16.2
Turnout			49,298	67.4	–2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.1

General election 2017: Bolton West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Chris Green	24,459	47.9	+7.3
	Labour	Julie Hilling	23,523	46.1	+7.1
	UKIP	Martin Tighe	1,587	3.1	–12.2
	Liberal Democrats	Becky Forrest	1,485	2.9	–1.1
Majority			936	1.8	+0.2
Turnout			51,054	70.1	+3.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.1

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Bolton West

General election 2015: Bolton West^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Chris Green	19,744	40.6	+2.3
	Labour	Julie Hilling	18,943	39.0	+0.5
	UKIP	Bob Horsefield	7,428	15.3	+11.3
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Martin	1,947	4.0	–13.2
	Independent	Andy Smith	321	0.7	N/A
	TUSC	John Vickers	209	0.4	N/A
Majority			801	1.6	N/A
Turnout			48,592	66.8	0.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+0.9

General election 2010: Bolton West^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julie Hilling	18,327	38.5	–6.8
	Conservative	Susan Williams	18,235	38.3	+5.9
	Liberal Democrats	Jackie Pearcey	8,177	17.2	–1.8
	UKIP	Harry Lamb	1,901	4.0	+2.6
	Green	Rachel Mann	545	1.1	N/A
	Independent	Jimmy Jones	254	0.5	N/A
	You Party	Doug Bagnall	137	0.3	N/A
Majority			92	0.2	–4.9
Turnout			47,576	66.8	+3.3
	Labour hold		Swing	–5.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Bolton West^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ruth Kelly	17,239	42.5	–4.5
	Conservative	Philip Allott	15,175	37.4	+3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Tim Perkins	7,241	17.9	–0.5
	UKIP	Marjorie Ford	524	1.3	N/A
	Veritas	Michael Ford	290	0.7	N/A
	Xtraordinary People	Kate Griggs	74	0.2	N/A
Majority			2,064	5.1	–8.3
Turnout			40,543	63.5	+1.1
	Labour hold		Swing	–4.2

General election 2001: Bolton West^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ruth Kelly	19,381	47.0	–2.5
	Conservative	James Stevens	13,863	33.6	–1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Ronson[16]	7,573	18.4	+7.6
	Socialist Alliance	David Toomer	397	1.0	N/A
Majority			5,518	13.4	–1.0
Turnout			41,214	62.4	–14.9
	Labour hold		Swing	–0.5

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Bolton West^[17][18][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ruth Kelly	24,342	49.5	+10.4
	Conservative	Tom Sackville	17,270	35.1	–12.2
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Ronson[16]	5,309	10.8	–2.4
	Socialist Labour	Doris Kelly	1,374	2.80	N/A
	Referendum	Glenda Frankl-Slater	865	1.76	N/A
Majority			7,072	14.4	N/A
Turnout			49,160	77.3	–6.2
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+11.3

General election 1992: Bolton West^[20][21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Sackville	26,452	44.4	+0.1
	Labour	Clifford Morris[23]	25,373	42.6	+6.5
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Ronson[16]	7,529	12.6	–7.0
	Natural Law	Jacqueline Phillips	240	0.4	N/A
Majority			1,079	1.8	–6.4
Turnout			59,594	83.5	+3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	–3.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Bolton West^[24][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Sackville	24,779	44.3	–0.8
	Labour Co-op	Guy Harkin	20,186	36.1	+4.6
	SDP	David Eccles	10,936	19.6	–4.9
Majority			4,593	8.2	–5.4
Turnout			55,901	80.0	+1.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	–2.7

General election 1983: Bolton West^[26][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Sackville	23,731	45.1	+1.8
	Labour	Dennis Green	16,579	31.5	−11.8
	SDP	Ron Baker	12,321	23.4	N/A
Majority			7,152	13.6	N/A
Turnout			52,631	78.1	−1.2
	Conservative gain from Labour

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Bolton West^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ann Taylor	17,857	44.81	+1.55
	Conservative	B. H. Watson	17,257	43.30	+2.35
	Liberal	J. Fish	4,392	11.02	−2.05
	National Front	K. Bernal	348	0.87	−1.85
Majority			600	1.51	−0.80
Turnout			39,854	79.36	+2.12
	Labour hold

General election October 1974: Bolton West^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ann Taylor	16,967	43.26	+4.13
	Conservative	Robert Redmond	16,061	40.95	+0.34
	Liberal	Philip Stefan Linney[30]	5,127	13.07	−7.19
	National Front	W. Roberts	1,070	2.73	N/A
Majority			906	2.31	N/A
Turnout			39,305	77.24
	Labour gain from Conservative

General election February 1974: Bolton West^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Redmond	16,562	40.61	−11.06
	Labour	Ann Taylor	15,959	39.13	−9.20
	Liberal	Philip Stefan Linney[30]	8,264	20.26	N/A
Majority			603	1.48	−1.86
Turnout			40,685	81.06	+7.07
	Conservative hold

General election 1970: Bolton West^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Redmond	19,225	51.67	+13.93
	Labour	Gordon Oakes	17,981	48.33	−2.24
Majority			1,244	3.34	N/A
Turnout			37,216	73.99	−4.3
	Conservative gain from Labour

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Bolton West^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Oakes	19,390	50.57	+9.40
	Conservative	Christopher BS Dobson	14,473	37.74	+4.04
	Liberal	Robert Glenton	4,483	11.69	−14.45
Majority			4,917	12.82	+5.35
Turnout			40,127	78.29	+0.14
	Labour hold

General election 1964: Bolton West^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Oakes	16,519	41.17	−4.20
	Conservative	Douglas Sisson	13,522	33.70	+3.70
	Liberal	Arthur Holt	10,086	25.14	−29.49
Majority			2,997	7.47	N/A
Turnout			38,346	78.15	−1.67
	Labour gain from Liberal

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Bolton West^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Holt	23,533	54.63	−0.74
	Labour	Peter Cameron	19,545	45.37	+0.74
Majority			3,988	9.26	−1.48
Turnout			43,078	79.72	+0.65
	Liberal hold

General election 1955: Bolton West^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Holt	24,827	55.37	+2.61
	Labour	James Haworth	20,014	44.63	−2.61
Majority			4,813	10.74	5.22
Turnout			44,841	79.05	− 5.74
	Liberal hold

General election 1951: Bolton West^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Holt	26,271	52.76	+32.30
	Labour	John Lewis	23,523	47.24	+2.62
Majority			2,748	5.52	N/A
Turnout			49,794	84.79	−2.76
	Liberal gain from Labour

General election 1950: Bolton West^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Lewis	23,232	44.62
	Conservative	Walter Wharton Tong[39]	18,184	34.92
	Liberal	Alan Lever Tillotson	10,653	20.46
Majority			5,048	9.70
Turnout			52,069	87.55
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
3. As it has most often given marginal majorities of less than 10%

References

1. "Bolton West: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
3. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
4. LGBCE. "Bolton | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
5. "The Bolton (Electoral Changes) Order 2022".
6. "New Seat Details - Bolton West". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
7. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 4)
8. "General election results 2024". Bolton Council. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
9. "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
10. Sansome, Jessica; Otter, Saffron (14 November 2019). "All the Greater Manchester General Election 2019 candidates". men. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
11. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. "Bolton West". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
13. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
14. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. Barbara Olwyn Ronson. Links in a Chain. Retrieved on 13 May 2010.
17. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. General Election Results 1997 and 2001: Bolton West Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
19. General Election 1997: Bolton West. BBC. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
20. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
21. General Election 9 April 1992: Bolton West Archived 11 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
22. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
23. Clifford Morris. Links in a Chain. Retrieved on 13 May 2010.
24. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. General Election 11 June 1987: Bolton West Archived 11 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
26. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. General Election 9 June 1983: Bolton West Archived 28 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
28. General Election 3 May 1979: Bolton West. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
29. General Election 10 October 1974: Bolton West. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
30. Philip Stefan Linney. Links in a Chain. Retrieved on 13 May 2010.
31. General Election 28 February 1974: Bolton West. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
32. General Election 18 June 1970: Bolton West. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
33. General Election 31 March 1966: Bolton West. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
34. General Election 15 October 1964: Bolton West. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
35. General Election 8 October 1959: Bolton West. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
36. General Election 26 May 1955: Bolton West. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
37. General Election 25 October 1951: Bolton West. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
38. General Election 23 February 1950: Bolton West. Political Science Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
39. Walter Wharton Tong. Links in a Chain. Retrieved on 13 May 2010.

External links

• nomis Constituency Profile for Bolton West – presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
• Bolton West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Bolton West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Bolton West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

53.577°N 2.451°W / 53.577; -2.451