THE borough’s newest political movement has taken an important step in its bid to become a force at the ballot box.

Farnworth and Kearsley First has been officially registered as a political party by the Electoral Commission.

The group applied in July after agreeing its constitution and appointing Peter Flitcroft as party leader, Paul Heslop as election officer and treasurer Vic Gethin.

The party says it wants a better deal for the Farnworth, and Kearsley and ultimately it would like the towns to break away from Bolton Council - a move dubbed ‘Fexit and Kexit’.

Mr Flitcroft said the group was delighted to be officially recognised as a political party.

He said: “It’s a big step for us and hopefully it will lead people to take us a little more seriously.We are now trying to broaden our membership and get people more actively involved in the party.

The party leader added that the group now had the foundation to move forward and start challenging at the local elections.

He said: “We have obviously got nine seats to be targeted in Farnworth, Kearsley and Harper Green over the next three years.

“ We will soon start the process for selecting candidates and campaigning to get the people of Farnworth and Kearsley motivated behind us.

“It’s an exciting time for us, with the right backing behind us we can make our mark.”

The group will officially launch as a political party at a public meeting later this month.