Labour clings to power as opposition parties celebrate night of shocks in Bolton Council elections

A difficult night for the ruling party saw the Conservatives make gains in Breightmet and Horwich and Blackrod, while the Liberal Democrats took Westhoughton South.

Farnworth and Kearsley First also gained in the Farnworth and Kearsley wards at Labour’s expense.

The result leaves Labour with a majority of just two. And as Cllr Elaine Sherrington will not have a vote due as she will be the new Mayor, it will leave the ruling group in a highly precarious position.

ELECTION NIGHT AS IT HAPPENED

Bright spots for Labour were few and far between but David Evans victory over Paul Richardson saw the party make a gain in Little Lever and Darcy Lever, while Hamid Khurram was able to fend off Farnworth and Kearsley First’s Lisa Weatherby in Harper Green.

Labour held on to their strongholds in Halliwell, Crompton, Great Lever, Horwich North East, and Tonge with The Haulgh – Environment chief Nick Peel’s ward.

Likewise the Tories held firm in Bradshaw, Astley Bridge, Heaton and Lostock, Hulton and Westhoughton North and Chew Moor.

And it was the same for Bromley Cross, where they scored a double victory, including the election of 24-year-old Nadim Muslim.

Going into polling day Labour was believed to be under pressure, as political opponents accused town hall chiefs of neglecting satellite towns such as Farnworth and Westhoughton.

The decision by mainly Labour councillors to approve planning permission for a Ryder Cup golf course at Hulton Park was thought to have left them vulnerable in the west of the borough.

And so it proved, with their first loss of the night coming in Westhoughton South, at the hands of David Wilkinson.

Cllr Wilkinson, who is returning as a borough councillor, said his victory had been down to a “combination of a lot of things” including “a lot of disgruntlement with the Labour run council and the Hulton decision – when a decision was made to build a fantasy golf course and 1,000 houses.”

The Lib Dems also took the vacant seat in Smithills through Doug Bagnall, bringing their total number of councillors to three.

But perhaps the biggest shock of the night was Farnworth and Kearsley First winning two seats at Labour’s expense.

The fledgling party now has three seats on the council following Paul Sanders by-election victory in March.

Maureen Flitcroft defeated Martin McMulkin in Farnworth while Julie Pattison made a gain at Stephen Langley's expense in Kearsley.

Cllr Flitcroft said there was a “general dissatisfaction” in Farnworth, adding: “People are just fed up, they just want change, they’ve had enough.”

And Cllr Pattison said the support of the people of Kearsley was behind her victory.

She continued: “Without them I would not be sitting here, they all obviously feel the same and feel it’s time for change. We’ve seen the town get run down and not.”

A further blow to Labour came in Breightmet, where Adele Warren took the seat, for whom Francesca Platt was the defending candidate.

Cllr Warren said: “I’ve just been campaigning really hard if I’m honest. I’ve spent the last six weeks speaking to as many people as I can. Leverhulme Park is a big issue for a lot of people, but there are lots of things that people brought up on the doorstep.”

There was also ballot-box joy for the Tories in Horwich and Blackrod, where Susan Baines gained the seat from Labour.

Cllr Baines said she had met as many people as possible in Blackrod and Horwich and “really listened” to what they had to say.

But she added that a “real lack of infrastructure, potholes and anti-social behaviour” were all factors that led to people voting for change.

Despite a disappointing night, Labour's David Evans, who defeated Paul Richardson to gain Little Lever and Darcy Lever, was in defiant mood.

"It's disappointing to lose seats, obviously there's work to to do but we will return. There's light at the end of the tunnel."

After the election the make up of the council is: Labour 31, Conservative 19 , Lib Dem 3, Farnworth & Kearsley First 3, UKIP 3, Other 1.

Turnout was 36.54 per cent

Results:

Westhoughton South. LIB DEM GAIN

Labour - Ryan Battersby - 899

Conservative - Martin Tighe - 804

Liberal Democrat - David Wilkinson - 1,934 - ELECTED

Horwich & Blackrod CONSERVATIVE GAIN

Conservative - Susan Baines - 1668 - ELECTED

Green - Keith Cocker - 169

Lib Dem - Rebecca Forrest - 231

Labour - Michael Jarvis - 1437

Farnworth - FARNWORTH AND KEARSLEY FIRST GAIN

Lib Dem – David Cooper - 44

FKF – Maureen Flitcroft - 1699 - ELECTED

UKIP – Dave Harvey - 92

Conservative – Jennifer Kirk - 142

Labour – Martin McMulkin - 1177

Halliwell - LABOUR HOLD

Con - Jolyon Coombs - 418

Lib Dem - John Falch - 120

Ind - Anthony Massey - 71

Green - Ian McHugh - 118

Ind - Martin McLoughlin - 114

Ind - Sarfraz Nawaz - 83

Labour - Akhtar Zaman - 2185 - ELECTED

Horwich North East - LABOUR HOLD

Con - Joan Johnson - 887

Labour - Kevin McKeon - 1345 - ELECTED

Green - Rod Riesco - 213

Lib Dem - Stephen Rock - 1288

Breightmet - CONSERVATIVE GAIN

Lib Dem - Richard Bates - 61

Green - Dan Bolton - 138

UKIP - Harry Lamb - 242

Labour - Francesca Platt - 1278

Con - Adele Warren - 1549 - ELECTED

Hulton - CON HOLD

UKIP - Beverley Fletcher - 215

Labour - Rabiya Jiva - 1451

Lib Dem - Kevin Mulligan - 68

Con - Diane Parkinson - 1858 - ELECTED

Green - Chris Taylor - 107

Smithills - LIB DEM GAIN (vacant seat)

Lib Dem - Doug Bagnall - 2031 - ELECTED

Green - Elizabeth McManus - 111

Labour - Ryan Quick - 1260

Con - Sam Rimmer - 752

Bradshaw - CONSERVATIVE HOLD

Con - Mudasir Dean - 1949 - ELECTED

Green - Laura Diggle - 135

Lib Dem - Stephen Howarth - 173

Ind - Eric Hyland - 278

Labour - Tony Shepherd - 880

Little Lever and Darcy Lever - LABOUR GAIN

Lab - David Evans - 1249 - ELECTED

Lib Dem - Christine Macpherson - 159

Con - David Meehan - 1000

UKIP - Paul Richardson - 926

Heaton and Lostock - CONSERVATIVE HOLD

Con - Anne Galloway - 3000 - ELECTED

Labour - John Gillatt - 1247

Lib Dem - Garry Veevers - 269

Astley Bridge - CONSERVATIVE HOLD

Lib Dem - Warren Fox - 1564

Lab - Zulfi Jiva - 930

Con - John Walsh - 1842 - ELECTED

Westhoughton North and Chew Moor - CONSERVATIVE HOLD

Lab - Ged Carter - 784

Con - Martyn Cox - 1831 - ELECTED

Lib Dem - Bernadette Eckersley-Fallon - 1386

Green - Heather Rylance - 61

Ind - Jack Speight - 238

Great Lever - LABOUR HOLD

Lab - Mohammed Ayub - 2422 - ELECTED

Green - David Figgins - 232

Lib Dem - Francine Godfrey - 143

Con - Mohammed Waqas - 389

Tonge with The Haulgh - LABOUR HOLD

Lib Dem - Rosalind Hawasiwka - 113

Con - Matthew Littler - 928

Lab - Nick Peel - 1379 - ELECTED

Green - James Tomkinson - 82

UKIP - Derek Wunderley - 232

Harper Green - LABOUR HOLD

Green - Matthew Barnes - 63

Labour - Hamid Khurram - 1910 - ELECTED

Con - Robert Tyler - 477

Lib Dem - Kevin Walsh - 62

FKF - Lisa Weatherby - 897

UKIP - Amy Wunderley - 157

Crompton - LABOUR HOLD

Lab - Bilkis Ismail - 2258 - ELECTED

Lib Dem - Michael Langdon - 252

Ind - Siraj Patel - 706

Con - Daniel Wheatley - 737

Kearsley - FARNWORTH AND KEARSLEY FIRST GAIN

Con - Kamaran Fathulla - 290

Lib Dem - Connor Goodwin - 131

Lab - Stephen Langley 882

FKF - Julie Pattison - 1864 - ELECTED

UKIP - Wilf Pilkington - 399

Rumworth - LABOUR HOLD

Con - Hafiz Butt - 379

Labour - Ismail Ibrahim - 2570 - ELECTED

Green - Alan Johnson - 251

Lib Dem - Duncan Macpherson - 85

Ind - Damien Walsh - 111

Bromley Cross (two seats) 2 X CONSERVATIVE HOLD

Lib Dem - Elliott Bermudez-Galton - 303

Con - David Greenhalgh - 2928 - ELECTED

Con - Nadim Muslim - 2257 - ELECTED

Green - Liz Spencer - 374

Lab - Steve Sutton - 1023

Lib Dem - David Walsh - 196

Lab - Deb Whenlock - 910