Bolton Council election, 1976

Elections to Bolton Council were held on in May 1976. The Conservatives retained control of the Council.

23 seats were contested, with 16 being won by the Conservative Party and 7 by the Labour Party.

Ernie Crook was the sitting Conservative Councillor in the Church East and North Ward, but was re-elected as an Independent Conservative due to an internal selection dispute. However he took the Conservative Party whip soon after. Therefore this seat is regarded as a Conservative hold rather than a loss.

After the election, the composition of the Council was

• Conservative 46
• Labour 20
• Liberal Party 2
• Independent 1

Election result

Bolton Local Election Result 1976
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	16	4	0	+4	{{{seats %}}}	57.9	42,559	+1.3
	Labour	7	2	4	-2	{{{seats %}}}	37.0	27,230	+4.4
	Liberal	0	0	1	-1	{{{seats %}}}	3.9	2,902	-4.5
	Others	0	0	1	-1	{{{seats %}}}	1.1	855	-1.2

Ward results

Astley Bridge ward

Astley Bridge ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F Waterworth	2,871	77.5	+0.3
	Labour	G Riley	832	22.5	-0.3
Majority			2,039	55.1	+0.7
Turnout			3,703	38.0	+2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Con 0.3

Bradshaw North and South ward

Bradshaw North and South ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T Greenhalgh	2,666	85.7	+35.7
	Labour	A Grimes	446	14.3	+8.4
Majority			2,220	71.3	+46.0
Turnout			3,112	34.0	-12.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bradford ward

Bradford ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T McEwan	1,205	68.5	+5.4
	Conservative	A Mills	498	28.3	-8.6
	Socialist (GB)	N Duffield	56	3.2	+3.2
Majority			707	40.2	+14.0
Turnout			1,759	37.7	+3.7
	Labour hold		Swing	Con to Labour 7.0

Bromley Cross, Eagley and Egerton ward

Bromley Cross, Eagley and Egerton ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A Poulsom	2,666	81.9	+24.5
	Labour	C Benjamin	591	18.1	-1.4
Majority			2,075	63.7	+29.4
Turnout			3,257	38.5	-5.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	Lab to Con 12.9

Church East and North ward

Church East and North ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Conservative	E Crook	1,227	41.1	+41.1
	Conservative	B Hall	961	32.2	-30.4
	Labour	P Johnson	799	26.7	-2.6
Majority			266	8.9
Turnout			2,987	48.3	+8.3
	Independent Conservative hold		Swing

Darcy Lever cum Breightmet ward

Darcy Lever cum Breightmet ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M Walsh	2,900	55.5	-4.7
	Labour	K McIvor	2,327	44.5	+4.7
Majority			573	10.9	-9.5
Turnout			5,227	39.0	+8.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	Con to Labour 4.7

Dean cum Lostock ward

Dean cum Lostock ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F Rushton	2,260	77.7	+0.3
	Labour	J Walker	648	22.3	-0.3
Majority			1,612	55.4	+0.7
Turnout			2,908	41.0	+4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Con 0.3

Derby ward

Derby ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R Lever	1,170	63.8	+2.3
	Conservative	D Smith	663	36.2	-2.3
Majority			507	27.6	+4.6
Turnout			1,833	31.0	+3.0
	Labour hold		Swing	Con to Labour 2.3

Farnworth North ward

Farnworth North ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R Neary	1,428	47.7	+6.2
	Conservative	A Nuttall	1,232	41.2	-4.7
	Liberal	M Harmsworth	331	11.1	+1.3
Majority			196	6.5
Turnout			2,991	31.9	+3.9
	Labour hold		Swing	Con to Labour 5.4

Farnworth South ward

Farnworth South ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W Hardman	1,290	55.3	+5.6
	Liberal	J Barrow	550	23.6	-1.7
	Conservative	L Sharples	493	21.1	-3.9
Majority			740	31.7	+7.4
Turnout			2,333	25.3	+4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	Con to Labour 4.7

Great Lever ward

Great Lever ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S Haslam	2,283	60.3	-6.1
	Labour	G Harkin	1,504	39.7	+6.1
Majority			779	20.5	-12.3
Turnout			3,787	36.0	+8.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	Con to Labour 6.1

Halliwell ward

Halliwell ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W Hall	1,742	55.6	+0.3
	Labour	R Johnson	1,389	44.4	+5.9
Majority			353	11.2	-5.6
Turnout			3,131	32.0	-1.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Heaton ward

Heaton ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J Hanscomb	1,996	90.4	-1.8
	Labour	T Moor	213	9.6	+1.8
Majority			1,783	80.7	-3.7
Turnout			2,210	47.0	-1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	Con to Labour 1.8

Horwich North, Central and East ward

Horwich North, Central and East ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B Crumblehulme	2,159	52.9	+10.3
	Labour	J McBurnie	1,924	47.1	+10.6
Majority			235	5.7	-0.4
Turnout			4,083	40.0	+7.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Horwich South and Blackrod ward

Horwich South and Blackrod ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C Everin	1,915	61.6	+12.4
	Labour	L Watkinson	1,194	38.4	+7.3
Majority			721	23.2	+4.2
Turnout			3,109	48.0	+8.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hulton and Rumworth ward

Hulton and Rumworth ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A Gledhill	2,112	55.1	+0.6
	Labour	P Jones	1,381	36.0	-0.7
	National Front	J Walsh	341	8.9	+1.0
Majority			731	19.0	+1.2
Turnout			3,834	38.5	+1.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Con 1.6

Kearsley ward

Kearsley ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T Lewis	1,479	40.4	+4.9
	Liberal	E Bell	1,376	37.5	-0.0
	Conservative	T Rothwell	810	22.1	-4.9
Majority			103	2.8
Turnout			3,665	42.6	+5.6
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	Con to Labour 4.9

Little Lever ward

Little Lever ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R Hodson	1,192	40.5	-6.2
	Labour	E Blackwell	1,105	37.6	+11.2
	Liberal	R Richardson	645	21.9	-5.0
Majority			87	2.9	-16.8
Turnout			2,942	38.0	-0.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	Con to Labour 8.7

Smithills ward

Smithills ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M Howarth	3,057	74.5	-1.6
	Labour	G Hart	897	21.9	+3.5
	Independent	B Langley	151	3.7	-1.8
Majority			2,160	52.6	-5.0
Turnout			4,105	37.9	+2.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	Con to Labour 2.5

Tonge ward

Tonge ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K Knowles	2,631	57.0	-7.4
	Labour	Brian Iddon	1,983	43.0	+7.4
Majority			648	14.0	-14.8
Turnout			4,614	42.0	+9.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	Con to Labour 7.4

West ward

West ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D Clarke	1,419	54.8	+5.9
	Conservative	B Holland	1,171	45.2	-5.9
Majority			248	9.5
Turnout			2,590	32.0	+8.0
	Labour hold		Swing	Con to Labour 5.9

Westhoughton East and Hulton ward

Westhoughton East and Hulton ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F Walsh	1,870	74.9	+0.4
	Labour	C Knowles	625	25.1	-0.4
Majority			1,245	49.9	+1.0
Turnout			2,495	42.8	+3.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Con 0.4

Westhoughton North, Central and South ward

Westhoughton North, Central and South ward (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J Clee	1,331	47.2	-5.1
	Conservative	J Roden	1,184	42.0	-5.7
	Independent	K Brown	307	10.9	+10.9
Majority			147	5.2	+0.6
Turnout			2,822	39.8	+2.8
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing	Con to Ind 8.3

References

(1975 ←) United Kingdom local elections, 1976 (→ 1977) Metropolitan boroughs Barnsley Birmingham Bradford Bolton Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton District councils (England) Adur Allerdale Alnwick Amber Valley Arun Ashfield Ashford Aylesbury Vale Babergh Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke Bassetlaw Bath Beaconsfield Berwick-upon-Tweed Beverley Blaby Blackburn Blackpool Blyth Valley Bolsover Boothferry Boston Bournemouth Bracknell Braintree Breckland Brentwood Bridgnorth Brighton Bristol Broadland Bromsgrove Broxbourne Broxtowe Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Canterbury Caradon Carlisle Carrick Castle Morpeth Castle Point Charnwood Chelmsford Cheltenham Cherwell Chesterfield Chester-le-Street Chester Chichester Chiltern Chorley Christchurch Cleethorpes Colchester Congleton Copeland Corby Cotswold Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Dacorum Darlington Dartford Daventry Derby Derwentside Dover Durham Easington East Cambridgeshire East Devon East Hampshire East Hertfordshire East Lindsey East Northamptonshire East Staffordshire Eastbourne Eastleigh Eden Ellesmere Port Elmbridge Epping Forest Epsom and Ewell Erewash Exeter Fareham Fenland Forest Heath Forest of Dean Fylde Gedling Gillingham Glanford Gloucester Gosport Gravesham Great Yarmouth Grimsby Guildford Halton Hambleton Harborough Harlow Harrogate Hartlepool Hart Hastings Havant Hereford Hertsmere High Peak Hinckley and Bosworth Holderness Horsham Hove Hull Huntingdon Hyndburn Ipswich Kennet Kerrier Kettering Kingswood Lancaster Langbaurgh Leicester Leominster Lewes Lichfield Lincoln Macclesfield Maidstone Maldon Malvern Hills Mansfield Medina Medway Melton Mendip Mid Bedfordshire Mid Suffolk Mid Sussex Middlesbrough Milton Keynes Mole Valley New Forest Newbury Newark Newcastle-under-Lyme North Bedfordshire North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Derbyshire North Hertfordshire North Kesteven North Norfolk North Shropshire North Warwickshire North West Leicestershire North Wiltshire North Wolds Northampton Northavon Norwich Nottingham Nuneaton Oadby and Wigston Oswestry Oxford Pendle Penwith Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Preston Purbeck Reading Redditch Reigate and Banstead Restormel Ribble Valley Richmondshire Rochford Rossendale Rother Rugby Runnymede Rushcliffe Rushmoor Rutland Ryedale Salisbury Scarborough Scunthorpe Sedgefield Sedgemoor Selby Sevenoaks Shepway Shrewsbury and Atcham Slough Spelthorne South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire South Derbyshire South Hams South Herefordshire South Lakeland South Kesteven South Norfolk South Northamptonshire South Oxfordshire South Ribble South Shropshire South Staffordshire South Wight Southampton Southend-on-Sea St Albans St Edmundsbury Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stevenage Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Suffolk Coastal Surrey Heath Swale Tamworth Tandridge Taunton Deane Teesdale Teignbridge Tendring Test Valley Tewkesbury Thamesdown Thanet The Wrekin Three Rivers Thurrock Tiverton Tonbridge and Malling Torbay Torridge Tunbridge Wells Tynedale Uttlesford Vale of White Horse Vale Royal Wansbeck Wansdyke Warrington Warwick Watford Waveney Waverley Wealden Wear Valley Wellingborough Welwyn Hatfield West Derbyshire West Devon West Dorset West Lancashire West Lindsey West Norfolk West Oxfordshire West Somerset West Wiltshire Weymouth and Portland Wimborne Windsor and Maidenhead Winchester Woking Wokingham Woodspring Worcester Worthing Wychavon Wycombe Wyre Wyre Forest Yeovil York District councils (Wales) Aberconwy Afan Alyn and Deeside Anglesey - Ynys Môn Arfon Blaenau Gwent Brecknock Cardiff Carmarthen Ceredigion Colwyn Cynon Valley Delyn Dinefwr Dwyfor Glyndŵr Islwyn Llanelli Lliw Valley Meirionnydd Merthyr Tydfil Monmouth Montgomery Neath Newport Ogwr Preseli Radnor Rhondda Rhuddlan Rhymney Valley South Pembrokeshire Swansea Taff-Ely Torfaen Vale of Glamorgan Wrexham Maelor

Council elections in Greater Manchester Bolton 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 Bury 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 Manchester 1945 1946 1947 1949 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 Oldham 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 Rochdale 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 Salford 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 Stockport 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 Tameside 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 Trafford 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 Wigan 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 Greater Manchester 1973 1977 1981 Abolished