1987 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election

The 1987 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1987 to elect members of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party kept overall control of the council.

The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton shown within England

20 seats were contested in the election: 13 were won by the Labour Party, 6 by the Conservative Party, and 1 by the Liberal Party. After the election, the composition of the council was:

Election result

Bolton Local Election Result 1987
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	13	0	0	0	41.1	36,959	-4.5
Conservative	6	0	1	-1	35.8	32,191	+4.4
Alliance	1	1	0	+1	22.3	20,051	-0.4
Other parties	0	0	0	0	0.9	811	+0.9

Council Composition

Prior to the election the composition of the council was:

↓
38	17	5
Labour	Conservative	L

After the election the composition of the council was:

↓
38	16	6
Labour	Conservative	L

LD – Liberal / SDP Alliance

Ward results

Astley Bridge ward

Astley Bridge ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J Walsh	2,752	54.7	+3.1
	Labour	S Marsland	1,488	29.6	−4.1
	SDP	M Langdon	787	15.7	+1.0
Majority			1,264	25.1	+7.2
Turnout			5,027	48.3	+3.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Con 3.6

Blackrod ward

Blackrod ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K Helsby	1,646	37.0	−9.0
	Conservative	J Barrow	1,533	34.4	−0.9
	SDP	C Kay	806	18.1	+5.1
	Independent Labour	L Watkinson	467	10.5	+4.8
Majority			113	2.5	−12.5
Turnout			4,452	46.4	+9.2
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to SDP 7.0

Bradshaw ward

Bradshaw ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E Crook	2,537	55.5	+6.8
	Labour	P McFadden	1,068	23.4	−5.0
	Liberal	A Steele	966	21.1	−1.9
Majority			1,469	32.1	+11.8
Turnout			4,571	42.0	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Con 5.9

Breightmet ward

Breightmet ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D Grime	2,185	48.3	−4.8
	Conservative	P Jones	1,626	35.9	+3.8
	SDP	B Dunning	578	15.8	+1.0
Majority			559	12.3	−8.7
Turnout			4,527	40.9	+6.1
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Con 4.3

Bromley Cross ward

Bromley Cross ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A Wilkinson	2,665	54.3	+12.0
	Labour	D Doxsey	1,236	25.2	−3.9
	SDP	D Poole	1,010	20.6	−8.1
Majority			1,429	29.1	+16.0
Turnout			4,911	46.7	+2.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	SDP to Con 10.0

Burnden ward

Burnden ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P Birch	2,041	52.4	−2.1
	Conservative	F Hunter	1,299	33.3	+0.9
	Liberal	P Howarth	558	14.3	+1.2
Majority			742	19.0	−3.0
Turnout			3,898	43.6	+4.6
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal 1.6

Central ward

Central ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J Sherrington	2,257	67.7	−7.0
	Liberal	S Vickers	682	20.5	+3.3
	Conservative	N Baxter	392	11.8	+3.8
Majority			1,575	47.3	−6.9
Turnout			3,331	41.3	+0.9
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal 5.4

Daubhill ward

Daubhill ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M Donaghy	2,308	56.9	−7.4
	Conservative	J Cosgrove	1,234	30.4	+6.2
	Liberal	R Ronson	439	10.6	−1.0
	Independent	J Hamilton	82	2.0	+2.0
Majority			1,074	26.5	−13.6
Turnout			4,055	44.2	+4.6
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Con 6.8

Deane-cum-Heaton ward

Deane-cum-Heaton ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J Hanscomb	3,484	58.4	+4.3
	Labour	P Boardman	1,288	21.6	−2.8
	SDP	C Macpherson	1,193	20.0	−1.5
Majority			2,196	36.8	+7.1
Turnout			5,965	45.5	+3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Con 2.5

Derby ward

Derby ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K Peters	3,123	72.8	−9.7
	Conservative	W Ingham	731	17.0	+6.4
	SDP	L Easterman	436	10.2	+3.3
Majority			2,392	55.7	−16.2
Turnout			4,290	44.0	+4.4
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Con 8.0

Farnworth ward

Farnworth ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W Hardman	2,230	65.1	−2.5
	Conservative	C Adams	700	20.4	+7.0
	Liberal	L Sanderson	493	14.4	−4.7
Majority			1,530	44.7	−3.8
Turnout			3,423	36.0	+6.2
	Labour hold		Swing	Liberal to Con 5.8

Halliwell ward

Halliwell ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C Morris	2,282	50.1	+3.1
	Liberal	A Halliwell	1,226	26.9	−9.3
	Conservative	E Holland	1,049	23.0	+6.2
Majority			1,056	23.2	+12.4
Turnout			4,557	46.3	+2.6
	Labour hold		Swing	Liberal to Con 7.7

Harper Green ward

Harper Green ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M Atkinson	2,479	59.3	−10.2
	Conservative	L Cosgrave	885	21.2	+2.9
	Liberal	G Willis	817	19.5	+7.3
Majority			1,594	38.1	−13.0
Turnout			4,181	40.6	+7.0
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal 8.7

Horwich ward

Horwich ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E McCracken	2,309	38.8	+2.5
	Liberal	I Hamilton	1,916	32.2	−5.7
	Conservative	S Dawson	1,725	29.0	+3.1
Majority			393	6.6
Turnout			5,950	53.0	+5.6
	Labour hold		Swing	Liberal to Con 4.4

Hulton Park ward

Hulton Park ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G Smith	2,267	42.9	+6.1
	Liberal	P Cooper	1,961	37.1	−2.6
	Labour	P Entwistle	1,053	19.9	−3.7
Majority			306	5.8
Turnout			5,281	48.3	+8.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Con 4.9

Kearsley ward

Kearsley ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W Robinson	2,210	49.2	−1.7
	Liberal	J Rothwell	1,595	35.5	−3.9
	Conservative	N Houlcroft	687	15.3	+5.6
Majority			615	13.7	+2.2
Turnout			4,492	46.2	+6.1
	Labour hold		Swing	Liberal to Con 4.7

Little Lever ward

Little Lever ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D Dziubas	2,229	50.2	+4.3
	Labour	S Jones	1,580	35.6	−7.8
	SDP	K Banks	632	14.2	+3.6
Majority			649	14.6	+12.1
Turnout			4,441	47.6	+0.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Con 6.0

Smithills ward

Smithills ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	F Harasiwka	2,376	48.4	−1.4
	Conservative	C Shaw	1,899	38.7	+3.8
	Labour	J Ward	631	12.9	−0.4
Majority			477	9.7	−4.9
Turnout			4,906	54.9	+8.0
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	Liberal to Con 2.6

Tonge ward

Tonge ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D Clare	2,317	53.6	−10.7
	Conservative	T Ryle	1,438	33.2	+4.5
	SDP	L Shepherd	570	13.2	+6.2
Majority			879	20.3	−17.6
Turnout			4,325	47.3	+1.0
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal 8.6

Westhoughton ward

Westhoughton ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P Finch	1,228	35.8	−4.3
	Liberal	P Mather	1,170	34.1	−3.6
	Conservative	J Cowburn	769	22.4	+0.2
	Independent	P James	262	7.6	+7.6
Majority			58	1.7	−0.7
Turnout			3,429	50.2	+9.2
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Con 2.2

References

Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council Election Results 1973–2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 12 July 2016.