# 1986 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election

The 1986 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 8 May 1986 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.
20 seats were contested in the election: 12 were won by the Labour Party, 5 by the Conservative Party, 2 by the Liberal Party and 1 by the Social Democratic Party After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Labour 38
* Conservative 17
* Liberal Party 4
* Social Democratic Party 1

## Election result

Bolton Local Election Result 1986 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 12 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 45.6 | 36,817 | -1.9 |
| Conservative | 5 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 31.4 | 25,307 | -3.3 |
| Alliance | 3 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 22.7 | 18,323 | +5.0 |

## Council Composition

Prior to the election the composition of the council was:
| 36 | 20 | 4 |
| Labour | Conservative | L |
After the election the composition of the council was:
| 38 | 17 | 5 |
| Labour | Conservative | L |
L – Liberal / SDP Alliance

## Ward results
### Astley Bridge ward

Astley Bridge ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | D Shepherd | 2,328 | 51.6 | −2.5 |
| | Labour | L Lee | 1,520 | 33.7 | +1.0 |
| | SDP | D Lee | 663 | 14.7 | +1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 808 | 17.9 | −7.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,511 | 44.5 | +4.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Con to SDP 2.0 | |

### Blackrod ward

Blackrod ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J Monaghan | 1,641 | 46.0 | −8.8 |
| | Conservative | J Barrow | 1,257 | 35.3 | +0.0 |
| | SDP | D Boyes | 463 | 13.0 | +3.0 |
| | Independent Labour | L Watkinson | 206 | 5.7 | +5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 384 | 15.0 | −4.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,565 | 37.2 | −1.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | Labour to SDP 5.9 | |

### Bradshaw ward

Bradshaw ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | B Tetlow | 2,174 | 48.7 | −4.6 |
| | Labour | J Sherrington | 1,268 | 28.4 | +0.5 |
| | Liberal | A Steele | 1,026 | 23.0 | +4.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 906 | 20.3 | −5.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,468 | 41.0 | =5.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Con to Liberal 4.4 | |

### Breightmet ward

Breightmet ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | C Benjamin | 2,066 | 53.1 | +1.0 |
| | Conservative | G Kearton | 1,249 | 32.1 | −4.6 |
| | Liberal | D Poole | 578 | 14.8 | +3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 817 | 21.0 | +5.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,893 | 34.8 | −3.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | Con to Liberal 4.1 | |

### Bromley Cross ward

Bromley Cross ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | B Hurst | 1,988 | 42.3 | −9.2 |
| | Labour | D Doxsey | 1,369 | 29.1 | +3.5 |
| | SDP | C Moore | 1,348 | 28.7 | +5.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 619 | 13.1 | −12.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,705 | 45.0 | +3.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Con to SDP 7.5 | |

### Burnden ward

Burnden ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | P Howarth | 1,874 | 54.5 | +1.8 |
| | Conservative | L Robertson | 1,115 | 32.4 | −7.3 |
| | Liberal | P Howarth | 452 | 13.1 | +5.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 759 | 22.0 | +8.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,441 | 39.0 | −2.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | Con to Liberal 6.4 | |

### Central ward

Central ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | B Iddon | 2,480 | 74.8 | +3.3 |
| | Conservative | M Kershaw | 569 | 17.2 | −0.8 |
| | Liberal | S Vickers | 265 | 8.0 | −2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,911 | 57.7 | +4.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,314 | 40.4 | +1.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | Liberal to Labour 2.9 | |

### Daubhill ward

Daubhill ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | G Harkin | 2,387 | 64.3 | +1.0 |
| | Conservative | J Cosgrove | 897 | 24.2 | −5.7 |
| | Liberal | R Ronson | 429 | 11.6 | +6.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,490 | 40.1 | +6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,713 | 39.6 | −4.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | Con to Liberal 6.2 | |

### Deane-cum-Heaton ward

Deane-cum-Heaton ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | B Allanson | 2,963 | 54.1 | −3.9 |
| | Labour | G Smith | 1,335 | 24.4 | +3.1 |
| | SDP | I Hamilton | 1,177 | 21.5 | +0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,628 | 29.7 | −7.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,475 | 42.0 | +2.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Con to Labour 3.5 | |

### Derby ward

Derby ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | G Riley | 3,175 | 82.5 | +1.4 |
| | Conservative | P Small | 407 | 10.6 | −2.7 |
| | SDP | C Kay | 267 | 6.9 | +1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,768 | 71.9 | +4.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,849 | 39.6 | +0.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | Con to Labour 2.0 | |

### Farnworth ward

Farnworth ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | P Johnston | 1,897 | 67.6 | −11.1 |
| | Liberal | L Sanderson | 536 | 19.1 | −2.2 |
| | Conservative | S Windsor | 375 | 13.4 | +13.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,361 | 48.5 | −8.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,808 | 29.8 | +0.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | Labour to Con 12.2 | |

### Halliwell ward

Halliwell ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J Kilcoyne | 2,022 | 47.0 | +2.6 |
| | Liberal | A Halliwell | 1,556 | 36.2 | −1.4 |
| | Conservative | A Cole | 721 | 16.8 | −1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 466 | 10.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,299 | 43.7 | +1.7 |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | Liberal to Labour 2.0 | |

### Harper Green ward

Harper Green ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | L Williamson | 2,442 | 69.5 | +4.4 |
| | Conservative | A Hickson | 644 | 18.3 | +8.8 |
| | Liberal | J Robinson | 429 | 12.2 | −13.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,798 | 51.1 | 11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,515 | 33.6 | −1.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | Liberal to Con 11.0 | |

### Horwich ward

Horwich ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SDP | B Ronson | 2,000 | 37.9 | +23.5 |
| | Labour | P Senior | 1,914 | 36.3 | −8.7 |
| | Conservative | G Howard | 1,366 | 25.9 | −13.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 86 | 1.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,280 | 47.4 | +3.8 |
| | SDP gain from Labour | SDP gain from Labour | Swing | Con to SDP 18.2 | |

### Hulton Park ward

Hulton Park ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | S Mather | 1,690 | 39.7 | +25.4 |
| | Conservative | F Rushton | 1,567 | 36.8 | −16.2 |
| | Labour | C Higgs | 1,005 | 23.6 | −9.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 123 | 2.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,262 | 40.2 | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | Con to Liberal 20.9 | |

### Kearsley ward

Kearsley ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | F Hampson | 1,990 | 50.9 | −5.4 |
| | Liberal | J Rothwell | 1,541 | 39.4 | +23.7 |
| | Conservative | A Longmire | 378 | 9.7 | −18.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 449 | 11.5 | −16.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,909 | 40.1 | +0.3 |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | Con to Liberal 21.0 | |

### Little Lever ward

Little Lever ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | A Lawton | 1,991 | 45.9 | +3.4 |
| | Labour | S Marsland | 1,881 | 43.4 | −6.2 |
| | SDP | A Howroft | 461 | 10.6 | +2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 110 | 2.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,333 | 46.8 | +6.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Labour to Con 4.8 | |

### Smithills ward

Smithills ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Mary Rankine Mason | 2,065 | 49.8 | +4.8 |
| | Conservative | E Holland | 1,449 | 34.9 | −6.5 |
| | Labour | P McFadden | 633 | 15.3 | +1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 606 | 14.6 | +11.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,147 | 46.9 | −0.1 |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | Con to Liberal 5.6 | |

### Tonge ward

Tonge ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | F White | 2,774 | 64.3 | +9.9 |
| | Conservative | A Chadbond | 1,237 | 28.7 | −10.0 |
| | SDP | W Woodburn | 302 | 7.0 | +0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,637 | 37.9 | +22.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,313 | 46.3 | +2.6 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | Con to Labour 9.9 | |

### Westhoughton ward

Westhoughton ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | P Jones | 1,144 | 40.0 | −9.9 |
| | Liberal | P Mather | 1,075 | 37.7 | −12.3 |
| | Conservative | J Cowburn | 632 | 22.2 | +22.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 68 | 2.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,851 | 41.0 | +3.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | Liberal to Con -17.2 | |