# Bolton East (UK Parliament constituency)

Bolton East was a borough constituency in the town of Bolton in Greater Manchester (formerly in Lancashire). It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The constituency was created for the 1950 general election. It was abolished in boundary changes for the 1983 general election, when most of Bolton East became part of the new constituency of Bolton South East.

## Boundaries

The County Borough of Bolton wards of Astley Bridge, Bradford, Church, Darcy Lever-cum-Breightmet, East, Great Lever, Hulton, North, and Tonge.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1950 | Alfred Booth | Labour |
| | 1951 | Philip Bell | Conservative |
| | 1960 by-election | Edwin Taylor | Conservative |
| | 1964 | Robert Howarth | Labour |
| | 1970 | Laurance Reed | Conservative |
| | Feb 1974 | David Young | Labour |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished: see Bolton North East and Bolton South East | constituency abolished: see Bolton North East and Bolton South East |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bolton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alfred Booth | 24,826 | 45.48 | |
| | Conservative | Philip Bell | 21,117 | 38.68 | |
| | Liberal | Arthur Holt | 8,647 | 15.84 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,709 | 6.80 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,590 | 87.46 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Bolton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Philip Bell | 27,106 | 50.33 | +11.6 |
| | Labour | Alfred Booth | 26,751 | 49.7 | +4.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 355 | 0.66 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,857 | 84.75 | −2.71 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +3.8 | |
General election 1955: Bolton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Philip Bell | 26,145 | 53.60 | +3.3 |
| | Labour | Alfred Booth | 22,634 | 46.40 | −3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,511 | 7.20 | +6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,779 | 79.19 | −5.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.3 | |
General election 1959: Bolton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Philip Bell | 25,885 | 52.8 | −0.8 |
| | Labour | Ronald Haines | 23,153 | 47.2 | +0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,732 | 5.6 | −1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,038 | 80.95 | +1.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.8 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

1960 Bolton East by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edwin Taylor | 15,499 | 37.8 | −15.0 |
| | Labour | Robert Howarth | 14,858 | 36.2 | −11.0 |
| | Liberal | Frank Byers | 10,173 | 24.8 | New |
| | New Conservative | John E. Dayton | 493 | 1.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 641 | 1.6 | −4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,023 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -2.0 | |
General election 1964: Bolton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Robert Howarth | 21,937 | 46.09 |
| | Conservative | Edwin Taylor | 18,785 | 39.47 |
| | Liberal | A. Cooper | 6,873 | 14.44 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,152 | 6.62 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,595 | 80.36 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | |
General election 1966: Bolton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Robert Howarth | 26,613 | 59.21 |
| | Conservative | Edwin Taylor | 18,331 | 40.79 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,282 | 18.42 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,944 | 76.96 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bolton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Laurance Reed | 22,769 | 50.52 | |
| | Labour | Robert Howarth | 22,298 | 49.48 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 471 | 1.04 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,067 | 73.50 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Bolton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Young | 19,833 | 41.28 | |
| | Conservative | Laurance Reed | 18,220 | 37.93 | |
| | Liberal | Tim J. Akeroyd | 8,728 | 18.17 | |
| | National Front | G. Booth | 1,259 | 2.62 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,613 | 3.35 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,040 | 80.58 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Bolton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Young | 21,569 | 46.77 | |
| | Conservative | John Heddle | 17,504 | 37.95 | |
| | Liberal | Tim J. Akeroyd | 5,792 | 12.56 | |
| | National Front | G. Booth | 1,106 | 2.40 | |
| | More Prosperous Britain | Harold Smith | 149 | 0.32 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,065 | 8.82 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,120 | 76.64 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1979: Bolton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | David Young | 21,920 | 47.60 |
| | Conservative | R. Baldwin | 20,068 | 43.58 |
| | Liberal | S. B. Lawrence | 3,603 | 7.82 |
| | National Front | J. Hamilton | 457 | 0.99 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,852 | 4.02 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,048 | 78.74 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |