Metropolitan Borough Council of Bolton elections from 1973 to 2016

Summary

A total of 61 Metropolitan Borough Council Wards held elections in Bolton between 1973 and 2016. The database holds elections for 33 separate years over the 44 year period. Bolton held partial council elections with a proportion of seats elected on different years. Unlike whole council elections, this method allows for a gradual change in the composition of the authority. As a result, these councils can appear to be less volatile than those with whole council elections.

Participation

Average participation in Bolton over the 44 years was 39.92%. This was 1.82 percentage points higher than the average for all Metropolitan Borough Council Councils holding elections in the same year (38.10%). Turnout was higher than the average for Metropolitan Borough Council councils in 1980 when it was 7.81 percentage points higher. Turnout was lower than the average for Metropolitan Borough Council councils in 1982 when it was 1.67 percentage points lower.

The Party System

This section examines the party system in Bolton that existed in terms of number of seats won by each group in each election. In the analysis below, a party is considered to have won an election for the authority if it wins more seats than any other group. The extent to which a single party group wins all of the elections during the period is a measure of the dominance of a single party.

In terms of candidates elected, the party system in Bolton between 1973 and 2016 was largely dominated by Labour candidates. These candidates won the most seats in 28 of the 33 elections held. After Labour candidates, the next most successful group over the 44 years were Conservative candidates. These candidates won the most seats in 4 of the 33 elections held.

Number of Years Party Won Most Seats

Party Winning Most Seats by Year