
Elections to Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council were held on 5 May 2011, along with the2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum. One third of the council was up for election, with each successful candidate to serve a four-year term of office, expiring in 2015.
21 seats were contested, including 2 seats in the Horwich North East ward followingBarbara Ronson's resignation. The Labour Party won 15 seats, whilst the Conservatives won 5 and the Liberal Democrats 1.
TheLabour Party gained overall control of the council for the first time since 2003.
After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 15 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 49.3 | 38,148 | +9.8 | ||
| Conservative | 5 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 33.2 | 25,745 | -0.7 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 12.7 | 9,801 | -8.7 | ||
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 | 2,762 | +1.4 | |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 | 299 | -1.1 | |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 | 692 | -0.8 | |
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:
| 30 | 22 | 8 |
| Labour | Conservative | Lib Dems |
After the election the composition of the council was:
| 35 | 20 | 5 |
| Labour | Conservative | Lib Dems |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Paul Vernon Wild | 1,982 | 46.1 | −0.4 | |
| Labour | Asif Ismail Ibrahim | 1,481 | 34.5 | +5.0 | |
| Independent | Neville Mercer | 430 | 10.00 | +4.3 | |
| Astley Bridge First | Stuart Anthony Lever | 202 | 4.7 | +4.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Clive Richard Atty | 202 | 4.7 | −13.5 | |
| Majority | 501 | 11.6 | −5.2 | ||
| Turnout | 4,297 | 42.9 | −26.2 | ||
| Conservativegain fromInd. Conservative | Swing | LD to Labour 9.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Diana Brierley | 2,328 | 55.7 | +2.0 | |
| Labour | Kate Challender | 1,567 | 37.5 | +10.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Stephen Frederick Howarth | 285 | 6.8 | −10.1 | |
| Majority | 761 | 18.1 | −8.6 | ||
| Turnout | 4,209 | 47.7 | −24.4 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | LD to Labour 10.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Byrne | 2,045 | 60.2 | +10.6 | |
| Conservative | Sandra MacNeill | 1,176 | 34.6 | −0.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Tracey Odessa Kane | 176 | 5.2 | −10.4 | |
| Majority | 869 | 25.4 | +10.6 | ||
| Turnout | 3,420 | 36.0 | −23.2 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | LD to Labour 10.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Norman Andrew Wilkinson | 2,821 | 59.7 | +5.2 | |
| Labour | Tony Muscat | 1,244 | 26.3 | +3.5 | |
| Green | Rosa Sarah Shaw | 336 | 7.1 | +3.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Christopher Atty | 327 | 6.9 | −11.6 | |
| Majority | 1,577 | 33.2 | +1.8 | ||
| Turnout | 4,755 | 45.0 | −29.0 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | LD to Con 8.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Guy J. Harkin | 2,403 | 68.7 | +6.4 | |
| Conservative | Gareth James Morris | 713 | 20.4 | −1.6 | |
| Green | Alex Shaw | 218 | 6.2 | +6.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Gabrielle McDowall | 164 | 4.7 | −10.9 | |
| Majority | 1,690 | 48.0 | +7.7 | ||
| Turnout | 3,522 | 35.1 | −26.6 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | LD to Labour 10.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jean Gillies | 1,855 | 68.8 | +15.9 | |
| Conservative | Ibby Ismail | 383 | 14.2 | −6.8 | |
| Green | Diana Hayes | 231 | 8.6 | +3.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Wendy Connor | 226 | 8.4 | −11.7 | |
| Majority | 1,472 | 54.0 | +32.0 | ||
| Turnout | 2,726 | 25.5 | −20.4 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | LD to Labour 13.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Madeline Murray | 2,282 | 68.5 | +19.0 | |
| Conservative | Anjani Kumar | 612 | 18.4 | −13.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Aqeel Akhtar | 241 | 7.2 | −6.5 | |
| Green | David William Collins | 198 | 5.9 | +1.2 | |
| Majority | 1,670 | 49.5 | −31.3 | ||
| Turnout | 3,375 | 35.5 | −22.8 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | Con to Labour 16.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Linda Carol Thomas | 2,235 | 75.8 | +10.7 | |
| Conservative | Joylon Horton Greenhalgh | 377 | 12.8 | −4.2 | |
| Green | Ian David McHugh | 195 | 6.6 | +6.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Francine Godfrey | 143 | 4.8 | −13.0 | |
| Majority | 1,858 | 62.6 | +15.3 | ||
| Turnout | 2,969 | 33.1 | −22.0 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | LD to Labour 11.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Margaret Clare | 1,918 | 69.2 | +24.6 | |
| Conservative | Jay Patel | 616 | 22.2 | +4.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | David Arthur Connor | 236 | 8.5 | −14.7 | |
| Majority | 1,302 | 45.2 | +23.7 | ||
| Turnout | 2,881 | 30.0 | −24.0 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | LD to Labour 19.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Bob Allen | 3,175 | 62.0 | +4.7 | |
| Labour | John William Gillatt | 1,394 | 27.2 | +2.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Christine Joyce MacPherson | 316 | 6.2 | −9.4 | |
| Green | Hannah Louisa Middleton | 240 | 4.7 | +2.4 | |
| Majority | 1,781 | 34.6 | +1.5 | ||
| Turnout | 5,149 | 48.5 | −27.1 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | LD to Con 7.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Lindsey Ann Kell | 1,851 | 49.1 | +11.3 | |
| Conservative | John Raymond Birchall Barrow | 1,425 | 37.8 | +3.0 | |
| Green | Graham Chadwick | 281 | 7.4 | +1.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Philip Andrew Kane | 215 | 5.7 | −14.9 | |
| Majority | 426 | 11.2 | |||
| Turnout | 3,804 | 39.7 | −26.2 | ||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | LD to Labour 13.1 | |||
Two seats were up for election in this ward.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Joyce Kellett | 1,869 | 24.6 | ||
| Labour Co-op | Richard Silvester | 1,526 | 20.2 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Stephen Michael Rock | 1,217 | 16.0 | ||
| Conservative | Carol Ann Forshaw | 1,135 | 14.9 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Kenneth Thomson | 1,017 | 13.4 | ||
| Conservative | Peter Sloan | 837 | 11.0 | ||
| Majority | (Kellett) 652 | ||||
| Majority | (Silvester) 309 | ||||
| Labourgain fromLiberal Democrats | |||||
| Labour Co-opgain fromLiberal Democrats | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Philip John Ashcroft | 1,671 | 46.4 | −0.8 | |
| Labour | Shafaqat Shaikh | 1,369 | 38.0 | +6.3 | |
| Green | James Tomkinson | 344 | 9.6 | +3.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Matthew David Tyas Cooper | 215 | 6.0 | −8.6 | |
| Majority | 302 | 8.4 | −7.2 | ||
| Turnout | 3,599 | 36.7 | −25.1 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | LD to Labour 7.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Liam Irving | 1,630 | 52.4 | +6.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Margaret Patricia Rothwell | 953 | 30.6 | −0.2 | |
| Conservative | Michelle Ionn | 529 | 17.0 | −5.8 | |
| Majority | 677 | 21.5 | +5.9 | ||
| Turnout | 3,144 | 30.2 | −26.3 | ||
| Labourgain fromLiberal Democrats | Swing | Con to Labour 5.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Anthony Connell | 1,988 | 50.0 | +18.4 | |
| Conservative | Rees Gibbon | 1,057 | 26.6 | −1.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Eric John Hyde | 714 | 18.0 | −2.8 | |
| Green | Alwynne Cartmell | 217 | 5.5 | +3.0 | |
| Majority | 931 | 23.3 | +19.6 | ||
| Turnout | 3,992 | 41.2 | −24.8 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | LD to Labour 10.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Ebrahim Adia | 2,677 | 77.1 | +7.1 | |
| Conservative | Ruth Kenny | 374 | 10.8 | −3.9 | |
| Green | Alan Johnson | 300 | 8.6 | +8.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | David Charles Tyas Cooper | 119 | 3.4 | −11.8 | |
| Majority | 2,303 | 66.4 | +11.6 | ||
| Turnout | 3,470 | 34.6 | −21.4 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | LD to Green 10.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Carole R. Swarbrick | 1,642 | 40.0 | −0.7 | |
| Labour | Sean Francis Harkin | 1,344 | 32.8 | +7.6 | |
| Conservative | Christine Deidre Porter | 913 | 22.3 | −1.9 | |
| Green | Rachel Elizabeth Mann | 202 | 4.9 | +2.6 | |
| Majority | 298 | 7.2 | −8.4 | ||
| Turnout | 4,125 | 41.6 | −25.7 | ||
| Liberal Democratshold | Swing | Con to Labour 4.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Elaine Sherrington | 1,714 | 55.2 | +7.2 | |
| Conservative | Kath Kavanagh | 933 | 30.0 | +2.7 | |
| BNP | Dorothee Sayers | 299 | 9.6 | −0.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Anthony Harasiwka | 160 | 5.2 | −9.3 | |
| Majority | 781 | 25.0 | +4.3 | ||
| Turnout | 3,124 | 35.1 | −22.6 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | LD to Labour 8.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Christopher Peacock | 2,038 | 47.8 | +17.4 | |
| Conservative | Patricia Allen | 1,837 | 43.1 | +5.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Patricia Cooper | 392 | 9.2 | −18.8 | |
| Majority | 201 | 4.7 | |||
| Turnout | 4,304 | 39.3 | −28.3 | ||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | LD to Labour 18.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | David Andrew Chadwick | 1,718 | 49.5 | +14.9 | |
| Conservative | Michael Baker | 851 | 24.5 | −1.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Derek John Gradwell | 841 | 24.2 | −5.1 | |
| Independent | Glenn George Kaalman | 60 | 1.7 | +1.7 | |
| Majority | 933 | 26.2 | +20.9 | ||
| Turnout | 3,562 | 37.1 | −26.4 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | LD to Labour 10.0 | |||