Bolton West
Bolton West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Phil Brickell, a Labour Party politician.
Constituency profile
The Bolton West constituency located within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester. It includes the western suburbs of the large town of Bolton and the area to its west, including the towns of Westhoughton, Horwich and Blackrod. Like much of Greater Manchester, the area has an industrial heritage in textile manufacturing and coal mining.Residents of the constituency have similar levels of wealth, education and professional employment compared to national averages. The constituency has a similar ethnic makeup to the country as a whole; 83% of residents are White and 12% are Asian with the Asian population concentrated in Bolton. Local politics are mixed, with Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors representing most of the Bolton suburbs, Labour Party councillors representing Daubhill and parts of Westhoughton and independents representing Horwich and Blackrod. An estimated 55% of voters in the constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, slightly higher than the national figure of 52%.
History
The constituency was created for the 1950 general election when the two-member seat of Bolton was split between the single member seats of Bolton East and Bolton West. The Labour Party candidate won in 1950 but, at the next three elections, the Conservative Party did not stand, allowing Arthur Holt of the Liberal Party to hold the seat from 1951 to 1964. Subsequently, it has been a marginal seat between Labour and Conservative, although at the 2019 election, it was also the safest Conservative seat in Greater Manchester, with a larger majority than Altrincham and Sale West. This was overturned when the seat was won by Labour in the 2024 election.Boundaries
Historic
1950–1983: The County Borough of Bolton wards of Deane-cum-Lostock, Derby, Halliwell, Heaton, Rumworth, Smithills, and West.1983–1997: The Borough of Bolton wards of Blackrod, Deane-cum-Heaton, Halliwell, Horwich, Hulton Park, Smithills, and Westhoughton.
1997–2010: The Borough of Bolton wards of Blackrod, Deane-cum-Heaton, Horwich, Hulton Park, Smithills, and Westhoughton.
2010–2024: The Borough of Bolton wards of Heaton and Lostock, Horwich and Blackrod, Horwich North East, Smithills, Westhoughton North and Chew Moor, and Westhoughton South, and the Borough of Wigan ward of Atherton.
There were major boundary changes to Bolton West in 1983 when part of its area went to create Bolton North East, but compensated by taking most of the former Westhoughton constituency. 2010 saw the town of Atherton added from the Wigan borough, previously in the Leigh constituency.
Current
Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 general election, the constituency is defined as comprising the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton as they existed on 1 December 2020:- Heaton and Lostock; Horwich and Blackrod; Horwich North East; Hulton; Smithills; Westhoughton North and Chew Moor; Westhoughton South.
Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency now comprises the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton from the 2024 general election:
- Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor; Horwich North; Horwich South & Blackrod; Hulton ; Smithills; Westhoughton North & Hunger Hill; Westhoughton South; and a very small part of Rumsworth.