Political Composition

The Bolton borough is divided into 20 wards, each of which has three councillors.

Each councillor is elected for up to four years. There will be “all out” elections in May 2023 following the implementation of the Local Government Boundary Commission review.

The current make-up of the council is:

• Conservative (23)
• Labour (19)
• Liberal Democrat (5)
• Farnworth and Kearsley First (3)
• Horwich and Blackrod First Independents (2)
• One Kearsley (2)
• The Bolton Independent Group (2)
• Others (4)

Total – 60

(Political composition as of May 4 2023)

The work of the council is carried out through six departments which are overseen by the Cabinet and Executive Cabinet Members. The Conservative group has formed the Cabinet. The Cabinet is made up of 10 elected members with different areas of responsibility. The council also works with a variety of private, public and voluntary sector organisations through the Bolton Strategic Partnership, Bolton Vision2030.

Council structure

The Council has five main directorates, covering children’s services, adult services including integrated care partnership, corporate services, place covering (development) and (services) and public health who report to the Chief Executive. We also closely work with Bolton Cares through an arm’s length approach.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)

The ten councils (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan) have worked together voluntarily for many years on issues that affect everyone in the region, like transport, regeneration, and attracting investment.