Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election, 1980

The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton shown within England.

Elections to Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council were held on 3 May 1980. The whole council was up for election, with boundary changes since the last election in 1979. The Labour Party gained control of the Council from the Conservatives, who had previously been in control almost continuously since 1966. The overall number of councillors was reduced to 60 compared with 69 in 1979. The Labour Party made a net gain of 6 seats and the Conservatives a net loss of 15. Following this election, Cllr Robert Howarth of Central Ward was elected Leader of the Council and was to remain Leader until 2004, one of the longest serving Council leaders in the UK.

Election result

Bolton Local Election Result 1980
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	39			+6	65.0	48.9	41,394	+2.5
	Conservative	20			-15	33.3	42.6	36,034	-4.1
	Liberal	1			0	1.7	7.0	5,941	+0.2
	Others	0			0	0	1.4	1,179	+1.4

Ward results

Astley Bridge ward

Astley Bridge ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D Shepherd	2,745	23.5
	Conservative	A Hibbert	2,576	22.0
	Conservative	Johnston	2,550	21.0
	Labour	Wheeler	1,290	11.0
	Labour	McFadden	1,206	10.3
	Labour	Woodock	1,188	10.2
	National Front	Bernal	133	1.1
Turnout			11,688

Blackrod ward

Blackrod ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E Johnson	2,104	18.4
	Labour	J Clee	1,973	17.3
	Labour	J Monaghan	1,965	17.2
	Conservative	C Everin	1,963	17.2
	Conservative	Jones	1,725	15.1
	Conservative	Rushton	1,691	14.8
Turnout			11,421

Bradshaw ward

Bradshaw ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K Howarth	2,674	22.0
	Conservative	E Crook	2,603	21.5
	Conservative	B Furlong	2,558	21.1
	Labour	Ryan	1,502	12.4
	Labour	Platt	1,425	11.7
	Labour	Howarth	1,369	11.3
Turnout			12,131

Breightmet ward

Breightmet ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K McIvor	2,610	19.5
	Labour	D Grime	2,421	18.1
	Labour	C Benjamin	2,359	17.7
	Conservative	Chadbond	2,156	16.1
	Conservative	Greenhalgh	1,916	14.3
	Conservative	Jones	1,898	14.2
Turnout			13,360

Bromley Cross ward

Bromley Cross ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A Poulson	2,512	20.2
	Conservative	T Mulligan	2,340	19.5
	Conservative	B Hurst	2,417	19.4
	Labour	Doxsey	1,708	13.7
	Labour	Peacock	1,701	13.7
	Labour	Watson	1,681	13.5
Turnout			12,449

Burnden ward

Burnden ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D Eastwood	2,524	18.9
	Labour	P Birch	2,368	17.8
	Labour	G Mason	2,362	17.7
	Conservative	Drinkwater	2,063	15.5
	Conservative	Hunton	1,953	14.7
	Conservative	Haslam	1,927	14.5
	National Front	Salveson	127	1.0
Turnout			13,324

Central ward

Central ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R Howarth	2,657	26.0
	Labour	D Clark	2,652	25.9
	Labour	Brian Iddon	2,509	24.5
	Independent Labour	Hart	934	9.1
	Conservative	Bailey	738	7.2
	Conservative	Goudie	731	7.2
Turnout			10,221

Daubhill ward

Daubhill ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T Anderton	2,886	20.6
	Labour	M Donaghy	2,856	20.4
	Labour	G Harkin	2,722	19.4
	Conservative	D Carr	1,835	13.1
	Conservative	A Gledhill	1,801	12.8
	Conservative	Walsh	1,683	12.0
	National Front	Hamilton	238	1.7
Turnout			14,021

Deane cum Heaton ward

Deane cum Heaton ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D Berry	4,016	23.8
	Conservative	J Hanscomb	3,962	23.4
	Conservative	M Allanson	3,918	23.2
	Labour	Morris	1,701	10.1
	Labour	Jenkins	1,665	9.9
	Labour	Walker	1,635	9.7
Turnout			16,897

Derby ward

Derby ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J Foster	3,344	32.3
	Labour	K Peters	3,154	30.5
	Labour	G Riley	3,058	29.6
	Conservative	Kolia	546	5.3
	Communist	Johnson	245	2.4
Turnout			10,347

Farnworth ward

Farnworth ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J Wild	2,207	25.6
	Labour	W Hardman	2,204	25.6
	Labour	P Johnston	2,065	24.0
	Conservative	Waterson	618	7.2
	Conservative	Coote	610	7.1
	Conservative	Sever	570	6.6
	Liberal	Bale	337	3.9
Turnout			8,611

Halliwell ward

Halliwell ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B Hamer	2,011	16.9
	Liberal	J Fish	1,856	15.6
	Labour	Johnson	1,775	14.9
	Labour	Knight	1,768	14.8
	Liberal	Roberts	1,227	10.3
	Liberal	Wood	1,209	10.2
	Conservative	W Hall	1,052	8.8
	Conservative	Higham	1,008	8.5
Turnout			11,906

Harper Green ward

Harper Green ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P Butterfield	2,814	23.1
	Labour	M Atkinson	2,806	23.1
	Labour	L Williamson	2,646	21.8
	Conservative	Royse	1,262	10.4
	Conservative	Shore	1,100	9.0
	Conservative	Holland	1,065	8.8
	Liberal	Hinkley	471	3.9
Turnout			12,164

Horwich ward

Horwich ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A Oakley	2,867	20.1
	Labour	Broom	2,481	17.4
	Labour	P Senior	2,452	17.2
	Conservative	A Parkinson	2,202	15.5
	Conservative	Dawson	2,193	15.4
	Conservative	Willett	2,044	14.4
Turnout			14,239

Hulton Park ward

Hulton Park ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J Smith	2,307	21.5
	Conservative	G Smith	2,260	21.1
	Conservative	Prince	2,193	20.5
	Labour	Forrest	1,352	12.6
	Labour	Start	1,305	12.2
	Labour	Moon	1,293	12.1
Turnout			10,710

Kearsley ward

Kearsley ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T Lewis	3,010	25.3
	Labour	W Robinson	2,548	21.4
	Labour	D Dingwall	2,423	20.4
	Liberal	J Rothwell	1,528	12.8
	Liberal	Bell	1,200	10.1
	Conservative	J Tomlinson	1,194	10.0
Turnout			11,903

Little Lever ward

Little Lever ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K Hornby	2,057	17.3
	Labour	J Marsh	2,047	17.2
	Conservative	M Lawton	2,030	17.0
	Labour	Sanderson	1,844	15.5
	Conservative	Longmire	1,769	14.8
	Labour	Walker	1,701	14.3
	Liberal	Crook	469	3.9
Turnout			11,917

Smithills ward

Smithills ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S Collier	2,414	18.8
	Conservative	M Howarth	2,392	18.6
	Conservative	D Priestley	2,340	18.2
	Liberal	Fish	1,085	8.5
	Labour	Lever	1,011	7.9
	Labour	B McCracken	995	7.8
	Labour	Palframan	987	7.7
	Liberal	Oaks	815	6.3
	Liberal	Walmsley	799	6.2
Turnout			12,838

Tonge ward

Tonge ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A Brigg	2,212	17.7
	Labour	D Clare	2,155	17.3
	Labour	C Skull	2,095	16.8
	Conservative	Harrison	2,032	16.3
	Conservative	K Knowles	2,007	16.1
	Conservative	Rigby	1,991	15.9
Turnout			12,492

Westhoughton ward

Westhoughton ward (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P Woodcock	1,607	25.5
	Labour	P Finch	1,511	23.9
	Labour	P Jones	1,402	22.2
	Liberal	D Wilkinson	969	15.4
	Conservative	Riley	823	13.0
Turnout			6,312