In a clear reflection of the national Labour landslide, all of Bolton’s three seats – Bolton North East, Bolton West, and Bolton South & Walkden – were won by the party at the general election. Normally, little attention is given at general elections to party performance beyond the Conservatives and Labour. But this year has changed that, with the two biggest parties combined only winning 58 per cent of the national vote share.
This is the lowest combined national vote share Labour and the Tories have achieved since 1922. This underlying facet of the national picture – a surge in support for parties beyond Labour and the Tories – is very clear from Bolton’s results. The town’s three constituencies have seen a surge of support for the Nigel Farage-led Reform, and the emergence of George Galloway’s Workers Party has touched Bolton South and Walkden.
Speaking to Dylan Evans, the Reform candidate for Bolton West, as counting continued on Thursday night, he had a clear-set confidence in the party’s ability to split the Tory vote: “Since Nigel came back on board our support has been through the roof. We want to become the opposition in Bolton.” The election count was held at Bolton Arena (Image: Phil Taylor) Midway through our conversation, load groans resound from a crowd of Labour supporters stood in front of a large television in the counting station: Lee Anderson, the Reform MP who defected to the party from the Tories earlier this year, has just won his s.