| Bolton North East | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1983 |
| Type: | Borough |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
| Previous: | Bolton West Bolton East Darwen[1] |
| Population: | 95,288 (2011 census)[2] |
| Electorate: | 77,020 (2023)[3] |
| Mp: | Kirith Entwistle |
| Party: | Labour |
| Towns: | Bromley Cross |
| Region: | England |
| County: | Greater Manchester |
| European: | North West England |
Bolton North East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Kirith Entwistle, a Labour Party MP.
The seat covers parts of Bolton town centre and extends into the West Pennine Moors. The districts in close proximity to the town centre (Breightmet, Crompton, Halliwell, Tonge with the Haulgh) are Labour-voting areas, whereas the outer suburbs (Astley Bridge, Bradshaw, Bromley Cross) are much more Conservative inclined. Altogether, the national statistics collected reflect a socially diverse seat in terms of income; this has been a highly marginal seat when national polls are close, with lower than average social housing, and less deprivation than the average for the metropolitan county.[4]
Bolton North East has more often than not to date been a marginal seat between Labour and Conservative candidates. In 1992, Labour's David Crausby came tantalisingly close to gaining the seat, but did not, as his party were expecting to. It would not be until 1997 that Labour gained the seat, with a huge 12,000 majority, holding it for the next 22 years. Labour comfortably held the seat in 2010, with very little swing from the previous election. Mark Logan finally recaptured the seat for the Conservatives in 2019 with a majority of just 0.9%, making it their fourth most marginal seat over Labour.
Logan opted not to contest the 2024 election and, after the Dissolution of Parliament, he endorsed the Labour Party.[5] Labour's candidate, Kirith Entwistle subsequently won the seat with a majority of over 15%, with the Conservatives coming second just ahead of Reform UK.
Bolton North East was created for the 1983 general election from parts of the constituencies of Bolton West and the former Bolton East.
1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton wards of Astley Bridge, Bradshaw, Breightmet, Bromley Cross, Central, and Tonge.
1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton wards of Astley Bridge, Bradshaw, Breightmet, Bromley Cross, Central, Halliwell, and Tonge.
2010–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton wards of Astley Bridge, Bradshaw, Breightmet, Bromley Cross, Crompton, Halliwell, and Tonge with the Haulgh.
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency was expanded to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring from Bolton South East the ward of Little Lever & Darcy Lever (as it existed on 1 December 2020).[6]
Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023[7] [8], the constituency now comprises the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton from the 2024 general election:
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Thurnham | |||
| Feb 1996 | |||
| Oct 1996 | |||
| 1997 | Sir David Crausby | ||
| 2019 | Mark Logan | ||
| 2024 | Kirith Entwistle | ||
| 2019 notional result[10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| 22,436 | 45.0 | ||
| 21,158 | 42.4 | ||
| 3,259 | 6.5 | ||
| 2,188 | 4.4 | ||
| 803 | 1.6 | ||
| Turnout | 49,844 | 64.7 | |
| Electorate | 77,020 | ||
For the 1997 general election the boundaries of the seat were significantly redrawn. The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1997 estimated that had the new boundaries been used for the previous general election rather than being narrowly held by the Conservatives, the seat would have been won by the Labour candidate with a majority of 3,017 over the Conservatives. Thus technically the seat was notionally a Labour hold at this election rather than a gain for the party. The swing above is based on this notional result.