The 2018 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Bolton Council in Greater Manchester, England.^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections. The Labour Party retained overall control of the Council with a majority of 1.

21 seats were contested and the Conservative Party won 9 seats, the Labour Party won 8 seats, the Liberal Democrats won 2 seats, and Farnworth and Kearsley First won 2 seats.^[2]

After the election, the total composition of the council was as follows:

• Labour 31
• Conservative 19
• UK Independence Party 3
• Liberal Democrats 4
• Farnworth and Kearsley First 3

Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election results
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Labour	21	8	1	5	4	38.0	38.5	29,467	2.3
	Conservative	21	9	2	0	2	42.8	34.0	26,084	8.4
	Liberal Democrats	21	2	1	0	1	4.7	13.8	10,583	2.7
	Farnworth and Kearsley First	3	2	2	0	2	9.5	5.8	4,460	N/A
	UKIP	7	0	0	1	1	0.0	2.9	2,263	16.4
	Green	13	0	0	0		0.0	2.7	2,072	0.3
	Independent	7	0	0	0		0.0	2.0	1,599	1.7
	Totals	93	21				100.0	100.0	76,528	3,956

Prior to the election the composition of the council was:

↓

35	17	3	4	1
Labour	Conservative	LD	U	FK

After the election the composition of the council was:

↓

31	19	4	3	3
Labour	Conservative	LD	U	FK

LD - Liberal Democrats
U - UKIP
FK - Farnworth and Kearsley First

Astley Bridge ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Walsh	1,842	42.5	+0.0
	Liberal Democrats	Warren Fox	1,564	36.1	+15.6
	Labour	Zulfi Jiva	930	21.4	−3.7
Majority			278	6.4	−11.1
Turnout			4,336	42.0	−2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	UKIP to Lib Dem 12.7

Bradshaw ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mudasir Dean	1,949	57.1	+6.5
	Labour	Tony Shepherd	880	25.8	+1.0
	Independent	Eric Hyland	278	8.1	+2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Howarth	173	5.1	+2.4
	Green	Laura Diggle	135	3.9	+1.5
Majority			1,069	31.3	+5.5
Turnout			3,415	38.1	−4.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	UKIP to Conservative 10.3

Breightmet ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Adele Warren	1,549	47.4	+21.5
	Labour	Francesca Platt	1,278	39.1	+3.3
	UKIP	Harry Lamb	242	7.4	−25.5
	Green	Dan Bolton	138	4.2	+1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Bates	61	1.9	−0.8
Majority			271	8.3
Turnout			3,268	34.4	−2.6
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	UKIP to Conservative 23.5

Bromley Cross ward (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Greenhalgh	2,928	73.3
	Conservative	Nadim Muslim	2,257	56.5
	Labour	Steve Sutton	1,023	25.6
	Labour	Deb Whenlock	910	22.8
	Green	Liz Spencer	374	9.4
	Liberal Democrats	Elliott Bermudez-Galton	303	7.6
	Liberal Democrats	David Walsh	196	4.9
Majority			(Greenhalgh) 1,905
Majority			(Muslim) 1,234
Turnout			3,996	38.4
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Crompton ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bilkis Ismail	2,258	57.1	−10.4
	Conservative	Daniel Wheatley	737	18.6	+9.2
	Independent	Siraj Patel	706	17.8	+17.8
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Langdon	252	6.4	+2.7
Majority			1,521	38.5	−9.5
Turnout			3,953	36.8	+0.9
	Labour hold		Swing	UKIP to Ind 18.6

Farnworth ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Farnworth and Kearsley First	Maureen Flitcroft	1,699	53.9	+53.9
	Labour	Martin McMulkin	1,172	37.3	−11.1
	Conservative	Jennifer Kirk	142	4.5	−4.1
	UKIP	Dave Harvey	92	2.9	−33.5
	Liberal Democrats	David Cooper	44	1.4	−1.6
Majority			522	16.5
Turnout			3,154	30.0
	Farnworth and Kearsley First gain from Labour		Swing	UKIP to FKF 43.7

Great Lever ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mohammed Ayub	2,422	76.0	+6.5
	Conservative	Mohammed Waqas	389	12.2	+4.6
	Green	David Figgins	232	7.3	+1.2
	Liberal Democrats	Francine Godfrey	143	4.5	+0.6
Majority			2,033	63.8	+7.2
Turnout			3,186	32.9	−1.4
	Labour hold		Swing	UKIP to Labour 9.7

Halliwell ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Akhtar Zaman	2,181	70.2	+3.6
	Conservative	Jolyon Coombs	418	13.6	+5.1
	Liberal Democrats	John Falch	120	3.8	−0.2
	Green	Ian McHugh	118	3.8	−0.7
	Independent	Martin McLoughlin	114	3.7	+3.7
	Independent	Sarfraz Nawaz	83	2.7	+2.7
	Independent	Anthony Massey	71	2.3	+2.3
Majority			1,767	56.8	+6.6
Turnout			3,110	35.2	−0.3
	Labour hold		Swing	UKIP to Conservative 10.7

Harper Green ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hamid Khurram	1,910	53.3	+3.8
	Farnworth and Kearsley First	Lisa Weatherby	897	25.1	+25.1
	Conservative	Robert Tyler	477	13.4	+1.7
	UKIP	Amy Wunderley	157	4.4	−27.9
	Green	Matthew Barnes	63	1.8	−1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Walsh	62	1.7	−1.4
Majority			1,013	28.4	+11.2
Turnout			3,566	36.1	+4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	UKIP to FKF 26.5

Heaton and Lostock ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anne Galloway	3,000	66.4	+10.2
	Labour	John Gillatt	1,247	27.6	+0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Garry Veevers	269	5.9	+0.4
Majority			1,753	38.8	+9.5
Turnout			4,516	42.3	−3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	UKIP to Conservative 9.3

Horwich and Blackrod ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Susan Baines	1,668	47.6	+18.0
	Labour	Michael Jarvis	1,437	41.0	−1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Rebecca Forrest	231	6.6	+3.1
	Green	Keith Cocker	169	4.8	−0.6
Majority			231	6.6
Turnout			3,505	33.7	−2.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	UKIP to Conservative 18.5

Horwich North East ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kevin McKeon	1,345	36.0	−4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Rock	1,288	34.5	+14.3
	Conservative	Joan Johnson	887	23.8	+3.5
	Green	Rod Riesco	213	5.7	+0.8
Majority			57	1.5	−19.1
Turnout			3,733	38.0	−2.7
	Labour hold		Swing	UKIP to Lib Dem 14.0

Hulton ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Diane Parkinson	1,858	50.2	+17.5
	Labour	Rabiya Jiva	1,451	39.2	+2.2
	UKIP	Beverley Fletcher	215	5.8	−18.7
	Green	Chris Taylor	107	2.9	−0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Mulligan	68	1.8	−0.7
Majority			407	11.0
Turnout			3,699	37.0	−1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	UKIP to Conservative 18.1

Kearsley ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Farnworth and Kearsley First	Julie Pattison	1,864	52.3	+52.3
	Labour	Stephen Langley	882	24.7	−13.5
	UKIP	Will Pilkington	399	11.2	−34.0
	Conservative	Kamaran Fathulla	290	8.1	−1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Connor Goodwin	131	3.7	−3.7
Majority			982	27.5
Turnout			3,566	34.1	+2.3
	Farnworth and Kearsley First gain from Labour		Swing	UKIP to FKF 43.1

Little Lever and Darcy Lever ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Evans	1,249	37.5	+10.1
	Conservative	David Meehan	1,000	30.0	+19.3
	UKIP	Paul Richardson	926	27.8	−11.5
	Liberal Democrats	Christine MacPherson	159	4.8	−15.5
Majority			249	7.5
Turnout			3,334	34.7	−7.5
	Labour gain from UKIP		Swing	Lib Dem to Conservative 17.4

Rumworth ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ismail Ibrahim	2,570	75.7	+3.5
	Conservative	Hafiz Butt	379	11.2	+0.7
	Green	Alan Johnson	251	7.4	+2.4
	Independent	Damien Walsh	111	3.3	+3.3
	Liberal Democrats	Duncan MacPherson	55	2.5	+0.2
Majority			2,191	64.5	+2.8
Turnout			3,396	34.4	−2.6
	Labour hold		Swing	UKIP to Labour 6.7

Smithills ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Doug Bagnall	2,031	48.9	−1.9
	Labour	Ryan Quick	1,260	30.3	+4.7
	Conservative	Sam Rimmer	751	18.1	+8.9
	Green	Elizabeth McManus	111	2.7	+0.5
Majority			771	18.6	−6.6
Turnout			4,154	40.2	−4.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	UKIP to Conservative 10.5

Tonge with The Haulgh ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nick Peel	1,379	50.4	+4.5
	Conservative	Matthew Littler	928	33.9	+19.4
	UKIP	Derek Wunderley	232	8.5	−24.9
	Liberal Democrats	Rosalind Harasiwka	113	4.1	+0.6
	Green	James Tomkinson	82	3.0	+0.3
Majority			451	16.5	+4.0
Turnout			2,734	31.0	−4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	UKIP to Conservative 22.1

Westhoughton North and Chew Moor ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martyn Cox	1,831	42.6	+3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Bernadette Eckersley-Fallon	1,386	32.2	+23.4
	Labour	Ged Carter	784	18.2	−14.3
	Independent	Jack Speight	236	5.5	+5.5
	Green	Heather Rylance	61	2.6	−0.2
Majority			445	10.5	+4.1
Turnout			4,300	39.7	+1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	UKIP to Lib Dem 20.2

Westhoughton South ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Wilkinson	1,934	53.2	+24.2
	Labour	Ryan Battersby	899	24.7	−8.0
	Conservative	Martin Tighe	804	22.1	+1.8
Majority			1,035	28.4
Turnout			3,637	37.0	+1.2
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	UKIP to Lib Dem 21.1