The 1982 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 6 May 1982 to elect members of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party kept overall control of the council

20 seats were contested in the election, with 10 being won by the Labour Party, 8 by the Conservative Party and 2 by the Liberal Party After the election, the composition of the council was:

• Labour 36
• Conservative 21
• Liberal Party 3

Bolton Local Election Result 1982

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	10	0	3	-3		37.5	27,018	-11.5
	Conservative	8	1	0	+1		37.9	27,339	-4.7
	Liberal	2	2	0	+2		24.3	17,547	+17.4
	Communist	0	0	0	+0		0.2	179

Prior to the election the composition of the council was:

↓

39	20	1
Labour	Conservative	L

After the election the composition of the council was:

↓

36	21	3
Labour	Conservative	L

L – Liberal

Astley Bridge ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D Johnston	2,088	57.9	−9.4
	SDP	I Greenhalgh	822	22.8	+22.8
	Labour	D McEneaney	698	19.3	−12.2
Majority			1,266	33.1
Turnout			3,806	36.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to SDP 17.5

Blackrod ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J Monaghan	1,768	47.6	−5.3
	Conservative	I Ikin	1,197	32.2	−14.9
	SDP	D Boyes	750	20.2	+20.2
Majority			571	15.4
Turnout			3,715	39.5
	Labour hold		Swing	Con to SDP 17.5

Bradshaw ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A O'Neill	2,135	55.6	−9.0
	Liberal	A Halliwell	988	25.7	+25.7
	Labour	G Lever	715	18.6	−16.8
Majority			1,147	29.9
Turnout			3,838	35.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal 21.2

Breightmet ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C Benjamin	1,745	42.8	−12.5
	Conservative	A Chadbond	1,504	36.9	−7.8
	SDP	D Lee	824	20.2	+20.2
Majority			241	5.9
Turnout			4,073	36.4
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to SDP 16.3

Bromley Cross ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B Hurst	1,885	47.9	−11.9
	SDP	J Hampson	1,312	33.4	+33.4
	Labour	D Doxsey	736	18.7	−21.5
Majority			573	14.5
Turnout			3,933	39.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to SDP -27.4

Burnden ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J Mason	1,558	44.0	−14.4
	Conservative	W Hall	1,553	43.9	−0.7
	Liberal	W Crook	427	12.1	+12.1
Majority			5	0.1
Turnout			3,538	36.7
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal -13.2

Central ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B Iddon	2,163	68.0	−8.5
	Liberal	R Hayes	534	16.8	+16.8
	Conservative	G Kearton	483	15.2	+0.8
Majority			1,629	51.2
Turnout			3,180	36.7
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal -12.6

Daubhill ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G Harkin	2,019	52.3	−8.1
	Conservative	R Carr	1,379	35.7	−2.2
	SDP	H Smith	466	12.1	+12.1
Majority			740	16.6
Turnout			3,864	41.1
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to SDP -12.1

Deane-cum-Heaton ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M Allanson	3,210	62.4	−8.0
	SDP	I Hamilton	1,057	20.5	+20.5
	Labour	J Knight	881	17.1	−12.5
Majority			2,153	41.9
Turnout			5,148	40.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to SDP -16.5

Derby ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G Riley	2,580	70.9	−21.5
	Conservative	J Walsh	498	13.7	+8.4
	SDP	C Moore	481	13.2	+13.2
	Communist	A Johnson	81	2.2	−0.2
Majority			2,092	57.2
Turnout			3,640	35.0
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to SDP -17.3

Farnworth ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P Johnston	1,442	60.1	−15.1
	Liberal	L Bale	484	20.2	+16.3
	Conservative	B Coote	474	19.8	−1.1
Majority			958	39.9
Turnout			2,400	24.0
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal -15.7

Halliwell ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	D Walmsley	1,226	37.2	+1.2
	Labour	R Johnson	1,214	36.9	−9.7
	Conservative	L Keighley	854	25.9	+8.6
Majority			12	0.3
Turnout			3,294	33.8
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing	Labour to Con +9.1

Harper Green ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L Williamson	1,641	56.0	−12.0
	Liberal	L Sanderson	1,189	40.6	+36.7
	Communist	T McKnight	98	3.3	+3.3
Majority			452	15.4
Turnout			2,928	27.4
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal -24.3

Horwich ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P Senior	1,820	40.2	−14.6
	Conservative	S Dawson	1,689	37.3	−7.9
	SDP	D Morris	1,014	22.4	+22.4
Majority			131	2.9
Turnout			4,523	41.6
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to SDP -18.5

Hulton Park ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M Prince	1,768	52.1	−11.0
	Liberal	H Wise	826	24.4	+24.4
	Labour	E McCracken	798	23.5	−13.4
Majority			942	27.7
Turnout			3,392	34.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal -18.9

Kearsley ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J Rothwell	1,645	44.9	+22.0
	Labour	D Dingwall	1,449	39.5	−27.6
	Conservative	A Waterson	570	15.6	+5.6
Majority			196	1.4
Turnout			3,664	37.8
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing	Labour to Liberal 24.8

Little Lever ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M Lawton	1,914	50.7	+1.6
	Labour	E Walker	966	25.6	−21.3
	Liberal	F Bridges	895	23.7	+19.8
Majority			948	25.1
Turnout			3,775	42.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal -20.3

Smithills ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D Priestley	1,974	54.9	−0.8
	Liberal	F Harasiwka	1,023	28.5	+7.5
	Labour	J Jenkins	597	16.6	−6.7
Majority			951	26.4
Turnout			3,594	39.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal -7.1

Tonge ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K Knowles	1,634	46.8	−1.5
	Labour	C Skull	1,250	35.8	−15.9
	SDP	E West	608	17.4	+17.4
Majority			384	11.0
Turnout			3,492	37.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	Labour to SDP -16.6

Westhoughton ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P Jones	978	39.4	−32.2
	Liberal	D Wilkinson	976	39.3	+23.9
	Conservative	G Hanley	530	21.3	+8.3
Majority			2	0.9
Turnout			2,484	40.3
	Labour hold		Swing	Labour to Liberal -28.0

• Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council Election Results 1973–2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 12 July 2016.