Our Campaigns - UK Parliament - Bolton West Race

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UK Parliament - Bolton West

RACE DETAILS

Parents

> United Kingdom > England > North West > North West > Bolton West

Office

Parliament

Honorific

Member of Parliament - Abbr: MP

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

April 19, 2005 - 12:00pm Central

Polls Open

May 05, 2005 - 01:00am Central

Polls Close

May 05, 2005 - 05:00pm Central

Term Start

May 17, 2005 - 12:00pm

Term End

May 17, 2010 - 11:00am

Contributor

Wishful Thinking

Last Modified

Wishful Thinking June 14, 2005 05:55pm

Data Sources

[Link]

Description

This is a mixed constituency on both sides of the M61 with the landmark Reebok Stadium which is home to Bolton Wanderers FC. Very little of the actual town of Bolton is here, rather this is suburban and rural land between Bolton and Wigan, where commuters and non-manual workers live. Bolton West has the biggest proportion of white residents (96%) and the lowest Asian population of the three Bolton seats. Even so there is a substantial Hindu community, the seventh highest in the country. Unemployment, at 3.6%, is the lowest in Bolton and it has the smallest number of unskilled and semi-skilled workers. Labour did not hold Bolton West before 1997. Then Ruth Kelly - who is now Labour's Education Secretary and became a mother just 11 days after the election - won the seat with an 11.3% swing. Neighbouring Bolton North East also went to Labour. All three main parties have held this seat since 1950. Labour had it from 1950-1, 1964-70 and 1974-83; the Liberals from 1951-64 and the Conservatives from 1970-4 and 1983-97. For a while there was an electoral pact between Tories and Liberals - the latter stood down in East and the former in West, allowing the other to win in the respective seats.