Bolton — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Bolton was won by Labour at the 1945 general election, with a majority of 1,329 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in Bolton from 1832 to 1945.

This constituency elected more than one MP at once in some years. Before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (and in a shrinking number of boroughs through 1948), most UK constituencies elected two or more MPs together by "multi-member plurality" (block vote): each elector could cast one vote per available seat, and the top vote-getters overall were all elected. In those elections below, "Elected" lists every MP returned, "Votes" is the count that secured the last seat, and "Majority" is the gap between that seat and the first candidate who missed out.

Full Election History, 1832–1945

Election	Elected	Votes	Vote Share	Runner-up	Majority	Turnout
1832	Robert Torrens (Whig); William Bolling (Conservative)	492	36.7% (top seat)	John Ashton Yates (Whig)	10 (0.6 pts)	82.1%
1835	William Bolling (Conservative); Peter Ainsworth (Whig)	590	40.4% (top seat)	Robert Torrens (Whig)	247 (15.8 pts)	78.2%
1837	Peter Ainsworth (Whig); William Bolling (Conservative)	607	34.9% (top seat)	Andrew Knowles (Whig)	69 (3.9 pts)	65.7%
1841	Peter Ainsworth (Whig); John Bowring (Radical)	614	29.6% (top seat)	Peter Rothwell (Conservative)	78 (3.5 pts)	76.8%
1847	William Bolling (Conservative); John Bowring (Radical)	652	35.5% (top seat)	John Brooks (Radical)	7 (0.4 pts)	68.0%
1852	Thomas Barnes (Radical); Joseph Crook (Radical)	727	29.4% (top seat)	Stephen Blair (Conservative)	10 (0.4 pts)	75.9%
1857	William Gray (Conservative); Joseph Crook (Radical)	895	35.0% (top seat)	Thomas Barnes (Radical)	63 (2.4 pts)	68.7%
1859	William Gray (Conservative); Joseph Crook (Liberal)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1865	William Gray (Conservative); Thomas Barnes (Liberal)	979	28.5% (top seat)	Samuel Pope (Liberal)	115 (3.2 pts)	82.2%
1868	John Hick (Conservative); William Gray (Conservative)	5,848	26.6% (top seat)	Thomas Barnes (Liberal)	397 (1.7 pts)	90.1%
1874	John Hick (Conservative); John Kynaston Cross (Liberal)	5,782	26.2% (top seat)	William Gray (Conservative)	132 (0.6 pts)	90.7%
1880	John Kynaston Cross (Liberal); John Pennington Thomasson (Liberal)	6,673	26.2% (top seat)	Thomas Lever Rushton (Conservative)	133 (0.5 pts)	95.3%
1885	Herbert Shepherd-Cross (Conservative); Francis Charles Bridgeman (Conservative)	7,655	26.7% (top seat)	John Kynaston Cross (Liberal)	930 (3.1 pts)	93.8%
1886	Herbert Shepherd-Cross (Conservative); Francis Charles Bridgeman (Conservative)	7,668	27.6% (top seat)	Joseph Crook Haslam (Liberal)	1,216 (4.3 pts)	88.2%
1892	Herbert Shepherd-Cross (Conservative); Francis Charles Bridgeman (Conservative)	8,140	26.6% (top seat)	Frank Taylor (Liberal)	565 (1.8 pts)	89.6%
1895	Herbert Shepherd-Cross (Conservative); George Harwood (Liberal)	8,453	31.1% (top seat)	Francis Charles Bridgeman (Conservative)	552 (2.0 pts)	92.1%
1900	Herbert Shepherd-Cross (Conservative); George Harwood (Liberal)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1906	George Harwood (Liberal); Alfred Henry Gill (Labour)	10,416	39.0% (top seat)	George Joachim Goschen (Conservative)	3,723 (13.3 pts)	91.5%
Jan 1910	George Harwood (Liberal); Alfred Henry Gill (Labour)	11,864	31.5% (top seat)	Miles Walker Mattinson (Conservative)	4,385 (11.3 pts)	93.8%
Dec 1910	George Harwood (Liberal); Alfred Henry Gill (Labour)	10,108	35.5% (top seat)	George Hesketh (Conservative)	1,411 (4.8 pts)	89.3%
1918	William Edge (Liberal)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1922	William Russell (Unionist)	37,491	29.3%	William Edge (National Liberal)	6,476 (5.1 pts)	75.7%
1923	Albert Law (Labour)	25,133	18.6%	Joseph Herbert Cunliffe (Unionist)	2,300 (1.7 pts)	78.8%
1924	Joseph Herbert Cunliffe (Unionist)	34,690	23.7%	Cecil Hilton (Unionist)	1,285 (0.9 pts)	84.7%
1929	Albert Law (Labour)	43,520	24.0%	Michael Brothers (Labour)	5,632 (3.1 pts)	75.1%
1931	Cyril Fullard Entwistle (Conservative)	66,385	33.9%	John Haslam (Conservative)	2,983 (1.5 pts)	79.6%
1935	Cyril Fullard Entwistle (Conservative)	54,129	29.0%	John Haslam (Conservative)	1,664 (0.9 pts)	75.1%
1945	John Henry Jones (Labour)	44,595	24.0%	John Lewis (Labour)	1,329 (0.7 pts)	77.1%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Robert Torrens	Whig	627	36.7%	Yes
William Bolling	Conservative	492	28.8%	Yes
John Ashton Yates	Whig	482	28.2%	No
William Eagle	Radical	107	6.3%	No

1835 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Bolling	Conservative	633	40.4%	Yes
Peter Ainsworth	Whig	590	37.7%	Yes
Robert Torrens	Whig	343	21.9%	No

1837 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Peter Ainsworth	Whig	615	34.9%	Yes
William Bolling	Conservative	607	34.5%	Yes
Andrew Knowles	Whig	538	30.6%	No

1841 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Peter Ainsworth	Whig	669	29.6%	Yes
John Bowring	Radical	614	27.2%	Yes
Peter Rothwell	Conservative	536	23.7%	No
William Bolling	Conservative	441	19.5%	No

1847 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Bolling	Conservative	714	35.5%	Yes
John Bowring	Radical	652	32.4%	Yes
John Brooks	Radical	645	32.1%	No

1852 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Thomas Barnes	Radical	745	29.4%	Yes
Joseph Crook	Radical	727	28.7%	Yes
Stephen Blair	Conservative	717	28.3%	No
Peter Ainsworth	Whig	346	13.6%	No

1857 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Gray	Conservative	930	35.0%	Yes
Joseph Crook	Radical	895	33.7%	Yes
Thomas Barnes	Radical	832	31.3%	No

1859 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Gray	Conservative	Unopposed		Yes
Joseph Crook	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes

1865 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Gray	Conservative	1,022	28.5%	Yes
Thomas Barnes	Liberal	979	27.3%	Yes
Samuel Pope	Liberal	864	24.1%	No
William Gibb	Conservative	727	20.2%	No

1868 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Hick	Conservative	6,062	26.6%	Yes
William Gray	Conservative	5,848	25.7%	Yes
Thomas Barnes	Liberal	5,451	23.9%	No
Samuel Pope	Liberal	5,436	23.8%	No

1874 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Hick	Conservative	5,987	26.2%	Yes
John Kynaston Cross	Liberal	5,782	25.3%	Yes
William Gray	Conservative	5,650	24.7%	No
James Knowles	Liberal	5,440	23.8%	No

1880 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Kynaston Cross	Liberal	6,964	26.2%	Yes
John Pennington Thomasson	Liberal	6,673	25.1%	Yes
Thomas Lever Rushton	Conservative	6,540	24.6%	No
Francis Charles Bridgeman	Conservative	6,415	24.1%	No

1885 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Herbert Shepherd-Cross	Conservative	7,933	26.7%	Yes
Francis Charles Bridgeman	Conservative	7,655	25.7%	Yes
John Kynaston Cross	Liberal	6,725	22.6%	No
John Pennington Thomasson	Liberal	6,228	20.9%	No
Henry Marriott Richardson	Independent Conservative	1,191	4.0%	No

1886 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Herbert Shepherd-Cross	Conservative	7,780	27.6%	Yes
Francis Charles Bridgeman	Conservative	7,668	27.2%	Yes
Joseph Crook Haslam	Liberal	6,452	22.9%	No
Roger Charnock Richards	Liberal	6,314	22.4%	No

1892 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Herbert Shepherd-Cross	Conservative	8,429	26.6%	Yes
Francis Charles Bridgeman	Conservative	8,140	25.7%	Yes
Frank Taylor	Liberal	7,575	23.9%	No
John Harwood	Liberal	7,536	23.8%	No

1895 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Herbert Shepherd-Cross	Conservative	8,594	31.1%	Yes
George Harwood	Liberal	8,453	30.6%	Yes
Francis Charles Bridgeman	Conservative	7,901	28.6%	No
Frederick Brocklehurst	Independent Labour	2,694	9.7%	No

1900 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Herbert Shepherd-Cross	Conservative	Unopposed		Yes
George Harwood	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes

1906 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Harwood	Liberal	10,953	39.0%	Yes
Alfred Henry Gill	Labour	10,416	37.1%	Yes
George Joachim Goschen	Conservative	6,693	23.9%	No

Jan 1910 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Harwood	Liberal	12,275	31.5%	Yes
Alfred Henry Gill	Labour	11,864	30.5%	Yes
Miles Walker Mattinson	Conservative	7,479	19.2%	No
Percy Ashworth	Conservative	7,326	18.8%	No

Dec 1910 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Harwood	Liberal	10,358	35.5%	Yes
Alfred Henry Gill	Labour	10,108	34.7%	Yes
George Hesketh	Conservative	8,697	29.8%	No

1918

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Edge	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes
Robert Tootill	Labour	Unopposed		No

1922

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Russell	Unionist	37,491	29.3%	Yes
William Edge	National Liberal	31,015	24.3%	No
Samuel Lomax	Labour	20,559	16.1%	No
William James Abraham	Labour	20,156	15.8%	No
Isaac Edwards	Liberal	18,534	14.5%	No

1923

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Albert Law	Labour	25,133	18.6%	Yes
Joseph Herbert Cunliffe	Unionist	22,833	16.9%	No
Cecil Hilton	Unionist	22,640	16.8%	No
William Edge	Liberal	22,173	16.4%	No
Fleming Eccles	Labour	21,045	15.6%	No
John Fletcher Steele	Liberal	21,040	15.6%	No

1924

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Joseph Herbert Cunliffe	Unionist	34,690	23.7%	Yes
Cecil Hilton	Unionist	33,405	22.8%	No
Albert Law	Labour	30,632	20.9%	No
William Harold Hutchinson	Labour	28,918	19.8%	No
John Percy Taylor	Liberal	10,036	6.9%	No
Alfred Ernest Holt	Liberal	8,558	5.9%	No

1929

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Albert Law	Labour	43,520	24.0%	Yes
Michael Brothers	Labour	37,888	20.9%	No
Cyril Fullard Entwistle	Unionist	36,667	20.3%	No
Cecil Hilton	Unionist	35,850	19.8%	No
Patrick Redmond Barry	Liberal	27,074	15.0%	No

1931

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Cyril Fullard Entwistle	Conservative	66,385	33.9%	Yes
John Haslam	Conservative	63,402	32.4%	No
Albert Law	Labour	33,736	17.2%	No
Michael Brothers	Labour	32,049	16.4%	No

1935

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Cyril Fullard Entwistle	Conservative	54,129	29.0%	Yes
John Haslam	Conservative	52,465	28.2%	No
Albert Law	Labour	39,890	21.4%	No
John Lynch	Labour	39,871	21.4%	No

1945

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Henry Jones	Labour	44,595	24.0%	Yes
John Lewis	Labour	43,266	23.3%	No
John Francis Roskell Reynolds	Conservative	31,217	16.8%	No
Cyril Fullard Entwistle	Conservative	30,911	16.6%	No
Robert Kewley Spedding	Liberal	18,180	9.8%	No
Brian Reginald Connell	Liberal	17,710	9.5%	No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

Trend

Bolton has been contested at 28 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Radical, Liberal, Labour, Unionist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Bolton in the 1945 general election?

Labour won Bolton in 1945 with 44,595 votes (24.0%), a majority of 1,329 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won Bolton since 1832?

Since 1832, Bolton has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Radical, Unionist, Whig.

What was the closest result in Bolton?

The closest result on record for Bolton was 1847, when Conservative beat Radical by just 7 votes (0.4 percentage points).

Did Bolton ever elect more than one MP at a time?

Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Bolton elected multiple MPs at once in some elections on this page (a system called multi-member plurality, or 'block vote'), each voter casting one vote per available seat.