BBC Profile:
Bolton South East has been Labour since its creation in 1983 and remained so when both of the other Bolton constituencies were held by the Conservatives under Thatcher. Dr Brian Iddon has been Labour's MP since 1997, but has said he will stand down at this election.
At the election, boundary changes result in parts of Hulton and Rumworth wards coming into the seat. Parts of Breighmet and Tonge with Haulgh are lost to Bolton North East.

To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

Bolton, northwest of Manchester, is an industrial town founded on textile manufacture and mining, although it is engineering that is now the bedrock of the local economy. This seat is the most industrial and urban of Bolton's three constituencies, and includes the town centre itself.

The decline of textile manufacture has forced a diversification of the local economy. Reality Ltd (formerly Great Universal Stores) has a large call-centre and distribution hub in the seat. The public sector is also a major employer, especially the Royal Bolton Hospital. A strong service industry sector is being developed and the area has one of the best shopping centres in the North West.

Nevertheless, there are problems of deprivation and unemployment, which a number of planned regeneration projects over the next decade are designed to help tackle.

Within the orbit of the M61 motorway, the se

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BBC Profile:
Bolton South East has been Labour since its creation in 1983 and remained so when both of the other Bolton constituencies were held by the Conservatives under Thatcher. Dr Brian Iddon has been Labour's MP since 1997, but has said he will stand down at this election.
At the election, boundary changes result in parts of Hulton and Rumworth wards coming into the seat. Parts of Breighmet and Tonge with Haulgh are lost to Bolton North East.

To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

Bolton, northwest of Manchester, is an industrial town founded on textile manufacture and mining, although it is engineering that is now the bedrock of the local economy. This seat is the most industrial and urban of Bolton's three constituencies, and includes the town centre itself.

The decline of textile manufacture has forced a diversification of the local economy. Reality Ltd (formerly Great Universal Stores) has a large call-centre and distribution hub in the seat. The public sector is also a major employer, especially the Royal Bolton Hospital. A strong service industry sector is being developed and the area has one of the best shopping centres in the North West.

Nevertheless, there are problems of deprivation and unemployment, which a number of planned regeneration projects over the next decade are designed to help tackle.

Within the orbit of the M61 motorway, the seat benefits from commuter rail services to Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria.

At the 2001 census, 14.1% of people in the constituency identified themselves as Asian, 10.9% as Muslim. More than a quarter of people were living in social housing.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
Lab 19,366 (55.71%)
C 7,883 (22.68%)
LD 6,298 (18.12%)
UKIP 875 (2.52%)
Others 343 (0.99%)

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