BBC Profile:
Conservative Tom Sackville won here in 1983 and 1987 and held the seat at the 1992 election, though with a majority of only 1,079. Despite boundary changes favourable to him, an 11.3% swing in 1997 won the seat for Labour's Ruth Kelly with a majority of 7,072.
In 2001 there was only a small decline in her majority as it was the Liberal Democrats rather than the second-place Conservatives who absorbed the small swing away from Labour. A swing of 4.16% towards the Conservatives was registered at the 2005 general election. Ruth Kelly's majority fell by almost two-thirds and now stands at 2,064. She is not standing at this election and Julie Hilling will run in her place.

At this election, boundary changes in Bolton West have moved Halliwell, Hulton and Rumworth wards to the neighbouring Bolton seats. Atherton ward has moved into the seat, having previously been shared between Leigh and Worsley. 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.

Despite being home to Bolton Wanderers Football Club, Bolton West includes little territory actually situated within the town of Bolton.

Instead, its area covers the suburban and rural land between Bolton and Wigan, and is home to commuters and the majority of those in non-manual professions.

While many residents commute to Manchester the local economy is growing and the seat has attracted a great deal of inward investme

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BBC Profile:
Conservative Tom Sackville won here in 1983 and 1987 and held the seat at the 1992 election, though with a majority of only 1,079. Despite boundary changes favourable to him, an 11.3% swing in 1997 won the seat for Labour's Ruth Kelly with a majority of 7,072.
In 2001 there was only a small decline in her majority as it was the Liberal Democrats rather than the second-place Conservatives who absorbed the small swing away from Labour. A swing of 4.16% towards the Conservatives was registered at the 2005 general election. Ruth Kelly's majority fell by almost two-thirds and now stands at 2,064. She is not standing at this election and Julie Hilling will run in her place.

At this election, boundary changes in Bolton West have moved Halliwell, Hulton and Rumworth wards to the neighbouring Bolton seats. Atherton ward has moved into the seat, having previously been shared between Leigh and Worsley. 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.

Despite being home to Bolton Wanderers Football Club, Bolton West includes little territory actually situated within the town of Bolton.

Instead, its area covers the suburban and rural land between Bolton and Wigan, and is home to commuters and the majority of those in non-manual professions.

While many residents commute to Manchester the local economy is growing and the seat has attracted a great deal of inward investment. The Middlebrook development (just off the M61 motorway) includes the impressive Reebok stadium, home of Bolton Wanderers FC, the Bolton Arena, a sports academy that hosted several racket sports events during the 2002 Commonwealth Games, as well as a retail park. The area immediately around the park has also been designated an Economic Development Zone and the Bolton Wide organisation have been active in attracting businesses to the area.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
Lab 19,137 (45.37%)
C 14,096 (33.42%)
LD 7,990 (18.94%)
UKIP 597 (1.42%)
Others 364 (0.86%)

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