Bolton South and Walkden

Bolton South and Walkden
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bolton South and Walkden in North West England
County	Greater Manchester
Electorate	79,622 (2024)
Major settlements	Bolton, Walkden, Great Lever, Kearsley, Little Hulton
Current constituency
Created	2024
Member of Parliament	Yasmin Qureshi (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Bolton South East (part) Worsley and Eccles South (part)

Bolton South and Walkden is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. ^[1] Created as a result of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. ^[2] Since 2024, it has been represented by Labour's Yasmin Qureshi, who was MP for the predecessor seat of Bolton South East from 2010 to 2024.

Constituency profile

The constituency is located in Greater Manchester and covers parts of the City of Salford and the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. It is almost entirely urban or suburban and includes the southern areas of the large town of Bolton and the smaller towns of Walkden, Farnworth and Kearsley. Like much of Greater Manchester, the area has a history of textile manufacturing. Bolton was once a world centre for cotton spinning, ^[3] and the area also has a history of coal mining. ^[4]

Compared to national averages, deprivation in the constituency is high and residents have low levels of education and professional employment. ^[5] The constituency is more ethnically diverse than the rest of Greater Manchester and the rest of the country; 65% of residents are White, 24% are Asian (mostly Pakistani) and 6% are Black. White people make up over 90% of residents in Walkden and Kearsley, whilst Asians are a majority of the population in parts of Bolton. ^[6]

At the most recent local council elections in 2024, most areas in the constituency elected Labour Party councillors, although independents were elected in Farnworth and Kearsley. Voters in the constituency strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, with an estimated 63% voting in favour of Brexit. ^[5]

Boundaries

Map of boundaries from 2024

The constituency is defined as comprising the following as they existed on 1 December 2020:

• The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton wards of Farnworth, Great Lever, Harper Green, Kearsley, and Rumworth.
• The City of Salford wards of Little Hulton, Walkden North, and Walkden South. ^[7]

The Bolton Borough wards were formerly part of Bolton South East and the Salford City wards part of Worsley and Eccles South - with both constituencies abolished as a result of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies. ^[8]

Following a local government boundary review in Bolton which came into effect in May 2023, ^{[9] [10]} the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:

• The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton wards of: Farnworth North; Farnworth South; Great Lever; Kearsley; Queens Park & Central (part); Rumworth (nearly all); and a very small part of Hulton.
• The City of Salford wards of: Little Hulton; Walkden North; Walkden South.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	2024	Yasmin Qureshi	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Bolton South and Walkden ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Yasmin Qureshi	15,093	40.9	−15.7
	Reform	Julie Pattison	8,350	22.6	+17.2
	Workers Party	Jack Khan	4,673	12.7	N/A
	Conservative	Mohammed Afzal	4,170	11.3	−20.4
	Green	Philip Kochitty	2,827	7.7	+5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Gemma-Jane Bowker	1,384	3.7	−0.2
	Independent	Reis Halliwell	433	1.2	N/A
Majority			6,743	18.3	−6.6
Turnout			36,930	46.4	−11.9
Registered electors			79,622
	Labour hold		Swing	−16.5

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result [12]
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	24,890	56.6
	Conservative	13,961	31.7
	Brexit Party	2,361	5.4
	Liberal Democrats	1,695	3.9
	Green	1,077	2.4
Turnout		43,984	58.1
Electorate		75,716

References

1. "Walkden could become part of Bolton constituency under boundary changes". The Bolton News. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – North West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
3. "Bolton Mills Action Framework" (PDF), Bolton Council, p. 6, archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2011, retrieved 23 June 2010
4. "1896 coal mines list", pdmhs.com, archived from the original on 6 October 2007, retrieved 6 December 2009
5. "Seat Details - Bolton South and Walkden". electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
6. "2021 census results: Ethnic groups in your constituency". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
8. "New Seat Details - Bolton South and Walkden". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
9. LGBCE. "Bolton | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
10. "The Bolton (Electoral Changes) Order 2022".
11. "General election results 2024". Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
12. "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament . Retrieved 11 July 2024.

External links

• Bolton South and Walkden UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK