Photo: Roger May · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
Wingates is run by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, with Westhoughton parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council. Its MP is Phil Brickell (Labour), member for Bolton West.
£2,414
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Wingates’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
Labour, the largest group, holds 19 of its 60 seats as elected, 12 short of the 31 needed (it held 25 before the May 2026 election). The Conservatives hold 11, Reform UK 9, Horwich & Blackrod First Independents 6, the Liberal Democrats 5, the Greens 4 and Farnworth and Kearsley First Party 4. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Wingates’s wards, Reform UK took 38.2%, the Liberal Democrats took 23% and the Conservatives took 20.7% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, Reform UK had 9.3%. How Wingates has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Wingates is £2,414 for 2026–27; Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council keeps 81% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 56% in ten years, in line with England’s 56%. Council money ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and MHCLG council tax.
No party has a majority
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 31 of Bolton’s 60 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour19−6
- Conservative11−4
- Reform UK9+9
- Horwich & Blackrod First Independents6no change
- Liberal Democrat5−1
- Farnworth and Kearsley First Party4−1
- Green4+3
- Independent2+1
- One Kearsley0−1
Change against the council before the 7 May 2026 election.
Seats are counted from election results: each ward’s most recent winners until its seats are filled. Councillors who have since changed party or resigned aren’t reflected, and which parties lead the council, and who is leader, comes from the council itself.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), elections since May 2021; seats per ward from its EveryElection.
The councils that run Wingates
One council runs every main service here.
Local matters: allotments, play areas, halls, footpaths and benches; it is consulted on planning and adds a precept to the council tax bill. A town council is a parish council by another name.
100% of Wingates’s residents · Band D precept £22
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: Bev Craig (Labour and Co-operative), elected July 2026
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
Councils from ONS lookups (wards and councils May 2026, parishes 2025), names and websites from GOV.UK’s local council finder; parish councils from MHCLG’s 2026–27 list of precepting parishes.
From the parish to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Wingates, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierWesthoughton parish council
- 2Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council1 ward · 3 councillorsDavid LewisDeirdre Janice McGeownArthur PriceMartin TigheBernadette Eckersley-Fallon
- 3Mayor of Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester · elected July 2026Bev Craig
- 4House of CommonsBolton West
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. Tap an MP’s name for their contact page on parliament.uk.
3 councillors for 1 ward
Wards with at least 2% of the town’s residents, or half their own inside it. Each shows who won its most recent elections, newest first, until its seats are filled.
- David LewisReform UK · May 2026
- Deirdre Janice McGeownLiberal Democrat · May 2024
- Arthur PriceLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Martin TigheConservative · May 2023
- Bernadette Eckersley-FallonConservative · May 2023
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westhoughton North & Hunger Hill14% in Wingates · 1,936 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | David LewisDeirdre Janice McGeownArthur PriceMartin TigheBernadette Eckersley-Fallon | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council’s website lists who sits now.
Results from Democracy Club’s candidates database (CC BY 4.0; elections since May 2021) and ward seats from its EveryElection, matched to ONS wards (May 2026) and county divisions (May 2025).
Who led each council vote, 2023–2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Wingates’s wards at each scheduled council election since 2021. A gap is a year with no election here.
Seats won at each election
Show as a table
| Party | 2023 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 1.9% | 3% | 9.4% |
| Labour | 22.8% | 23.1% | 8.7% |
| Liberal Democrat | 34.1% | 33.8% | 23% |
| Conservative | 34.9% | 25.1% | 20.7% |
| Reform UK | 2.1% | 9.3% | 38.2% |
| Westhoughton First Independents | 4.2% | 5.6% | 0% |
In 2026, Reform UK won 1 of the 1 seats up in Wingates’s wards.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Where a ward elects several councillors at once, each voter has that many votes; all of them count here.
Bolton council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Wingates, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
1 ward voted. Bolton elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Wingates’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗4,658 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Wingates is in Bolton West constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Wingates).
44,598 votes for candidates · majority 4,945
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 44,598 votes from 74,933 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 4,945 of 44,598 votes (11.1%): the 209th-narrowest of 543 in England.
MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate.
Wingates’s Band D council tax is £2,414 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council keeps £1,953.08 of a Band D bill (81%); the rest goes to the Westhoughton parish council and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Band D since 1993
Bolton’s Band D bill has risen 56% in ten years, from £1,542.52 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £596.25 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Westhoughton, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Greater Manchester’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,000.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Greater Manchester
| Bolton | Wingates’s councils | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £472 | £486 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £346 | £343 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £24 | £24 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £46 | £60 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £59 | £69 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £38 | £55 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £19 | £28 | £26 |
| Public health | £74 | £87 | £78 |
| Running the council | £41 | £57 | £59 |
| Other | £83 | £17 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,202 | £1,226 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Greater Manchester and England: all their councils together. Police, fire and transport authorities aren’t included.
Band D: MHCLG Band D council tax 2026–27 (each authority’s own figure, excluding parish precepts) and Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils 2026–27; since 1993–94, MHCLG’s area averages including parishes.
Having a say in how Wingates is run
It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.
gov.uk ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
bolton.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
bolton.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Wingates is run
Which council runs Wingates?
Wingates is run by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council.
Does Wingates have a town council?
Yes: Wingates has its own parish-tier council (Westhoughton parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £22 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Wingates?
Phil Brickell (Labour) is the MP for Bolton West, which covers Wingates.
How many councillors does Wingates have?
3 ward councillors represent Wingates’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Wingates?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Wingates’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Wingates?
Band D council tax in Wingates is £2,414 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 19 · Conservative 11 · Reform UK 9 · Horwich & Blackrod First Independents 6 · Liberal Democrat 5 · Green 4 · Farnworth and Kearsley First Party 4 · Independent 2 of 60 seats; a majority needs 31. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Wingates?
In Wingates’s wards on 7 May 2026, Reform UK 1 of the 1 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 38.2%.
Sources: ONS ward, county division, parish, constituency lookups (Census 2021 output areas; Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates (CC BY 4.0) and EveryElection · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · MHCLG Band D council tax, parish precepts and Revenue Account budgets 2026–27 (OGL v3.0) · ONS mid-2025 population estimates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.