Conservatives lead Bolton Council after crunch vote

The Conservatives made one gain in the local elections and remain the largest party with 23 councillors

Bolton Council will continue to be led by the Conservatives after a crunch vote by councillors.

No party won a majority at the local elections earlier this month so it came down to a run-off between the leaders of the Conservative and Labour groups.

Despite ongoing discussions neither party could secure enough support for a majority among the 60 councillors.

The Conservatives made one gain in the elections and remain the largest party with 23 councillors.

Labour were the second largest party with 19 after gaining two seats. The rest are smaller parties and independents.

The stalemate had led to a head-to-head vote at a council meeting.

The Conservatives won that vote by eight votes, meaning they will continue to lead a minority administration.

Conservative leader, Councillor Martyn Cox, won 27 votes while the Labour leader, Councillor Nick Peel, secured 19.

Twelve councillors decided not to back either of them.

It means Councillor Cox will continue as the executive leader of Bolton council for the next 12 months.

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