Nadim Muslim: Why I am optimistic about our prospects in Bolton

Cllr Nadim Muslim is the Leader of the Conservative Group on Bolton Council

Bolton is very much your typical northern town. It’s got high deprivation, with 45 per cent of the population living in an area that is among the 20 per cent most deprived nationally; poor health outcomes, with life expectancy two years below the UK average; and yearning for things to be better.

For decades, Bolton has been run by Labour. And whilst parliamentary elections have seen Conservatives win seats, the local authority has been run by Labour for over forty years (with a gap of two years post-Iraq invasion with the Lib Dems). That changed in 2019.

That year, people were fed up with politics. Brexit was not done and there was a sense that politicians didn’t care what the people thought. In fact Conservatives in those local elections didn’t do that well in Bolton. However, we managed to take control of the council.

How? By offering a vision that had such a wide appeal that other parties, mainly hyper-local independents, could see the benefits of working with us. That led to a four-year administration that delivered for Bolton. The only reason we were turfed out? National politics.

2023 was difficult for Conservatives up and down the country. Unfortunately, that decline is yet to be arrested. Yet, having just been elected leader of my group unopposed, I feel a sense of duty – and yes, optimism – about our future.

The reason for my optimism is clear. When you put national politics to one side, we have a brilliant track record locally. We delivered on £100 million in regeneration projects – with none having since started under Labour; we kept bin collections as they were – where Labour have now introduced charges as well as reducing frequency; and we invested £12 million in fixing local roads and pavements – with no extra cash from Labour since they took over.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not naïve enough to think national politics doesn’t still play its part. Counties have just had a bruising set of local elections in May, and whilst we lost many fantastic councillors, we also saw those with strong local messages, presence, and popularity, hold onto their seats. That was when we were at our lowest. Over the course of this next year, we can start to earn back the trust of the British people.

Kemi Badenoch had an unenviable task when she took over as leader. She could’ve offered snappy press releases on everything we’d do but not only were people not listening, they wouldn’t have trusted us anyway. Her thoughtful approach is already being vindicated. The government has u-turned on the Winter Fuel Allowance – and now also the much-needed rape-gang inquiry which is important to so many residents in our borough.

Her approach, over the next 12 months, will start to tease out more detail about our direction as a party and a future government. Over time, I know people will want to hear from us again. I hear it when I pop into a café in my ward for breakfast or at the pub quiz on a Monday night. But right now, they don’t think we’ve spent enough time sitting on the naughty step and thinking about what we’ve done.

As the national party starts to earn back that trust, we must be ready as local councillors and candidates with a strong message about our local record of success, the failure of Labour, Lib Dem, and Green councils, and a belief in purpose and victory. Altogether, this gives us a powerful campaigning message.

In Bolton, we’re defending seven seats. That’s essentially half of our group. But I couldn’t be prouder of the councillors we have that are standing. They’ve all got brilliant track records locally and are well known in their wards, not just as councillors, but people who genuinely care because they live there.

What we’ve seen from Reform locally in Bolton is a few pop-up gazebos on street corners. In the councils they now control, many are having to postpone meetings because of lack of attendance. They’re even having a plethora of by-elections as their councillors don’t even want to do it. The threat of Reform is serious but their commitment to serving local people is not.

Labour is particularly worried too. Whilst the media focused on our bad set of election results in May, Labour lost two-thirds of the seats they were defending. This can create opportunity for us locally.

We are the only credible opposition to Labour. Since taking over as group leader, I’ve been clear that we need a Bolton-first approach. That means no more debating motions on Gaza or Donald Trump but talking about the things that Bolton Council has control over. It means coming up with policies that can be realistically implemented. We’ve already forced a u-turn on a delay for planning applications for Homes of Multiple Occupation, and we’ve exposed the toxic culture of Labour, taking more paid positions for themselves and their supporters.

Winning in 2026 will not be easy but I am confident it’s possible. I honestly believe we can hold all the seats we’re defending and with Reform eating into Labour as much as us, there could even be opportunities for gains.

Bolton has always gone against the tide of results in local government. Last year, we stayed net no change, as others were losing seats by huge margins. There’s no substitute for knocking on doors and we’ve proven that. Next year, we’ll prove we can do it again.