After four years leading Bolton Conservatives on Bolton Council, Cllr Martyn Cox has announced he is to stand down from his role.
Having served as Deputy Leader of Bolton Council for two years, Leader of the Council for two year, and a further two years as Leader of the Opposition, he has decided it is time for some need blood to lead the Conservatives back into control.
Cllr Cox was unexpectedly made Leader of Bolton Council following the sad passing of Cllr David Greenhalgh in 2021. During that time, Bolton Conservatives kickstarted the work of regeneration of town centres in Bolton. Work has recently been completed on Bolton town centre, including Bolton Market, Bolton Museum, and Elizabeth Park. Elsewhere, Little Lever Library is now open and public realm work completed in Westhoughton.
Cllr Martyn Cox, Leader of Bolton Conservatives, said:
I’ve done two years as deputy leader, two years as leader of the council and two years as leader of the opposition and I just feel it’s the time to give somebody else the opportunity.
It’s an increasingly fractious political situation at the moment where you may have six or seven parties represented on the council after the next election.
Keeping that together is a full-time job in itself so it's for someone who really has got the passion for it.
I honestly think that the administration that David Greenhalgh put together was the best in my lifetime.
I think as leader, I really wanted to get our regeneration projects going because I had the background for it. I wasn't able to see it through but that’s life.
I’ll still be involved in politics, I’ll still be around.
I honestly think it's going to be an extremely difficult time for the Labour Party and that’s before Labour’s economic chaos has even really hit.
And that is going to present huge opportunities for the next leader of the Conservative group.
The new leader of Bolton Conservatives will be decided by vote of Conservative councillors at a meeting of the council group on Wednesday 23rd April.
