MUCH has been made of the pivotal role that Bolton West could play in the outcome of the General Election and the formation of the next government.

It is important, however, to recognise the role played on a local level by MPs and candidates have provided their views on what are the most important issues for local people and what they plan to do to help.

Bob Horsefield of UKIP thinks voters are concerned about issues like planning and the allocation of resources.

He said: “People feel not only let down but continually ignored when it comes to blanket housing developments, none more so than the building of housing where the roads, schools, sports and health facilities are the last to be implemented if at all.

“It is not right that Bolton’s deprived areas are given more funding than other areas and this smacks of mismanagement.

“UKIP will give the local community more say over all planning issues and fight for more transparency.”

Lib Dem Andrew Martin criticised what he calls Labour’s “wasteful vanity projects” adding: “Across the constituency people are concerned the disregard for our heritage, which we’re seeing with Bolton Town Hall, Cheadle Square, the Horwich Loco Works and Smithills Coaching House.

“I find that people in Horwich, Westhoughton and Blackrod are concerned at the way in which the Labour run council is planning thousands of new homes but won’t make the necessary improvements to roads and other infrastructure — I’ll fight to protect our local heritage and to get Horwich and Westhoughton the infrastructure they need.”

Julie Hilling has served the community for the past five years as the Labour MP and says biggest problem for people is the “cost of living crisis”.

She added: “There are so many people unable to heat their homes and some unable to even ensure that there is food on the table.

“Labour’s promise to freeze gas and electricity bills, to ban exploitative zero hours contracts, get rid of the bedroom tax, raise the minimum wage and incentivise employers to pay the living wage will help, but we’ve got to do much more to help create good jobs.

“I will continue to speak out for Bolton West, locally and in Parliament to ensure everyone in the constituency can succeed.”

Her main rival for the seat, Conservative Chris Green thinks planning issues are key.

He said: “Labour councils seem to have no vision and so I will use my position as MP to challenge them and get us a better deal.

“For example, within a year of Wigan Council having written its Five Year Plan it wanted to build an extra 1,250 houses on the edge of Atherton against local wishes.

"And 1,700 houses are planned for the Loco Works site in Horwich and when I asked where the new primary school would be built, the only location suggested by the council was on an asbestos tip.”

TUSC candidate John Vickers said: “People are concerned about the loco works development and the impact on the local infrastructure in Horwich, overdevelopment in Westhoughton especially at Lee Hall and Roscoe’s Farm, and in Atherton the impact of the guided busway on the town centre.

“These are individual and complex and it would not do justice to give a one size fits all answer but I have many years experience in representing public views on controversial planning and development proposals and I will give any help I can to people who want it in Bolton West.”

Once again the independent candidate Andy Smith chose to take a different approach to the question of local issues.

He said: “This is not for me to say. Only constant dialogue with local people via surgery style interaction or a site visit should inform the independent MP.

“If I find that constituents' voices are not being heard then I will do whatever it takes to deliver their message — even if that means direct activism.”