After a seismic night for the country and a decisive result locally, chief reporter Liam Thorp attempts to make sense of Bolton's passion for Brexit.

From an early stage at the Bolton referendum count it was clear that there would only ever be one result.

In fact it did not take too long for senior local Remain campaigners to throw in the towel after seeing piles of white papers stacking up in particular baskets.

There was a sense of calm at Bolton Arena, with Brexit backers well aware that it was job done and those on the other side reluctantly accepting their fate.

Of course it followed that the national result also landed on the Leave side and while questions about why this unprecedented result occurred will be aimed at Messrs Cameron, Corbyn and co — there will be similar questions asked locally too.

It is important to stress that this is not a vote based on party political lines although opposition councillors are already lining up to take aim at the ruling Labour group.

While the council’s top brass, including leader Cliff Morris, strongly backed the remain camp, Bolton is not the only Labour heartland to go the other way and call for a Brexit — we have seen this happen right across the country, including with our neighbours in Salford, Oldham, Wigan, Rochdale and Bury.

LIVE BLOG: Reaction to the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union

So it is too simple to label the local executive as ‘out of touch’ and it must be remembered that the Labour group secured a strong majority — and with it a sizeable mandate to govern this town — just under two months ago.

However, when you take yesterday’s result in conjunction with the continual successes of UKIP in recent council elections, there will be an increasingly strong call for the executive to seriously take stock and listen carefully to the wishes of the people that they represent.

So where did Brexit win? I think the majority of local experts would say that the issue of immigration played a powerful role in Bolton’s decision — but I think there was also a real sense of nationhood and patriotism too and local leave campaigners were both powerful and consistent in pushing that message to the people of Bolton.

Another message that seemed to ring true on the doorstep was the idea of accountability and voters have clearly responded to the idea that we should only be governed by those we elect directly in this country.