Bolton Councillor quit Conservative Party as polls closed

Cllr Andrea Taylor-Burke, who has represented Lever and Darcy Lever since 2021, announced last week that she was leaving the Conservative Party to sit as an independent.

In a public statement she said she had made this decision after “a huge amount of soul searching” and not made out of “anger or bitterness”.

Cllr Taylor-Burke said: “It comes after a long period of feeling conflicted about where I stand politically and, honestly, trying to work out where I fit anymore.

“When I joined the Conservative Party, it was under the leadership of David Greenhalgh, an amazing leader whose focus was always Bolton and the community first.

There are 60 Councillors in total at Bolton Town Hall (Image: Phil Taylor)

“David was a huge mentor to me personally, and losing him in 2021 was devastating for many of us. In that same year, I also lost my mum, who was my biggest cheerleader and source of strength.

“Losing both of them had a profound impact on me, both personally and politically.

“Since then, I have felt that the vision and values that first inspired me to join the party have gradually been lost, and with that, I began to feel increasingly disconnected from the direction things were taking.

“I no longer feel able to serve under the current leadership in a way that is authentic to who I am and the reasons I entered politics in the first place.”

Cllr Taylor-Burke says that she had wanted to leave the party for some time but officially lodged her resignation at 10pm on Thursday May 7.

This was just as polls closed in the local elections.

Cllr Andrea Taylor-Burke out campaigning with David Meehan, who lost his seat in last week's election (Image: Public)

In the weeks leading up to the poll she had been campaigning alongside her Little Lever and Darcy Lever Conservative colleague David Meehan, who lost his seat to Reform UK's Cllr Derek Wunderley.

Cllr Taylor-Burke’s decision to sit as an independent means that after last week’s elections the Conservative group on Bolton Council now has 10 members.

This puts them in equal second place with Reform UK, which gained nine seats in last Thursday’s poll bringing them to a total of 10.

Labour is still the largest party with 20 but is still 11 seats short of a majority of 31 out of 60 Councillors.

She said: “I completely understand that many people voted for me because I represented the Conservative Party, and I will always be grateful for the support, friendship and opportunities that came with that.

“But I also know there were many residents who supported me simply because they believed in me as a person, trusted the work I do locally, and knew my heart has always been with the community first.

“Over the last few years, I have struggled more than people probably realise. Politics can be incredibly draining, and there have been times where it has affected me deeply on a personal level.

“I reached a point where I knew I needed to step back from party politics and spend my final year as a Councillor being true to myself, focusing on the people and projects that genuinely matter to me.

“I don’t know exactly where I stand politically at the moment, and maybe that honesty is important. What I do know is that my passion for supporting my community has never changed.

“That will always come before politics for me.”

Cllr Taylor-Burke said she wanted to thank her colleagues in the Conservative group and her friends, colleagues, residents and community groups who have supported her.

She said she has always been locally rather than Westminster focused and hopes to spend her final year on the council supporting community projects.

The now independent Councillor is particularly focused on working with young people and bringing a youth community mental health hub to Little Lever.

Cllr Taylor-Burke says she is prepared to work across parties and across the community and that she expects to stand down next year.

Conservative group leader Cllr Nadim Muslim said: “It’s always disappointing to lose a colleague but unfortunately, it’s becoming more common for people to forget that their residents voted for them because they represented a particular political party.

“To many voters, this will appear selfish, which is understandable. 

“I know that Andrea mentioned in her social media post that she had been personally struggling and I hope she now get the support she feels she needs.

“I trust she will see out her final year doing that before she resigns from politics for good.

“The only way we can truly bring our town together is to remove Labour from the town hall.”