BOLTONIANS will play a big part in shaping the political direction of Britain.

With two of the three Bolton parliamentary seats — Bolton North East and Bolton West — seen as key battlegrounds, what happens there could be replicated across the country.

Party activists and political big hitters have been knocking on doors across the borough in a bid to win votes.

Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm, giving you, the voter, plenty of opportunity to cast your vote.

On arrival at your designated polling station, the presiding officer will ask you to confirm your name and address and will issue you with two ballot papers — one for the General Election and one for the council election.

You should take the ballot papers to the voting booth and on each paper mark with an “X” the candidate you wish to vote for. Fold the papers and deposit them in the ballot box.

At the close of the polling stations at 10pm, the ballot boxes will be transferred to the Bolton Arena, where the counts for all three Bolton parliamentary seats and the 20 Bolton Council seats will take place.

The votes for the General Election will be counted shortly after their arrival, although a result is not expected to be called until after midnight.

The boxes of council election ballot papers will be checked, verified and then stored overnight ready for that count, which will start at about 10am on Friday.

The Bolton News will be providing full online coverage of the counts and will be bringing readers the latest news and reaction from the Bolton Arena.

Our website — theboltonnews.

co.uk/election — has comprehensive coverage of the local council election and General Election, with video messages from most of the candidates contesting the three parliamentary seats, plus the latest national and local news.

I also have a daily blog in which I dissect the latest news and bring you my take on each day’s events.

Readers can also follow our Twitter coverage by logging on to twitter.

com/AndrewGreavesBN and clicking the follow button.