Elections to Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council were held on 1 May 2003. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party lost overall control of the council to no overall control, for the first time since 1980. The Labour party continued to run the council in a minority administration.
20 seats were contested in the election, with 7 being won by the Labour Party, 7 by the Conservatives and 6 by the Liberal Democrats.
After the election, the composition of the council was
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:
After the election the composition of the council was: