1976 Manchester City Council election

1976 Manchester City Council election
33 of 99 seats ; to Manchester City Council ; 50 seats needed for a majority
	Map of results of 1976 election
Leader of the Council before election; Norman Morris; Labour	Leader of the Council after election; Norman Morris; Labour

Last updated April 07, 2025

Elections to Manchester City Council were held on Thursday, 6 May 1976. One third of the council was up for election, with each successful candidate to serve a four-year term of office, expiring in 1980. The Labour Party retained overall control of the Council.^[1]

Election result

Party	Votes		Seats		Full Council
Labour Party	60,027 (45.1%)	6.3	19 (57.6%)	19 / 33	54 (54.4%)	54 / 99
Conservative Party	63,393 (47.6%)	2.5	14 (42.4%)	14 / 33	45 (45.5%)	45 / 99
Liberal Party	8,367 (6.3%)	3.0	0 (0.0%)	0 / 33	0 (0.0%)	0 / 99
Independent	1,047 (0.8%)	0.3	0 (0.0%)	0 / 33	0 (0.0%)	0 / 99
Communist	167 (0.1%)	0.1	0 (0.0%)	0 / 33	0 (0.0%)	0 / 99

↓
54	45

Ward results

Alexandra

Alexandra
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	N. Thompson*	3,230	61.3	−0.2
	Liberal	D. Hewitt	1,012	19.2	−1.9
	Labour	A. G. Mackie	963	18.3	+0.8
	Independent	S. Martyniuk	61	1.2	+1.2
Majority			2,218	42.1	+1.7
Turnout			5,266
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.8

Ardwick

Ardwick
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Dale*	1,752	68.9	+1.1
	Conservative	M. W. Coales	792	31.1	−1.1
Majority			960	37.8	+2.2
Turnout			2,544
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.1

Baguley

Baguley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Burns	3,296	52.8	+6.7
	Conservative	J. V. Oatway*	2,693	43.1	−10.8
	Liberal	M. Quinn	257	4.1	+4.1
Majority			603	9.7	+6.3
Turnout			6,246
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+8.7

Barlow Moor

Barlow Moor
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Moore*	2,191	56.2	−8.2
	Labour	P. Karney	1,404	36.0	+0.4
	Liberal	G. Irvine	301	7.7	+7.7
Majority			787	20.2	−8.7
Turnout			3,896
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.3

Beswick

Beswick
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Flanagan	1,760	75.4	−3.6
	Conservative	J. Cartland	449	19.2	−1.8
	Liberal	P. Coleman	125	5.4	+5.4
Majority			1,311	56.2	−1.8
Turnout			2,334
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.8

Blackley

Blackley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Risby*	2,482	54.3	+8.0
	Conservative	J. Yates	2,092	45.7	−8.0
Majority			390	8.5	+1.1
Turnout			4,574
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.0

Bradford

Bradford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Egerton*	2,376	53.6	+4.9
	Conservative	C. R. Ashton	1,906	43.0	−3.4
	Liberal	M. W. Powell	99	2.2	+2.2
	Independent	J. Hulse	53	1.2	−1.1
Majority			470	10.6	+8.3
Turnout			4,434
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.1

Brooklands

Brooklands
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. W. G. Fitzsimons*	2,795	49.5	−11.2
	Labour	J. Wilner	2,538	45.0	+5.7
	Liberal	G. F. Turner	309	5.5	+5.5
Majority			257	4.6	−16.7
Turnout			5,642
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.4

Burnage

Burnage
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. L. Lund*	2,966	59.5	+8.1
	Labour	G. Stringer	1,609	32.3	−0.1
	Liberal	G. Shaw	411	8.2	+10.7
Majority			1,357	27.2	+8.3
Turnout			4,986
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.1

Charlestown

Charlestown
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Morris*	2,458	51.7	+4.1
	Conservative	W. Guy	2,006	42.2	−10.2
	Liberal	J. Laslett	289	6.1	+6.1
Majority			452	9.5	+4.6
Turnout			4,753
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.1

Cheetham

Cheetham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. G. Ford*	1,421	62.5	+0.3
	Conservative	A. Goulding	852	37.5	−0.3
Majority			569	25.0	+0.6
Turnout			2,273
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.3

Chorlton

Chorlton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Vince*	3,030	64.9	+2.8
	Labour	A. J. Bateman	1,164	24.9	+4.7
	Liberal	H. Wallace	478	10.2	−5.2
Majority			1,866	39.9	−2.0
Turnout			4,672
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.9

Collegiate Church

Collegiate Church
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Ogden*	628	63.9	+4.1
	Conservative	D. H. Philip	261	26.6	−0.9
	Liberal	K. D. Underhill	78	7.9	−4.7
	Independent	P. Wragg	16	1.6	+1.6
Majority			367	37.3	+5.0
Turnout			983
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.5

Crossacres

Crossacres
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Roberts*	3,257	59.6	+13.1
	Conservative	K. A. Edis	1,576	28.8	+7.3
	Liberal	H. Griffiths	633	11.6	−2.3
Majority			1,681	30.8	+5.8
Turnout			5,466
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.9

Crumpsall

Crumpsall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. L. Clapham	2,528	57.5	−2.8
	Labour	P. A. Murphy	1,474	33.5	+5.1
	Liberal	A. E. Griffiths	396	9.0	−2.3
Majority			1,054	24.0	−7.9
Turnout			4,398
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.9

Didsbury

Didsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Duke*	3,904	65.1	−0.7
	Labour	C. B. Muir	1,185	19.8	+5.3
	Liberal	T. Kellgren	839	14.0	−4.0
	Independent	K. V. M. Brown	72	1.2	+1.2
Majority			2,719	45.3	+7.2
Turnout			6,000
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.0

Gorton North

Gorton North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Brierley*	1,989	59.4	+4.5
	Conservative	E. Leadbetter	1,241	37.0	−8.1
	Liberal	D. Sandiford	121	3.6	+3.6
Majority			748	22.3	+12.4
Turnout			3,351
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.3

Gorton South

Gorton South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Barker*	1,598	56.8	+0.7
	Conservative	D. Heywood	1,217	43.2	−0.7
Majority			381	13.6	+1.4
Turnout			2,815
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.7

Harpurhey

Harpurhey
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Reid*	1,131	58.6	+10.8
	Conservative	D. Porter	706	36.6	−2.1
	Liberal	P. Hannon	92	4.8	−8.7
Majority			425	22.0	+12.9
Turnout			1,929
	Labour hold		Swing	6.4

Hulme

Hulme
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Thomas*	1,514	67.1	−0.8
	Conservative	L. Gaffney	419	18.6	−0.9
	Liberal	M. Moonsamy	325	14.4	+4.0
Majority			1,095	48.5	+0.1
Turnout			2,258
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.0

Levenshulme

Levenshulme
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Carlton*	2,506	51.6	−4.7
	Labour	P. Hildrew	1,856	38.2	+4.7
	Liberal	K. Whitmore	408	8.4	−1.8
	Independent	P. J. Cassidy	86	1.8	+1.8
Majority			650	13.4	−9.4
Turnout			4,856
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.7

Lightbowne

Lightbowne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Cleworth	2,308	52.7	+14.3
	Labour	R. A. Reddington*	2,068	47.3	+13.6
Majority			240	5.5	+0.8
Turnout			4,376
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+0.3

Lloyd Street

Lloyd Street
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K. McKeon*	2,402	50.6	+4.6
	Conservative	A. Nixon	2,088	44.0	+1.5
	Liberal	R. Coleman	204	4.3	−7.2
	Independent	D. E. Carter	50	1.1	+1.1
Majority			314	6.6	+3.0
Turnout			4,744
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.5

Longsight

Longsight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. W. Ford*	1,998	51.8	+6.8
	Conservative	M. Delayen	1,862	48.2	−6.8
Majority			136	3.5	−6.5
Turnout			3,860
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.8

Miles Platting

Miles Platting
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Latham*	1,715	79.3	+7.0
	Conservative	A. E. Halliday	448	20.7	−7.0
Majority			1,267	58.6	+13.9
Turnout			2,163
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.0

Moss Side

Moss Side
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Paget*	980	52.8	+13.0
	Independent	E. W. Smyth	480	25.8	+25.8
	Conservative	P. Hilton	397	21.4	−2.0
Majority			500	26.9	+23.8
Turnout			1,857
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.4

Moston

Moston
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. E. Goulding*	3,144	61.9	+5.4
	Labour	J. A. Dean	1,935	38.1	+6.0
Majority			1,209	23.8	−0.6
Turnout			5,079
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.3

Newton Heath

Newton Heath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Tomlinson*	1,819	49.0	−4.9
	Conservative	L. Clarke	1,794	48.3	+2.2
	Liberal	R. Cowe	101	2.7	+2.7
Majority			25	0.7	−7.1
Turnout			3,714
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.5

Northenden

Northenden
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. H. Box*	2,923	51.5	−1.8
	Labour	H. Brown	2,359	41.6	+4.6
	Liberal	H. Hilton	307	5.4	−4.2
	Communist	M. Taylor	82	1.4	+1.4
Majority			564	9.9	−6.4
Turnout			5,671
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.2

Old Moat

Old Moat
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. H. Aikman	2,346	52.6	−5.0
	Labour	A. H. Fender	1,664	37.3	+8.7
	Liberal	A. A. Parr	316	7.1	−6.7
	Communist	D. J. Granfield	85	1.9	+1.9
	Independent	P. S. Pinder	52	1.2	+1.2
Majority			682	15.3	−13.8
Turnout			4,463
	Conservative hold		Swing	-6.8

Rusholme

Rusholme
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Ollerenshaw*	2,580	64.2	−0.6
	Labour	W. J. Courtney	1,308	32.6	+9.4
	Independent	C. R. Sedman	130	3.2	+3.2
Majority			1,272	31.7	−9.9
Turnout			4,018
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.0

Withington

Withington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. W. Young*	2,657	55.0	+5.7
	Labour	D. Healey	1,226	25.4	+4.6
	Liberal	J. Edwards	905	18.7	−11.2
	Independent	E. N. Goodyear	47	1.0	+1.0
Majority			1,431	29.6	+10.2
Turnout			4,835
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.5

Woodhouse Park

Woodhouse Park
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Farrell*	2,698	59.4	+0.9
	Conservative	A. Farmer	1,486	32.7	−8.8
	Liberal	L. Griffiths	361	7.9	+7.9
Majority			1,212	26.7	+9.6
Turnout			4,545
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.8

References

↑ Manchester City Council Election Results, 2nd Edition, Swarbrick (1993).

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[1] Manchester City Council Election Results, 2nd Edition, Swarbrick (1993).

[1]

v t e (1975 ←) 1976 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1977)
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v t e Council elections in Greater Manchester
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Manchester	1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1945 1946 1947 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2026
Oldham	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2026
Rochdale	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2026
Salford	1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1945 1946 1947 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2026
Stockport	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2026
Tameside	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2026
Trafford	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2026
Wigan	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2026
County Council	1973 1977 1981
See also: Wards Boundary changes