Before (end of 1975) (60 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 28 · Conservative 22 · The Liberal Party 10 · Other 0
After (end of 1976) (60 seats, Elections Centre)
Conservative 31 · Labour 19 · The Liberal Party 10 · Other 0
Ward results
No. 1 (Healey)1 seat · turnout 39.7%
| A. Kaufman | Labour | 1,303 ✓ |
| R. Needham | Conservative | 721 |
| C. Rigg | LIB | 705 |
No. 10 (Heywood West)1 seat · turnout 29.0%
| L. Nuttall | Labour | 1,191 ✓ |
| P. Keane | Conservative | 1,035 |
No. 11 (Heywood North)1 seat · turnout 39.3%
| J. Blayney | Conservative | 1,269 ✓ |
| D. Beeny | Labour | 1,013 |
| B. Lomax | LIB | 616 |
No. 12 (Heywood South)1 seat · turnout 38.5%
| K. Walker | Conservative | 1,504 ✓ |
| W. McCarthy | Labour | 982 |
| C. Gee | LIB | 261 |
| P. McGrath | NF | 206 |
No. 13 (Middleton East)1 seat · turnout 39.5%
| L. O'Neill | Conservative | 1,117 ✓ |
| J. McCartney | Labour | 986 |
No. 14 (Middleton South)1 seat · turnout 42.3%
| R. Lewis | Conservative | 2,612 ✓ |
| F. Sansom | Labour | 1,001 |
No. 15 (Middleton West)1 seat · turnout 23.4%
| G. Ludden | Labour | 1,393 ✓ |
| M. Cullen | Conservative | 536 |
| M. Massey | COMM | 107 |
No. 16 (Middleton Central & Hollin)1 seat · turnout 36.4%
| T. McCann | Conservative | 1,397 ✓ |
| J. Farrar | Labour | 1,316 |
No. 17 (Middleton North)1 seat · turnout 42.6%
| A. Bent | Conservative | 1,818 ✓ |
| Tricia O'Brien | Labour | 1,569 |
No. 18 (Littleborough)1 seat · turnout 31.8%
| R. Giffin | Conservative | 2,298 ✓ |
| J. Brown | Labour | 937 |
No. 19 (Milnrow)1 seat · turnout 43.7%
| R. Taylor | Conservative | 1,914 ✓ |
| T. Duffy | Labour | 1,151 |
| A. Cunliffe | LIB | 621 |
No. 2 (Newbold & Wardleworth)1 seat · turnout 37.3%
| T. Hernon | Labour | 786 ✓ |
| H. Brierley | Conservative | 560 |
| J. Sunderland | Independent | 556 |
| M. Pilling | LIB | 514 |
No. 20 (Wardle)1 seat · turnout 46.6%
| B. Schofield | Conservative | 813 ✓ |
| B. Wade | Labour | 595 |
| K. Porter | LIB | 532 |
No. 3 (Deeplish & Brimrod)1 seat · turnout 32.8%
| D. Tomlinson | Conservative | 1,294 ✓ |
| Ashton B. | Labour | 1,156 |
| B. Meredith | LIB | 615 |
No. 4 (Balderstone)1 seat · turnout 36.9%
| A. Bagnall | Conservative | 1,889 ✓ |
| J. Ashworth | Labour | 1,177 |
| M. Watts | LIB | 387 |
| S. Hodgkinson | COMM | 78 |
No. 5 (Castleton)1 seat · turnout 31.5%
| H. Turner | Conservative | 1,073 ✓ |
| W. Quinn | Labour | 848 |
| A. Threlfall | LIB | 764 |
No. 6 (Spotland)1 seat · turnout 37.5%
| W. Jenkins | LIB | 1,014 ✓ |
| T. Hayes | Labour | 546 |
| J. Cavill | Conservative | 428 |
| H. Cockburn | NF | 150 |
No. 7 (Central & Falinge)1 seat · turnout 37.4%
| R. Stott | LIB | 996 ✓ |
| A. Chowdry | Labour | 934 |
| G. Heywood | Conservative | 754 |
| M. Sellors | NF | 225 |
| P. Atkinson | COMM | 83 |
No. 8 (Norden & Bamford)1 seat · turnout 40.7%
| E. Collins | Conservative | 2,203 ✓ |
| A. Koppi | LIB | 737 |
| M. Lahan | Labour | 156 |
No. 9 (Smallbridge)1 seat · turnout 38.9%
| N. Paterson | LIB | 1,076 ✓ |
| J. Crosland | Labour | 889 |
| S. Hoyle | COMM | 86 |