Before (end of 1985) (47 seats, Elections Centre)
Conservative 24 · Labour 20 · SDP-Liberal Alliance 3 · Other 0
After (end of 1986) (47 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 25 · Conservative 16 · SDP-Liberal Alliance 6 · Other 0
Ward results
Barnfield1 seat · turnout 46.8%
| E. Millett | Lib/Sdp | 721 |
| M. Mellors | Labour | 522 |
| E. Rushton | Conservative | 198 |
Baxenden1 seat · turnout 44.0%
| A. Lund | Lib/Sdp | 751 |
| J. Scholes | Conservative | 544 |
| W. Pinder | Labour | 339 |
Central1 seat · turnout 43.9%
| K. Curtis | Labour | 767 |
| T. Siddiqi | Conservative | 506 |
| M. Smith | Lib/Sdp | 281 |
Church1 seat · turnout 38.0%
| L. Dickinson | Labour | 1,282 ✓ |
| L. Caton | SDP-Liberal Alliance | 527 |
Clayton-Le-Moors1 seat · turnout 54.8%
| C. Thom | Labour | 1,392 |
| D. Lord | Conservative | 656 |
| J. Bramhill | Lib/Sdp | 279 |
Immanuel1 seat · turnout 46.0%
| J. McCormack | Labour | 892 |
| M. Browning | Conservative | 843 |
Milnshaw1 seat · turnout 45.7%
| P. English | Labour | 1,121 |
| A. Sutcliffe | Conservative | 800 |
Netherton1 seat · turnout 51.2%
| D. Marsh | Labour | 874 |
| G. Hanson | Conservative | 618 |
| G. Griffiths | Lib/Sdp | 386 |
Norden1 seat · turnout 51.5%
| A. Ainsworth | Lib/Sdp | 480 |
| J. Sharples | Conservative | 424 |
| Aidan Mundy | Labour | 409 |
Overton1 seat · turnout 49.2%
| C. Nightingale | Labour | 956 |
| W. Sumner | Conservative | 861 |
| R. Holden | Lib/Sdp | 458 |
Peel1 seat · turnout 45.0%
| J. Culshaw | Labour | 770 |
| K. Tattersall | Lib/Sdp | 707 |
| D. Whitehead | Conservative | 250 |
Spring Hill1 seat · turnout 44.9%
| E. Hillman | Labour | 1,014 |
| B. Nuttall | Lib/Sdp | 598 |
| J. Purcell | Conservative | 204 |
St. Oswalds1 seat · turnout 39.0%
| W. Goldsmith | Labour | 905 |
| T. Renshaw | Conservative | 786 |