Before (end of 1995) (60 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 55 · Conservative 3 · Liberal Democrats 2 · Other 0
After (end of 1996) (60 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 57 · Liberal Democrats 3 · Conservative 0 · Other 0
Ward results
Barton1 seat
| K. Memory | Labour | 1,475 ✓ |
| J. Millington | Liberal Democrats | 184 |
| P Oxley | Conservative | 170 |
Blackfriars1 seat
| J. Hincks | Labour | 925 ✓ |
| Susan Carson | Liberal Democrats | 133 |
| P Burke | LIB | 58 |
Broughton1 seat · turnout 23.6%
| J. King | Labour | 1,280 ✓ |
| S. Wallace | Liberal Democrats | 263 |
Claremont1 seat
| Barbara Sylvia Russell Miller | Labour | 1,503 ✓ |
| N. Owen | Liberal Democrats | 666 |
| G Herrick | Conservative | 556 |
Eccles1 seat
| E. Sheehy | Labour | 1,677 ✓ |
| A. McGarry | Liberal Democrats | 336 |
| Judith Tope | Conservative | 212 |
Irlam1 seat
| R. Lightup | Labour | 1,624 ✓ |
| Julie Wenham | Liberal Democrats | 246 |
Kersal1 seat
| K Howell | Labour | 1,505 ✓ |
| H Balkind | Conservative | 774 |
| Lynn Drake | Liberal Democrats | 163 |
Langworthy1 seat
| P Brighouse | Labour | 968 ✓ |
| B. Carson | Liberal Democrats | 204 |
Little Hulton1 seat
| Alice Smyth | Labour | 1,287 ✓ |
| D Stirrup | Conservative | 141 |
| Lydia Heather Cairns | Liberal Democrats | 134 |
Ordsall1 seat
| K. Murray | Labour | 668 ✓ |
| N. Balkind | Conservative | 58 |
| B. Owen | Liberal Democrats | 51 |
Pendlebury1 seat
| Patricia Lea | Labour | 2,195 ✓ |
| Marjorie Weston | Conservative | 297 |
| Mariska Jones | Liberal Democrats | 170 |
Swinton North1 seat
| C. Hinds | Labour | 1,842 ✓ |
| Christine Upton | Conservative | 365 |
| Christine Lomax | Liberal Democrats | 282 |
Swinton South1 seat
| B. Lea | Labour | 1,681 ✓ |
| M. Edwards | Conservative | 899 |
| D. Cowpe | Liberal Democrats | 272 |
Walkden South1 seat
| S. Witkowski | Labour | 2,038 ✓ |
| P Hall | Conservative | 647 |
| B Higgins | Liberal Democrats | 568 |
Weaste & Seedley1 seat
| B Jones | Liberal Democrats | 349 |
| S. Cooper | Conservative | 294 |
Weaste and Seedley1 seat
| D. Jolley | Labour | 1,422 ✓ |
| B Jones | Liberal Democrats | 349 |
| S. Cooper | Conservative | 294 |
Winton1 seat
| J. Burrows | Labour | 1,612 ✓ |
| J. Bolton | Conservative | 278 |
| B Elliott | Liberal Democrats | 241 |
Worsley & Boothstown1 seat
| B. Roberts | Labour | 1,619 ✓ |
| L. Marriott | Conservative | 1,239 |
| Jim Kean | Liberal Democrats | 985 |