Before (end of 2001) (48 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 32 · Conservative 13 · Liberal Democrats 3 · Other 0
After (end of 2002) (48 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 33 · Conservative 12 · Liberal Democrats 3 · Other 0
Ward results
Besses1 seat · turnout 29.7%
| Kenneth Audin | Labour | 1,277 ✓ |
| Mark Corson Roberts | Conservative | 473 |
| Ann Garner | Liberal Democrats | 303 |
Church1 seat
| Jack Walton | Conservative | 1,936 ✓ |
| Andrew McAnulty | Labour | 1,425 |
| Michael Wellock | — | 410 |
East1 seat
| Maura Connolly | Labour | 1,410 ✓ |
| Peter Ashworth | Conservative | 575 |
| Victor Hagan | Liberal Democrats | 231 |
| David Bentley | — | 154 |
Elton1 seat
| John Costello | Labour | 1,433 ✓ |
| Kevin Gould | Conservative | 1,248 |
| Robert Sloss | Liberal Democrats | 351 |
| Louise Llewellyn | — | 230 |
| English Metropolitan | — | 0 |
Holyrood1 seat · turnout 35.2%
| Tim Pickstone | Liberal Democrats | 1,426 ✓ |
| Susan Worsley | Labour | 869 |
| Jeannette Chrystal | Conservative | 465 |
| Rita McLoughlin | — | 112 |
Moorside1 seat · turnout 38.1%
| Dorothy Cassidy | Labour | 1,437 ✓ |
| Beverley Sullivan | Conservative | 1,234 |
| Mary Heath | — | 257 |
| Winifred Rohmann | Liberal Democrats | 206 |
Pilkington Park1 seat · turnout 39.1%
| Joan Grimshaw | Labour | 1,438 ✓ |
| Patrick Redstone | Conservative | 1,350 |
| Mary D'Albert | Liberal Democrats | 299 |
Radcliffe Central1 seat
| Andrea Hughes | Labour | 1,803 ✓ |
| Alan Bigg | Conservative | 616 |
| Bryn Hackley | Liberal Democrats | 382 |
Radcliffe North1 seat · turnout 34.8%
| Katherine Briggs | Labour | 1,994 ✓ |
| Denise Bigg | Conservative | 1,698 |
Radcliffe South1 seat
| Stephen Perkins | Labour | 1,238 ✓ |
| David Green | Conservative | 909 |
| Theodor Tymczyna | Liberal Democrats | 209 |
| Bryan Partington | — | 164 |
Ramsbottom1 seat · turnout 38.4%
| Dorothy Lyn Gunther | Conservative | 2,301 ✓ |
| Vera McClung | Labour | 1,508 |
| Fiona Davison | Liberal Democrats | 466 |
Redvales1 seat
| Farook Chaudhry | Labour | 1,338 ✓ |
| Ayyaz Mahmood | Conservative | 1,032 |
| Martin Robinson-Dowland | Liberal Democrats | 441 |
| Glyn Heath | — | 246 |
Sedgley1 seat
| David Caunt | Conservative | 2,312 ✓ |
| Peter Timperley | Labour | 1,894 ✓ |
| Janet Turner | Liberal Democrats | 943 |
| Andrew Jewkes | Labour | 915 |
| Marilyn Vincent | Conservative | 573 |
| Louise Fletcher | Liberal Democrats | 366 |
St. Marys1 seat
| E. Grime | Labour | 1,779 |
| A. Barlow | Conservative | 871 |
| M. Halsall | Liberal Democrats | 516 |
| G. Van Hecke | Independent | 171 |
Tottington1 seat
| David Higgin | Conservative | 2,182 ✓ |
| Victor McClung | Labour | 1,113 |
| James Eagle | Liberal Democrats | 470 |
Unsworth1 seat
| Gordon Sharkey | Labour | 1,444 ✓ |
| Samuel Cohen | Conservative | 1,168 |
| Geoffrey Young | Liberal Democrats | 281 |
| Martin Prescott | — | 175 |