Before (end of 2002) (60 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 52 · Liberal Democrats 6 · Conservative 2 · Other 0
After (end of 2003) (60 seats, Elections Centre)
Labour 51 · Liberal Democrats 5 · Conservative 3 · Other 1
Ward results
Barton1 seat
| N. Clarke | Labour | 1,697 |
| Ian Mathieson | Liberal Democrats | 588 |
| Linda Taylor | Conservative | 575 |
Blackfriars1 seat
| Benjamin Wallsworth | Labour | 1,258 ✓ |
| Robert Brettle | Liberal Democrats | 374 |
| N Garside | Conservative | 268 |
Broughton1 seat
| Bernard Murphy | Labour | 1,425 ✓ |
| Susan Carson | Liberal Democrats | 589 |
Cadishead1 seat
| James Hunt | Labour | 1,723 ✓ |
| Elizabeth Hill | Conservative | 799 |
| Patricia Gower | Liberal Democrats | 361 |
Claremont2 seats
| Norman Owen | Liberal Democrats | 1,904 ✓ |
| Peter Wheeler | Labour | 1,646 |
| Ivan Taylor | Labour | 1,245 ✓ |
| Sylvia Taylor | Labour | 1,177 ✓ |
| Linda Cole | Conservative | 744 |
| Stephen Houghton | Conservative | 703 |
| Jeremiah Horgan | Conservative | 513 |
| Lesley Owens | Liberal Democrats | 290 |
| John Porter | Independent | 161 |
Eccles1 seat
| Margaret Morris | Labour | 1,859 ✓ |
| Michael Edwards | Conservative | 995 |
| Edward Minty | Liberal Democrats | 938 |
Irlam1 seat
| John Henry Jones | Labour | 1,576 ✓ |
| William Dixon | Conservative | 739 |
| Nicholas David Wood | Independent | 428 |
| Christine Lomax | Liberal Democrats | 357 |
Kersal1 seat
| George Robert Keith Wilson | Labour | 1,552 ✓ |
| Eric Sievers | Liberal Democrats | 978 |
| Sydney Cooper | Conservative | 595 |
Langworthy1 seat
| Andrew Leaston | Labour | 1,078 ✓ |
| Stephen Cooke | Liberal Democrats | 631 |
Little Hulton1 seat
| Eric Burgoyne | Labour | 1,777 ✓ |
| David Allan Cowpe | Liberal Democrats | 467 |
| John Mosley | Conservative | 406 |
Ordsall1 seat
| Charles McIntyre | Labour | 1,036 ✓ |
| Ann Gibbons | Liberal Democrats | 539 |
| G Green | Conservative | 168 |
Pendlebury1 seat
| Bernard Lea | Labour | 2,691 ✓ |
| Marjorie Weston | Conservative | 1,211 |
Pendleton1 seat
| John Warmisham | Labour | 1,373 ✓ |
| Lynn Drake | Liberal Democrats | 498 |
| Anhtony Healey | Conservative | 287 |
Swinton North1 seat
| James Dawson | Labour | 2,461 ✓ |
| J. Dawson | Labour | 2,401 ✓ |
| Neil Levay | Conservative | 1,190 |
Swinton South1 seat
| David Daniels | Labour | 2,253 ✓ |
| Peter Allcock | Conservative | 1,832 |
Walkden North1 seat
| Vincent Devine | Labour | 2,164 ✓ |
| Walter Edwards | Conservative | 590 |
| Deborah Rushton | Liberal Democrats | 468 |
Walkden South1 seat
| Norbert Potter | Labour | 1,790 ✓ |
| Declan Harrington | Conservative | 1,301 |
| Pauline Ogden | Liberal Democrats | 1,076 |
| David Bowers | Independent | 912 |
Weaste & Seedley1 seat
| Alan Clague | Labour | 1,381 ✓ |
| R. Powell | Liberal Democrats | 1,020 |
| R. Garrido | Conservative | 421 |
| A. Booth | Independent | 216 |
Winton1 seat
| David Anthony Lancaster | Labour | 1,867 ✓ |
| Marion Kerley | Conservative | 1,251 ✓ |
| Pam Mutton | Conservative | 1,085 ✓ |
| Alan John Smith | Conservative | 1,061 ✓ |
| Sara Bradbury | Liberal Democrats | 855 |
| Judith Tope | Conservative | 742 |
| David Metcalf | Liberal Democrats | 565 |
| Yvonne Jones | Liberal Democrats | 502 |
| John Smith | Liberal Democrats | 479 |
| James Todd | Green | 250 |
| Anthony McCabe | UK Independence Party (UKIP) | 187 |
Worsley & Boothstown1 seat
| Beryl Howard | Conservative | 2,318 ✓ |
| Gary Riding | Liberal Democrats | 1,761 |
| Warren Coates | Labour | 1,169 |
| Ian Davies | Green | 290 |