1976 Manchester City Council election

Elections to Manchester Council were held on Thursday, 6 May 1976. One third of the council was up for election, with each successful candidate to serve a four-year term of office, expiring in 1980. The Labour Party retained overall control of the Council.^[1]

Election result

Manchester Council Election Result 1976
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	19	1	1	57.6	45.1	60,027	+6.3%
Conservative	14	1	1	42.4	47.6	63,393	-2.5%
Liberal	0	0	0	0.0	6.3	8,367	-3.0%
Independent	0	0	0	0.0	0.8	1,047	+0.3%
Communist	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	167	-0.1%

After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:

	Seats	+/-
Labour	54	0
Conservative	45	0
Labour hold

Ward results

Alexandra

Alexandra
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	N. Thompson*	3,230	61.3	−0.2
	Liberal	D. Hewitt	1,012	19.2	−1.9
	Labour	A. G. Mackie	963	18.3	+0.8
	Independent	S. Martyniuk	61	1.2	+1.2
Majority			2,218	42.1	+1.7
Turnout			5,266
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.8

Ardwick

Ardwick
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Dale*	1,752	68.9	+1.1
	Conservative	M. W. Coales	792	31.1	−1.1
Majority			960	37.8	+2.2
Turnout			2,544
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.1

Baguley

Baguley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Burns	3,296	52.8	+6.7
	Conservative	J. V. Oatway*	2,693	43.1	−10.8
	Liberal	M. Quinn	257	4.1	+4.1
Majority			603	9.7	+6.3
Turnout			6,246
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+8.7

Barlow Moor

Barlow Moor
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Moore*	2,191	56.2	−8.2
	Labour	P. Karney	1,404	36.0	+0.4
	Liberal	G. Irvine	301	7.7	+7.7
Majority			787	20.2	−8.7
Turnout			3,896
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.3

Beswick

Beswick
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Flanagan	1,760	75.4	−3.6
	Conservative	J. Cartland	449	19.2	−1.8
	Liberal	P. Coleman	125	5.4	+5.4
Majority			1,311	56.2	−1.8
Turnout			2,334
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.8

Blackley

Blackley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Risby*	2,482	54.3	+8.0
	Conservative	J. Yates	2,092	45.7	−8.0
Majority			390	8.5	+1.1
Turnout			4,574
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.0

Bradford

Bradford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Egerton*	2,376	53.6	+4.9
	Conservative	C. R. Ashton	1,906	43.0	−3.4
	Liberal	M. W. Powell	99	2.2	+2.2
	Independent	J. Hulse	53	1.2	−1.1
Majority			470	10.6	+8.3
Turnout			4,434
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.1

Brooklands

Brooklands
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. W. G. Fitzsimons*	2,795	49.5	−11.2
	Labour	J. Wilner	2,538	45.0	+5.7
	Liberal	G. F. Turner	309	5.5	+5.5
Majority			257	4.6	−16.7
Turnout			5,642
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.4

Burnage

Burnage
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. L. Lund*	2,966	59.5	+8.1
	Labour	G. Stringer	1,609	32.3	−0.1
	Liberal	G. Shaw	411	8.2	+10.7
Majority			1,357	27.2	+8.3
Turnout			4,986
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.1

Charlestown

Charlestown
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Morris*	2,458	51.7	+4.1
	Conservative	W. Guy	2,006	42.2	−10.2
	Liberal	J. Laslett	289	6.1	+6.1
Majority			452	9.5	+4.6
Turnout			4,753
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.1

Cheetham

Cheetham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. G. Ford*	1,421	62.5	+0.3
	Conservative	A. Goulding	852	37.5	−0.3
Majority			569	25.0	+0.6
Turnout			2,273
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.3

Chorlton

Chorlton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Vince*	3,030	64.9	+2.8
	Labour	A. J. Bateman	1,164	24.9	+4.7
	Liberal	H. Wallace	478	10.2	−5.2
Majority			1,866	39.9	−2.0
Turnout			4,672
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.9

Collegiate Church

Collegiate Church
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Ogden*	628	63.9	+4.1
	Conservative	D. H. Philip	261	26.6	−0.9
	Liberal	K. D. Underhill	78	7.9	−4.7
	Independent	P. Wragg	16	1.6	+1.6
Majority			367	37.3	+5.0
Turnout			983
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.5

Crossacres

Crossacres
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Roberts*	3,257	59.6	+13.1
	Conservative	K. A. Edis	1,576	28.8	+7.3
	Liberal	H. Griffiths	633	11.6	−2.3
Majority			1,681	30.8	+5.8
Turnout			5,466
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.9

Crumpsall

Crumpsall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. L. Clapham	2,528	57.5	−2.8
	Labour	P. A. Murphy	1,474	33.5	+5.1
	Liberal	A. E. Griffiths	396	9.0	−2.3
Majority			1,054	24.0	−7.9
Turnout			4,398
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.9

Didsbury

Didsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Duke*	3,904	65.1	−0.7
	Labour	C. B. Muir	1,185	19.8	+5.3
	Liberal	T. Kellgren	839	14.0	−4.0
	Independent	K. V. M. Brown	72	1.2	+1.2
Majority			2,719	45.3	+7.2
Turnout			6,000
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.0

Gorton North

Gorton North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Brierley*	1,989	59.4	+4.5
	Conservative	E. Leadbetter	1,241	37.0	−8.1
	Liberal	D. Sandiford	121	3.6	+3.6
Majority			748	22.3	+12.4
Turnout			3,351
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.3

Gorton South

Gorton South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Barker*	1,598	56.8	+0.7
	Conservative	D. Heywood	1,217	43.2	−0.7
Majority			381	13.6	+1.4
Turnout			2,815
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.7

Harpurhey

Harpurhey
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Reid*	1,131	58.6	+10.8
	Conservative	D. Porter	706	36.6	−2.1
	Liberal	P. Hannon	92	4.8	−8.7
Majority			425	22.0	+12.9
Turnout			1,929
	Labour hold		Swing	6.4

Hulme

Hulme
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Thomas*	1,514	67.1	−0.8
	Conservative	L. Gaffney	419	18.6	−0.9
	Liberal	M. Moonsamy	325	14.4	+4.0
Majority			1,095	48.5	+0.1
Turnout			2,258
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.0

Levenshulme

Levenshulme
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Carlton*	2,506	51.6	−4.7
	Labour	P. Hildrew	1,856	38.2	+4.7
	Liberal	K. Whitmore	408	8.4	−1.8
	Independent	P. J. Cassidy	86	1.8	+1.8
Majority			650	13.4	−9.4
Turnout			4,856
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.7

Lightbowne

Lightbowne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Cleworth	2,308	52.7	+14.3
	Labour	R. A. Reddington*	2,068	47.3	+13.6
Majority			240	5.5	+0.8
Turnout			4,376
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+0.3

Lloyd Street

Lloyd Street
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K. McKeon*	2,402	50.6	+4.6
	Conservative	A. Nixon	2,088	44.0	+1.5
	Liberal	R. Coleman	204	4.3	−7.2
	Independent	D. E. Carter	50	1.1	+1.1
Majority			314	6.6	+3.0
Turnout			4,744
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.5

Longsight

Longsight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. W. Ford*	1,998	51.8	+6.8
	Conservative	M. Delayen	1,862	48.2	−6.8
Majority			136	3.5	−6.5
Turnout			3,860
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.8

Miles Platting

Miles Platting
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Latham*	1,715	79.3	+7.0
	Conservative	A. E. Halliday	448	20.7	−7.0
Majority			1,267	58.6	+13.9
Turnout			2,163
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.0

Moss Side

Moss Side
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Paget*	980	52.8	+13.0
	Independent	E. W. Smyth	480	25.8	+25.8
	Conservative	P. Hilton	397	21.4	−2.0
Majority			500	26.9	+23.8
Turnout			1,857
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.4

Moston

Moston
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. E. Goulding*	3,144	61.9	+5.4
	Labour	J. A. Dean	1,935	38.1	+6.0
Majority			1,209	23.8	−0.6
Turnout			5,079
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.3

Newton Heath

Newton Heath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Tomlinson*	1,819	49.0	−4.9
	Conservative	L. Clarke	1,794	48.3	+2.2
	Liberal	R. Cowe	101	2.7	+2.7
Majority			25	0.7	−7.1
Turnout			3,714
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.5

Northenden

Northenden
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. H. Box*	2,923	51.5	−1.8
	Labour	H. Brown	2,359	41.6	+4.6
	Liberal	H. Hilton	307	5.4	−4.2
	Communist	M. Taylor	82	1.4	+1.4
Majority			564	9.9	−6.4
Turnout			5,671
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.2

Old Moat

Old Moat
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. H. Aikman	2,346	52.6	−5.0
	Labour	A. H. Fender	1,664	37.3	+8.7
	Liberal	A. A. Parr	316	7.1	−6.7
	Communist	D. J. Granfield	85	1.9	+1.9
	Independent	P. S. Pinder	52	1.2	+1.2
Majority			682	15.3	−13.8
Turnout			4,463
	Conservative hold		Swing	-6.8

Rusholme

Rusholme
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Ollerenshaw*	2,580	64.2	−0.6
	Labour	W. J. Courtney	1,308	32.6	+9.4
	Independent	C. R. Sedman	130	3.2	+3.2
Majority			1,272	31.7	−9.9
Turnout			4,018
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.0

Withington

Withington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. W. Young*	2,657	55.0	+5.7
	Labour	D. Healey	1,226	25.4	+4.6
	Liberal	J. Edwards	905	18.7	−11.2
	Independent	E. N. Goodyear	47	1.0	+1.0
Majority			1,431	29.6	+10.2
Turnout			4,835
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.5

Woodhouse Park

Woodhouse Park
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Farrell*	2,698	59.4	+0.9
	Conservative	A. Farmer	1,486	32.7	−8.8
	Liberal	L. Griffiths	361	7.9	+7.9
Majority			1,212	26.7	+9.6
Turnout			4,545
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.8

References

^ Manchester City Council Election Results, 2nd Edition, Swarbrick (1993).

[1] Manchester City Council Election Results, 2nd Edition, Swarbrick (1993).

[1]