# 1979 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council election

Elections to Trafford Council were held on Thursday, 3 May 1979, on the same day as the 1979 UK General Election. One third of the council was up for election, with each successful candidate to serve a four-year term of office, expiring in 1983. The Conservative Party retained overall control of the council.

## Election result

| Party | Votes | Votes | Seats | Seats | Seats | Full Council | Full Council |
| Conservative Party | 58,913 (45.4%) | 13.1 | 15 (65.2%) | 15 / 23 | 6 | 48 (76.2%) | 48 / 63 |
| Labour Party | 40,095 (30.9%) | 3.0 | 6 (26.1%) | 6 / 23 | 4 | 13 (20.6%) | 13 / 63 |
| Liberal Party | 30,793 (23.7%) | 10.3 | 2 (8.7%) | 2 / 23 | 2 | 2 (3.2%) | 2 / 63 |
| Communist Party | 41 (0.0%) | 0.2 | 0 (0.0%) | 0 / 23 | 0 | 0 (0.0%) | 0 / 63 |
| 13 | 2 | 48 |

## Ward results
### No.1 (Altrincham South West)

Altrincham South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Albert Whitehurst* | 2,384 | 53.2 | −1.2 |
| | Liberal | M. C. Booth | 2,093 | 46.8 | +29.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 291 | 6.5 | −19.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,477 | 69.5 | +36.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.2 (Altrincham East)

Altrincham East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | H. Taylor* | 3,608 | 50.6 | −6.5 |
| | Liberal | Roy Richardson | 3,516 | 49.4 | +18.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 92 | 1.3 | −10.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,124 | 76.4 | +38.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.3 (Altrincham North)

Altrincham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Lydia Burton* | 2,336 | 45.6 | −10.0 |
| | Labour | E. Smith | 1,555 | 30.3 | +4.7 |
| | Liberal | B. Gaylard | 1,236 | 24.1 | +5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 781 | 15.2 | +1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,127 | 77.3 | +41.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.4 (Timperley)

Timperley (2 vacancies) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Graham Toft | 2,756 | 50.6 | −18.6 |
| | Conservative | Wilfred Watkins | 2,550 | 46.8 | −22.4 |
| | Liberal | Raymond Bowker | 2,190 | 40.2 | N/A |
| | Labour | Barry Brotherton | 1,718 | 31.5 | +0.7 |
| | Labour | P. Pollard | 1,680 | 30.8 | 0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 360 | 6.6 | −24.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,449 | 65.7 | +34.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.5 (Mersey-St. Mary’s)

Mersey-St. Mary's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Reginald Bannister* | 3,873 | 54.4 | −5.0 |
| | Liberal | E. Critchlow | 2,055 | 28.9 | +2.7 |
| | Labour | C. Younghusband | 1,186 | 16.7 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,818 | 25.6 | −7.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,114 | 78.6 | +37.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.6 (St. Martin’s)

St. Martin's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stanley Brownhill* | 4,198 | 47.3 | −15.6 |
| | Labour | G. Woodburn | 2,554 | 28.8 | +7.6 |
| | Liberal | G. C. Kinsey | 2,127 | 24.0 | +10.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,644 | 18.5 | −23.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,879 | 75.0 | +39.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.7 (Sale Moor)

Sale Moor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Cicely Merry | 2,319 | 46.4 | −6.1 |
| | Conservative | Anthony Rhodes* | 1,935 | 38.7 | −8.8 |
| | Liberal | J. S. Green | 743 | 14.9 | +14.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 384 | 7.7 | +2.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,997 | 75.2 | +34.3 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### No.8 (St. Anne’s)

St. Anne's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Phillipson | 2,657 | 41.7 | +4.9 |
| | Conservative | A. D. Barker | 2,486 | 39.0 | −8.5 |
| | Labour | H. Pollard | 1,228 | 19.3 | +3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 171 | 2.7 | −8.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,371 | 75.3 | +34.9 |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### No.9 (Brooklands)

Brooklands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jonathan Taylor* | uncontested | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.10 (Talbot North)

Talbot North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Clifford Cronshaw* | 3,339 | 56.5 | −5.0 |
| | Conservative | J. R. Gregory | 2,065 | 34.9 | −3.6 |
| | Liberal | W. A. Munden | 509 | 8.6 | +8.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,274 | 21.5 | −1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,913 | 69.0 | +35.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### No.11 (Clifford)

Clifford (2 vacancies) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Maher | 2,129 | 52.1 | +2.1 |
| | Labour | Tony Lloyd | 2,066 | 50.5 | +0.5 |
| | Conservative | Roy Corke* | 1,809 | 44.2 | −5.9 |
| | Conservative | M. Shafi | 1,154 | 28.2 | −21.9 |
| | Liberal | D. A. Curley | 563 | 13.8 | N/A |
| | Liberal | A. Scanlon | 451 | 11.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 257 | 6.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,089 | 60.1 | +20.5 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### No.12 (Longford)

Longford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Alexander Kelly* | 3,091 | 44.5 | −9.2 |
| | Labour | Maureen Cottam | 2,852 | 41.1 | +4.6 |
| | Liberal | H. D. Locksley | 1,002 | 14.4 | +4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 239 | 3.4 | −13.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,945 | 72.7 | +38.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.13 (Stretford)

Stretford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Harry Walker* | 2,480 | 53.8 | −14.7 |
| | Labour | C. Reid | 1,608 | 34.9 | +3.4 |
| | Liberal | R. J. Allan | 521 | 11.3 | +11.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 872 | 18.9 | −18.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,609 | 78.0 | +38.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.14 (Park)

Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | A. R. Davies | 2,198 | 51.7 | +1.8 |
| | Conservative | John Schofield* | 1,659 | 39.0 | −9.0 |
| | Liberal | C. R. Hedley | 354 | 8.3 | +8.3 |
| | Communist | E. H. Hook | 41 | 1.0 | −1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 539 | 12.7 | +10.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,252 | 75.2 | +36.1 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### No.15 (Bowdon)

Bowdon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Humphreys* | 3,721 | 64.7 | −12.9 |
| | Liberal | J. A. Willmott | 1,250 | 21.7 | +9.4 |
| | Labour | Arthur Johnson | 782 | 13.6 | +3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,471 | 43.0 | −22.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,753 | 76.9 | +32.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.16 (Hale)

Hale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Norman Barrett* | 5,098 | 69.3 | −6.4 |
| | Liberal | J. S. Whittingham | 1,361 | 18.5 | +5.0 |
| | Labour | O. J. Spencer | 897 | 12.2 | +1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,737 | 50.8 | −11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,356 | 78.8 | +38.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.17 (Partington)

Partington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kenneth Rogers | 3,402 | 61.7 | +1.7 |
| | Conservative | Michael Barltrop* | 2,112 | 38.3 | −1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,290 | 23.4 | +3.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,514 | 70.3 | +36.9 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### No.18 (Urmston West East)

Urmston West East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anthony Platt* | 3,381 | 50.8 | −8.0 |
| | Labour | D. Horner | 1,801 | 27.1 | −1.6 |
| | Liberal | D. E. Unwin | 1,469 | 22.1 | +9.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,580 | 23.8 | −6.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,651 | 77.7 | +43.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.19 (Flixton East Central)

Flixton East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gordon Lumby* | 4,023 | 53.3 | −18.8 |
| | Labour | J. D. Brown | 2,295 | 30.4 | +2.5 |
| | Liberal | R. K. Sangster | 1,226 | 16.3 | +16.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,728 | 22.9 | −21.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,544 | 80.9 | +47.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### No.20 (Flixton West)

Flixton West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Susan Hodgson | 4,748 | 60.7 | +60.7 |
| | Labour | Raymond Tully | 3,071 | 39.3 | +1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,677 | 21.4 | −3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,819 | 75.0 | +39.2 |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### No.21 (Davyhulme East)

Davyhulme East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Eric Crosbie* | 2,194 | 50.7 | −11.1 |
| | Labour | G. R. Scott | 1,415 | 32.7 | +11.9 |
| | Liberal | T. M. Owen | 722 | 16.7 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 779 | 18.0 | −22.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,331 | 79.6 | +42.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

## By-elections between 1979 and 1980

No.12 (Longford) By-Election 30 August 1979 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Maureen Cottam | 1,187 | 42.7 | +1.6 |
| | Conservative | John Schofield | 1,127 | 40.5 | −4.0 |
| | Liberal | H. D. Locksley | 466 | 16.8 | +2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 60 | 2.2 | −1.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,780 | 29.1 | −43.6 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
No.20 (Flixton West) By-Election 13 December 1979 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Harding | 858 | 41.3 | +41.3 |
| | Labour | A. Stringer | 752 | 36.2 | +3.1 |
| | Liberal | L. O'Rourke | 466 | 22.4 | −38.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 106 | 5.1 | −16.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,076 | 20.0 | −55.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |