Elections to Manchester 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 three-year term of office, expiring in 1982, due to the boundary changes and "all-out" elections due to take place that year. The Labour Party retained overall control of the council.[1]
After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:
| Party | Seats | +/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | +10 | |||
| 33 | -12 | |||
| 3 | +2 | |||
| Labour hold | ||||