Elections to Manchester Council were held on Thursday, 1 May 1980. One-third of the council was up for election, with each successful candidate to serve a two-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 | +/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | +9 | |||
| 23 | -10 | |||
| 4 | +1 | |||
| Labour hold | ||||