Elections to Manchester City Council were held on Thursday, 1 May 2003. One third of the council was up for election as well as a vacancy in Benchill, with each successful candidate to serve a one-year term of office, expiring in 2004, due to the boundary changes and 'all-out' elections due to take place in that year. Turnout was down slightly to 22.2%, with Labour retaining overall control of the council. The election saw the Greens winning their first seat, and half a dozen Liberal Democrat gains resulting in Labour's majority being the lowest in twenty years. The three Independent Labour candidates stood as "Independent Progressive Labour".[1] [2]
After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:
| Party | Seats | +/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | -5 | |||
| 27 | +5 | |||
| 1 | +1 | |||
| 0 | -1 | |||
| Labour hold | ||||