It's a case of as you were in Salford as Labour retained its grip on power. Some 21 of the council's 60 seats were up for grabs, but with Labour holding an unassailable majority the party was never in danger of losing its hold on the city.
And as it turned out there was no change in the order, as the ruling party held all 18 seats it was defending, with the Conservatives holding three wards. The result means Labour have 49 seats, with the Conservatives on eight the Lib Dems on two with one independent.
READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community
Salford's elected Labour Mayor Paul Dennett said: "It's a fantastic set of results for the Labour party. We've retained all of our seats. We've not made any gains, but coming into this we knew we were fighting on a number of key wards Ordsall, the Quays, Worsley and Westwood Park - and overall it's a really good set of results."
Labour had hoped to make in-roads in the tightly contested Conservative wards of Boothstown and Ellenbrook, Kersal and Broughton Park and Worsley and Westwood Park. But on the night the Tories held all three, with party leader Robin Garrido increasing his majority in his Worsley seat.
Coun Garrido hailed it as a good night for both himself and his party: "We have proved that if we fight on local issues we can have success.
"It's potholes, it's bins, it's schools crossings. We campaigned for that and will continue to campaign for that. We are not interested in the national policies, we are interested in doing what we can to make life better for the people of Salford."
It was the first local election where voters were required to show ID, and although there were reports of some people being turned away from the polls in Salford, council insiders said it didn't appear to have had an impact on turn-out.
In Barton and Winton Salford David Lancaster, who was first elected aged 21 in 1965, making him one of the country's longest serving councillors, comfortably held the seat for Labour. Former Labour Mayor Jim King, another stalwart of Salford politics with almost 40 years on the council, also defended his Broughton seat.
Blackfriars and Trinity became the first all-female ward in Salford's history, after Emma Cammell held the seat for Labour.
There were no repeats of the shocks last year when Labour lost three seats, with the Lib Dems taking the Quays and Ordsall and the Conservatives winning back Worsley and Westwood Park. The Lib Dems had targeted rapidly gentrifying Ordsall and hoped to build on their foothold in the Quays, but were beaten by Labour in both seats.
The Green Party fielded 20 candidates across 19 wards as they looked to offer a left-wing alternative to Labour, but were unable to make any in-roads.
The count took place at the AJ Bell stadium, which has been the subject of a fierce political battle over its ownership in recent months. The council plans to take full ownership of the home of Salford Red Devils, by buying out Peel Holdings' 50% share in the stadium, which has a £37m outstanding debt, despite objections from Conservatives.
Eighty-nine candidates stood for election, with one seat from each of the city's 20 wards up for grabs, apart from in Pendlebury and Clifton Ward where two seats were being contested.
Overall turn-out was 24.2%.
Greater Manchester local election results 2023
Here are all the local election results where you live in Greater Manchester:
- Manchester: Full local election results
- Bolton: Full local elections results
- Bury: Full local election results
- Stockport: Full local election results
- Trafford: Full local election results
- Oldham: Full local election results
- Salford: Full local election results
- Rochdale: Full local election results
- Tameside: Full local election results
- Wigan: Full local election results
