It was plain sailing for Labour as they retained their firm grip on Bury council.
On a celebratory day for the party nationally, the ruling party increased its number of councillors at Bury town hall by a further three. It means Labour now has a majority of 20 seats over their Conservative rivals.
Despite losing one seat on a difficult day for the Tories nationally, the party's leader said they fared better than expected.
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A third of the 51 seats on the council were up for grabs at this year's elections. By the end of the day, Labour's total number of seats stood at 31, while the Conservatives remain the second largest party with 11.
The biggest surprise came in the traditional Conservative stronghold of Pilkington Park, where Labour's Michael Rubinstein ousted Bury's former Tory leader Nick Jones.
The result was greeted with deafening cheers from those wearing red rosettes at the count at the Castle Leisure Centre.
There were also scenes of joyous celebration as Charlotte Morris, a Labour cabinet member, held on to her seat in the key swing seat of Elton.
Labour also won comfortably in Ramsbottom, where former Radcliffe First councillor Gareth Staples-Jones beat his Conservative rival by more than 700 votes.
There was further electoral success for hyperlocal party Radcliffe First, which held on to the two seats it was defending.
Party leader Mike Smith was re-elected in Radcliffe West, while Mary Walsh triumphed in Radcliffe East.
Yet hopes of seizing Radcliffe North and Ainsworth from the Conservatives failed to come to fruition as Jo Lancaster beat Radcliffe First's Ken Simpson by just 61 votes.
The Conservatives also held on to seats in Bury West, Tottington and North Manor - despite being pushed close by Labour's John Southworth in the latter.
Meanwhile, it was a disappointing day for the Liberal Democrats as they relinquished their only seat on Bury council, losing Holyrood ward to Labour's Lynn Ryder.
Speaking afterwards, council leader Eamonn O’Brien said he was 'very pleased' with Labour's performance.
"It was a great set of results for us," he added. "We targeted in the right places and there were even a few where we just about fell short that were always going to be a stretch, but maybe show there are some prospects for next time.
"Whilst it wasn't a complete wipe out for the Conservatives, the results do show a very strong performance for Labour and lots of support for us right across the borough."
He said the Conservative's poor showing nationally showed people were 'upset, angry and frustrated' with the government.
"They are mismanaging the economy, leaving the NHS in crisis and not tackling crime," said Coun O'Brien. "These are day-to-day issues that people are facing, they are not happy with and ultimately we are seeing that anger boil over."
Bury's Tory leader Russell Bernstein said his party had 'bucked the trend' on a difficult night for the party nationally.
"It went really well," he said. "At the start, we had five targets.
"It's obviously disappointment that we have lost Nick Jones, who is our former leader and a particularly hard-working councillor. It's very sad that he's gone but we have retained the other four.
"Overall, we're very happy with our performance."
Coun Bernstein said the national picture showed the Conservatives had 'an awful lot more work to do' to regain people's confidence.
He added: "From our point of view here in Bury, I think it means that if you work hard, you know what your wards are and you work accordingly, you've always got a chance."
The turnout was 34.3pc, down from last year's 39.3pc. It comes after new rules requiring voters to present photo identification came into force for the first time in all local elections across England.
The new makeup of Bury council is as follows:
Labour 31 seats
Conservatives - 11 seats
Radcliffe First - 8 seats
Independent - 1 seat
Greater Manchester local election results 2023
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