Labour trounced the Lib Dems in Salford – winning 17 of the 20 seats up forgrabs.
The Lib Dem vote collapsed in the city, with the party coming last in eight of the seats they contested. Labour gained five seats in total - Eccles, Cadishead, Claremont, Weaste and Seedley, and Swinton South.
Labour leader John Merry said "We are obviously delighted with the result here in Salford tonight.
“I think it sends a clear message to the coalition government and also shows a vote of confidence in the council.
“What we have to do now is not betray the trust that's been shown to us by the people of Salford but we still have some very difficult decisions to take."
The barometer for the Lib Dem fortunes was Mary Ferrer in the Claremont ward. A hard working councillor, she lost the seat in a shock result last year.
This time around she was thrashed by 731 votes by Labour's Jo Murphy. In Langworthy, the Lib Dems were again unsuccessful.
Last year their candidate Steve Middleton tried and failed to oust political heavyweight John Warmisham after a bitter war of words.
This year Mr Middleton was defeated by Gina Loveday in his bid to get a much needed foothold in the inner-city ward.
Lib Dem group leader Norman Owen said "We've been hit by the national trend, that's clear throughout the region, with Manchester also suffering.
“We knew it would be hard but we didn't know just how hard it would be."
The Conservatives did well in their traditional heartland in Worsley, Boothstown and Walkden South.
Chris Clarkson pulled 1,761 votes in Worsley, ensuring the seat stayed in Tory hands.
Its previous holder, Ian MacDonald, retired after 15 years' service this year.
In Boothstown and Ellenbrook, the Tories' Robin Garrido held on to his seat, polling 1,521 votes.
Iain Lindley easily defended his Walkden seat. But the party lost Cadishead and Eccles to Labour.
Tory group leader Karen Garrido said: "I'm disappointed but we will bounce back."
Some familiar faces also returned to the fold. Val Burgoyne lost her Swinton South seat in 2008 while she was serving as mayor.
She returned this year to contest the Little Hulton ward where her husband Eric is also a sitting councillor.
She said: "It will be good to get back to work although there has been a lot of changes in the last three years."
The Green Party also lost out in its bid to get a first councillor elected. Council regular Joe O'Neill fought to regain his Swinton South seat after he lost it to Labour last year.
The former Lib Dem left the party just months before the 2010 election, forming a new coalition of independents on the council. But he lost his seat despite a strong personal vote and was again defeated by Labour this year.
Click here for the results in full
Story Pamela Welsh Manchester Evening News.
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