| Election Name: | 1973 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election |
| Country: | England |
| Type: | Parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Party Colour: | yes |
| Previous Election: | 1972 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election |
| Previous Year: | 1972 |
| Next Election: | 1975 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election |
| Next Year: | 1975 |
| Seats For Election: | All 60 seats to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council |
| Majority Seats: | 31 |
| Election Date: | 10 May 1973 |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Seats1: | 57 |
| Party2: | Independent (politician) |
| Seats2: | 1 |
| Party3: | Lincoln Democratic Labour Association |
| Seats3: | 1 |
| Majority party | |
| Posttitle: | Majority party after election |
| Before Election: | Labour |
| After Election: | Labour |
The first elections to the newly created Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council were held on 10 May 1973, with the entirety of the 60 seat council - three seats for each of the 20 wards - up for vote. The Local Government Act 1972 stipulated that the elected members were to shadow and eventually take over from the predecessor corporation on 1 April 1974. The order in which the councillors were elected dictated their term serving, with third-place candidates serving two years and up for re-election in 1975, second-placed three years expiring in 1976 and 1st-placed five years until 1978.[1]
The election resulted in Labour gaining control of the council.
This resulted in the following composition of the council:
| valign=top colspan="2" style="width: 230px" | Party | valign=top style="width: 30px" | New council |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 57 | ||
| Democratic Labour | 1 | ||
| Independent | 1 | ||
| Independent Labour | 1 | ||
| Total | 60 | ||
| Working majority | |||