| Election Name: | 1978 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election |
| Country: | England |
| Type: | Parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Party Colour: | yes |
| Previous Election: | 1976 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election |
| Previous Year: | 1976 |
| Next Election: | 1979 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election |
| Next Year: | 1979 |
| Seats For Election: | One third of seats (20 of 60) to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council |
| Majority Seats: | 31 |
| Election Date: | 4 May 1978 |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Seats1: | 16 |
| Seat Change1: | 2 |
| Party2: | Residents Association |
| Seats2: | 3 |
| Seat Change2: | 3 |
| Party3: | Independent (politician) |
| Seats3: | 1 |
| Majority party | |
| Posttitle: | Majority party after election |
| Before Election: | Labour |
| After Election: | Labour |
Elections to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council were held on 4 May 1978. One third of the council was up for election. The election resulted in Labour retaining control of the council. The sole Democratic Labour councillor elected in 1973 successfully defended his seat as an Independent and the only Independent elected in 1973 unsuccessfully defended his seat as a Conservative.[1]
This resulted in the following composition of the council:
| valign=top colspan="2" style="width: 230px" | Party | valign=top style="width: 30px" | Previous council | valign=top style="width: 30px" | New council |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 39 | 37 | |||
| Residents | 11 | 14 | |||
| Liberals | 5 | 5 | |||
| Independent Labour | 2 | 2 | |||
| Independent | 1 | 1 | |||
| Conservatives | 2 | 1 | |||
| Total | 60 | 60 | |||
| Working majority | |||||
+/- figures represent changes from the last time these wards were contested.