Elections to Wigan Council were held on 4 May 1978, with one third of the council up for election as well as vacancies in Ward 2 and 17. Previous to the election, a Labour councillor in Ward 9 defected to become an Independent Labour, reducing Labour's majority to 38. This seat was up for vote and became the only Labour gain of the night, as they suffered five losses to the Conservatives, and their majority reduced to 30 - half of what it was in 1973. The election seen a first of all wards being contested, with turnout rising marginally to 34.7%.
Election result
This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:
PartyPrevious councilNew council Labour 55 51 Conservatives 14 19 Liberals 1 1 Independent 1 1 Independent Labour 1 0 Total 72 72 Working majority
Ward results
References