Barnsley was created in 1974 as a
metropolitan borough. Labour have always performed well in local elections, holding majority control of the council since its creation. The closest Labour have come to losing their majority on the council was
2006 and
2008, where the success of the Barnsley Independents saw the party reduced to holding just over half the seats. Since
2012, Labour have held over 70% of seats on the council. The Barnsley Independents formed the principal opposition from 2006 to
2018, when the
Conservatives briefly became the second largest party. The
Liberal Democrats overtook the Conservatives in
2019 and have formed the principal opposition since. Prior to this election, Barnsley elected it councillors on a four year cycle, with one councillor elected from each three-member ward in each election. At the most recent election in 2024,
2024, Labour won 17 seats, taking one from the Conservatives, but did not increase their majority due to losing a vacant seat last held by the party to the Liberal Democrats, which won 4 seats. Following boundary changes, the 2026 election will use a new set of ward boundaries. == Council composition ==