Regional elections were held in Scotland on Tuesday 2 May 1978, as part of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. They saw a resurgence of support for the Labour Party, retaining control of Strathclyde and Fife and winning Central and Lothian.
National results
!colspan=2|Parties !Votes !Votes % !Wards
|592,616 |39.6 |176
|453,003 |30.3 |136
|313,062 |20.9 |18
|34,284 |2.3 |6
|7,884 |0.5 |1
|6,629 |0.4 |0
|Independent Ratepayer |5,754 |0.4 |1
|4,841 |0.3 |1
|Independent Nationalist |2,447 |0.2 |2
|1,291 |0.1 |0
|168 |0.01 |0 |- | style="width: 10px" bgcolor=| | style="text-align: left;" scope="row" | Independent |73,449 |4.9 |89 |- !colspan=2|Total!! 1,495,428 !! 100.0 !! 431
Results by council area Council Labour Conservative SNP Liberal Independent Other Turnout Control Details Borders‡091111 1 holdDetails Central‡1866022 GainDetails Dumfries and Galloway‡351026 0 holdDetails Fife‡24141021 holdDetails Grampian‡13332230 HoldDetails Highland‡512237 0 HoldDetails Lothian‡26183110 GainDetails Orkney‡000024 HoldDetails Shetland‡300022 HoldDetails Strathclyde‡73252210 HoldDetails Tayside‡15250060 HoldDetails Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles)‡0000300 HoldDetails
References