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Plans to force councils to hold their election counts overnight have been abandoned by Parliament, after an outcry by council chiefs. Justice secretary, Jack Straw, was one of a number of cross-party MPs to throw their weight behind a clause in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, which would stop returning officers from delaying counts until the morning. The Electoral Commission survey of returning officers found: Councils counting overnight 62% Councils counting overnight, unless the general and local elections coincide 3.4% Council counting the following day 10.2% Undecided 17.2%. Mr Straw told MPs the trend for counting the following day was being introduced by returning officers ‘for their own convenience'. But now the Ministry of Justice has performed a U-turn on the issue. Under the new rules, in Section 90 of the Bill, councils which do not begin their count within four hours of the polls closing will have 30 days to explain their actions to the Electoral Commission. SOLACE election chief, David Monks, told The MJ: ‘The clause was impractical and unworkable.' While he welcomed the change to the Bill, he added: ‘I'm still not happy about this as its coming in at such short notice.' Traditionally, no changes are made to electoral legislation within six months of a general election. Mr Monks will be meeting with the Electoral Commission and Ministry of Justice this week, in an effort to sort out the situation. According to recent figures from the commission, the vast majority of councils are planning to hold their election counts immediately. Only 10% of councils say they will hold their counts the following day, compared with 62% which will count overnight. Chief executives association, SOLACE, claimed delaying counts would ensure accuracy and help overcome the difficulty of polling in rural communities.

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WHITEHALL

MPs abandon plans to force night counts

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