50,000 council staff to count election vote

Around 50,000 council workers will count votes as part of a nationwide operation to ensure a record number of constituencies begin tallying up ballot papers on election night, the Local Government Association has said.

The body said 627 of the 650 Westminster constituencies would start counting overnight (96.5%), compared to 619 of 646 (95.8%) in 2005.

Under new laws passed at the end of the last parliament, returning officers must take "reasonable steps" to begin the count within four hours of polls closing.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw backed the move amid fears that the General Election result would not be known until Friday afternoon if councils chose to delay counts.

The LGA said the proportion of constituencies counting overnight had risen from 42.2% in 1950.

The army of council workers tasked with counting votes have had training and will operate in pairs to check each other's work.

Another 150,000 staff will run up to 50,000 polling stations, which are open from 7am to 10pm.

As well as the ballot to select 649 Members of Parliament - the poll in Thirsk and Malton has been postponed to May 27 following the death of UK Independence Party candidate John Boakes - votes are being held in more than 160 local council areas to choose around 4,200 councillors, and there are four mayoral elections.

LGA chairman Dame Margaret Eaton said: "The General Election could not operate smoothly without the massive efforts which are put in at a council level, not just by the full-time council staff who oversee the process but also the thousands of temporary staff who help with the count.

"It is thanks to the many, many people who will be in town halls until the early hours processing ballot papers that many more of us can spend the night comfortably on our sofas, watching the results roll in."