Late-night election counts set to remain

THE tradition of candidates nervously awaiting their election results into the small hours of the night is set to continue after the UK government agreed to back a proposal to enshrine it in law.

There had been concerns that returning officers were increasingly holding election counts the day after to save money and allow staff to work more sociable hours.

But Justice Secretary Jack Straw yesterday accepted a Conservative amendment to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill requiring vote-counting to start within four hours of the polls closing and to allow Labour MPs a free vote on the issue. The move means that the amendment will almost certainly succeed.

The proposal includes an "exceptional circumstances" clause which is likely to be used for island constituencies in Scotland where counts are hampered by geography.

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