Rochdale to keep same-night count

Rochdale will hold on to tradition as councils across the country axe late night election counts.

Traditionally, ballot forms are collected from polling stations at 10pm before being brought to the Civic Centre to be verified and counted with the result announced on the same night.

But cash-strapped local authorities across the country are putting a stop to late night counts for both the local and general elections and declaring results the following day to cut staff overtime bills.

The local election, which determines the make up of Rochdale Council, will take place on Thursday 6 May.

This year, it could fall on the same day as the general election and if this is the case the local election results will be postponed until the following day as the national results take priority. But if the two fall on different days, Rochdale’s results will be returned on the same day as voting takes place.

Commons speaker John Bercow is mounting a campaign to preserve the tradition of same day counts to maintain the dramatic moments when David Dimbleby announces the key results and the occupant of No 10 on TV.

The delay in counting votes could mean that some results are not declared until late the next day.

Research by the Electoral Commission revealed that only 330 out of 646 local authorities are planning to hold their count on the same day, compared with 616 in the 2005 election.