Aitchison warns MP recounts could be put off until next day

KNIFE-EDGE election results in Edinburgh could be left up in the air until the next day, the city's returning officer Tom Aitchison has warned.

He told a meeting of agents from all political parties that because the whole counting process is expected to take longer at this election, he is likely to postpone any recounts until fresh staff can be brought in.

It could mean candidates in close contests – perhaps separated by fewer than 100 votes – being told to go home at 5am and come back around 11am to find out who has won.

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Many Capital constituencies are seen as close fights which could produce very small majorities.

And candidates and agents today spoke out against postponing recounts, arguing voters expected to know the results as soon as possible.

Scotland's returning officers originally wanted all counting of votes in the general election delayed until the next day. They claimed new rules on checking postal votes could add two or three hours to the normal time for declaration of results.

But opposition from politicians forced them to agree that most places will count overnight as usual.

Mr Aitchison said the results in Edinburgh would probably come through at around 4:30am or 5am instead of 3-3:30am as at the last election in 2005.

And he said if a recount was needed and it was carried out there and then, it could delay the final outcome till after 7am.

He said: "If it was 5am and it was going to take a couple of hours to do a full recount, would it make more sense to stop and get fresh counting staff in mid-morning?

"The supervisory staff would have been working for nearly 24 hours and the counting staff would have been in since 10pm.

"I'm hoping we won't be in that position, but we are trying to think through all the contingencies that could occur."

In 2005, Labour won Edinburgh South by just 405 votes over the Liberal Democrats and both the Lib Dems and the Tories are targeting it this time, making it potentially one of the closest contests in Scotland.

Mr Aitchison said his contingency planning included having enough staff available to carry out three simultaneous recounts if necessary. He added speed was important but accuracy was even more crucial.

Paul Godzik, Labour agent in Edinburgh South, said: "People want the result on the night.

"I understand the extra demands on the staff, but people cast their vote on a Thursday and expect to wake up on Friday and know who their MP is."

And Fred Mackintosh, Lib Dem candidate in the seat, said: "Sending everyone home and bringing people back for a couple of hours the next day doesn't seem very efficient. It would be deeply disappointing not to count it all in one go."