Friday election count "disappointing" says MP

Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing has described the decision to start the Epping Forest District election count on the Friday - rather than the traditional Thursday night - as "very disappointing".

She said: "We were the only council in Essex that hasn't counted the votes on polling day. In many other ways Epping Forest District Council is efficient and leads the field in local government administration, and we are proud of it."

She added: "I simply can't understand why we can't count on the Thursday as has happened in the past. The momentum of the democracy process is maintained when you go straight from the polling station to the count, and it is rather sad that every other council in Essex, and most others in the country, manages to do it on election night."

Click here for more on this story from the Epping Forest Guardian.