Costs rise over general election date uncertainty

Smaller venues will have to be found for any general election this year, as uncertainty over the possible date is hiking up costs for organisers.

Organisers are reporting that they are finding that their venues of choice have been booked out by pre-Christmas events, with the potential for smaller rooms meaning less room for workers and later declaration times than the 2017 election as a result.

The looming Christmas period is also having an effect on costs such as those for the rental of PA and staging equipment, which are also in demand for other events.

Laura Lock, deputy chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, said: “Availability is an issue. If there is very short notice, for example, it might be an issue if a hall is being used by an amateur dramatic society. But the bigger issue we are finding is with count centres.

“We know of at least one case where both their first and second choices have been both booked for Christmas parties. They couldn’t let them in without cancelling the Christmas events. In the case of a sports centre doing that, for example, we can only pay the normal rental. We can’t pay them for the loss of income.”