THIS week the council defended its marathon 15-hour count on election night on May 7.

For anyone there: candidates, friends and counters, it was clear that something wasn’t right.

As the hours ticked by and constituencies across Britain began to declare, the Cotswolds Constituency was falling far behind the pack.

Soon the expected 4.30am finish time seemed very implausible.

The once industrious counters started to flag, and by 7am most had retreated for a well deserved rest.  

Eventually a new team had to be drafted in to take up the mantle.

Despite the counters’ hard work, the declaration didn’t happen till 1pm.

By this time Cotswold Leisure Centre was a different scene to the night before.

Gone were the hopeful candidates with their bright rosettes, to be replaced by toddlers on their way for a morning swim.

When the Standard enquired into the time the count took, Cotswold District Council gave a two page reply.

Each excuse failed to make water.

“We had to count town, district and national votes”. So did most constituencies.

“We had to make sure each vote was validated”. As did every other council.

“We have a large constituency”. Has the size changed?

“We had a high turnout”. It was no larger than expected.

The candidates, some of whom had been up more than 30 hours, know that mistakes happen.

In the end, people would have been happy if council employees had held up their hands and said: “we're sorry”.