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This is a statement from Graeme McDonald, Director of Solace, following the UK election held on 7 May 2015.

On 7 May 2015, as well as the UK General Election, local government elections also took place in 279 English councils. In total, 161 local authorities had all out elections and there were 6 mayoral elections. Solace would like to congratulate all Returning Officers and their staff on the successful running of another smooth, efficient and robust election.

The General Election saw around 46.5 million people voting with a turnout of around 66 percent of the electorate, a credit to the hard work of council staff throughout the year.

The risks to voter registration proved to have been well managed over the pre-election period, given the scale of recent changes, and more electors than ever have taken up the opportunity to vote by post.

We would like to give special praise to the elections staff in Bedford for their hard work in successfully carrying out five different elections on the same day.

Dave Smith, Chief Executive of Sunderland City Council and Solace Spokesperson on Elections and Democratic Renewal, said:

“We have again seen secure and reliable elections held across the country – thanks to the detailed planning and preparation carried out by Returning Officers and their teams. Councils have faced a number of challenges and a huge amount of work has been done building the resilience of our democratic systems and processes. They have produced a series of clear and confident results. Congratulations to all those individuals who have played a role in an assured performance.”