VOTERS in Oxfordshire will have to wait to find out who their new MP is – because council officers need a good night’s sleep before counting their ballots.

At the next general election, the acting returning officer for the Oxford West and Abingdon, Wantage and Henley constituencies, David Buckle, has decided to wait until Friday morning before processing voters’ ballot papers, instead of counting them when polls close on Thursday night.

Last night one MP branded the decision “a disgrace” and damaging to democracy.

But Mr Buckle, who is chief executive of both Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district councils, said risk assessments showed counters would benefit from a good night’s sleep before starting work.

He said: “In my opinion, the move towards Friday counts is inevitable given the ever more complex rules for conducting elections. I understand the desire of many to preserve the excitement of election night but that is not my primary concern. Ultimately I will be held accountable by the courts if the election count goes wrong so I must hold it at the time I consider presents least risk.”

He said the delay meant postal votes received late on polling day could be properly processed and staff would not be tired.

Henley Tory MP John Howell said: “It is a real shame.

“This is a bureaucratic decision that takes no account of what a poor year politics has had and the opportunity for the General Election to re-engage with the political process. It’s a disgrace.

“It really is a monstrous society we’ve created when we are happy to be beamed every up and down of a B-starlet’s life around the clock, but the fate of the country is considered unimportant enough to wait until the next day.”

He warned Friday counts meant voters would be unable to witness another late-night “Michael Portillo moment”, when the former Tory Defence Secretary was politically scalped by his constituents in 1997.

However, Wantage Tory MP Ed Vaizey said he was “entirely relaxed” about the change, which he said would save money.

He said: “You can’t go on and on about the need to save money and then expect council taxpayers to fork out thousands of extra pounds on my moment of glory.”

Oxford West and Abingdon Lib Dem MP Evan Harris added: “Given it is likely to be extremely close between myself and the Conservative candidate, there will be some advantage in having counting staff who are alert.

“The result will be very close, so it will be exciting whenever it is counted.”

No decision has yet been taken over when to hold counts in Oxford East constituency, while the counts in Banbury and David Cameron’s Witney will take place on Thursday night as usual.

Last night the Electoral Commission said it was aware of 52 of the UK’s 650 constituencies planning to hold Friday counts, with hundreds more returning officers as yet undecided.

Spokesman Euan Hollaway said the trend was caused by changes to election law, forcing local authorities to run security checks on at least a fifth of postal ballots cast.