This is why it is so hard to plan a snap election

Chief executive of Leeds City Council, Tom Riordan, has overseen his last general election before stepping down

The departing chief executive of Leeds City Council has said that local authorities have struggled with the burden of organising "snap elections" at short notice.

Tom Riordan, who is stepping down from his role after 14 years, told the BBC that his election team needed more time to plan for the city going to the polls.

Mr Riordan took up his position in 2010, and his tenure has been entirely under a Conservative government.

He oversaw four general elections, including this month's as well as "snap" ballots in 2017 and 2019.

Leeds City Council's election team with Tom Riordan, who also acted as returning officer

When Rishi Sunak called an election on 24 May, it left the Leeds team with only six weeks to finalise plans for polling stations and counts, including staffing and venues.

Mr Riordan told the BBC that the 13-strong team had to "drop everything" to prepare for voting to take place.

They had to ensure ballot papers, polling cards and postal votes were all printed and sent within a tight deadline. They had two days to secure 331 locations, many of them church halls and schools, across Leeds to act as polling stations.

A venue for a count had to be finalised, as the council had responsibility for eight constituencies covering the city boundaries. Leeds Arena, the preferred venue, was booked for a conference, so the John Charles Centre for Sport was used instead.

Mr Riordan said: "The election team are the most amazing public servants. Because of the local elections in May as well, they have not had a break for four months.

"They worked weekends and evenings to make sure the election could happen, and that took a big toll on them.

"Councils do need more time - an extra couple of weeks for the staff that organise everything to do what is needed."

Mr Riordan added that problems other local authorities had experienced regarding postal voting could be connected to the time pressures they were under.

'Best job'

During his 14 years in post, Mr Riordan saw Channel 4 and the Bank of England open offices in Leeds and the Tour de France come to the city in 2014.

He said the role had been the "best job" and that resigning had been a "difficult decision".