ALL eyes will be on Worcester’s General Election hopefuls today – but spare a thought for this man at the centre of huge pressure himself.

Duncan Sharkey, the city council’s managing director and returning officer, says in his own words he has only one chance to get it right.

The boss, who is leaving later this month for a new job at Milton Keynes Council, is now into his fourth year covering elections in Worcester, being the man ultimately responsible for organising them.

Despite covering three city council counts, the police and crime commissioner ballot, a European and a county council one, this is his first General Election.

The scale of the task is huge, so much so that he reveals how preparation for it started back in September last year, with time set aside each week since then to fine tune the task ahead.

A glance at the figures tells a tale in its own right – a small army of volunteers will be on duty, with around 270 workers at the actual count.

The 270 roles include counters, verifiers, supervisors, stewards, security, deputy returning officers and more.

And on top of that all polling stations, of which there are 52 dotted across Worcester, require three or four workers in each, all of whom will start work before 7am this morning.

It’s gruelling stuff, not least because most count volunteers will be working from 10pm tonight until around 5am tomorrow morning for the General Election, with counters getting £22 an hour and polling clerks £120 for the day.

And people from all walks of life tend to get involved – from former council staff to bankers, shop workers, students, pensioners – anyone looking to play a small but vital part in history.

Mr Sharkey is returning officer for the city council count at the Guildhall from midday tomorrow, with the General Election announcement at St John’s sports centre in the early hours led by Mayor of Worcester Councillor Alan Amos, although Mr Sharkey is taking on the bulk of the actual work for both.

For the managing director, all he wants is a well-organised, peaceful conclusion after months of preparation.

“It’s a high pressure job because you only get one chance to get it right and if you do nobody notices, but if you get it wrong, blimey,” he said.

“It’s important for all the candidates’ families that I get both of them right, especially as this role means I take personal responsibility for it.”

What makes the General Election more testing is that the workload more than doubles – council turnouts might be as low as 35 per cent of the electorate but for the big one, it could top 80 per cent.

“The scale is different although the actual planning for it is not dissimilar,” he said.

“But all eyes are on you for a General Election, everyone’s interested, the media interest is higher, voter’s interest is higher,” he said.

“You might get a 70 per cent plus turnout for it instead of 35 per cent – I’ve had to put time in the diary every week since September to prepare, we seriously get into it the autumn before a General Election.”

No wonder he describes it as a massive logistical exercise.

After this week Mr Sharkey will have been a returning officer for nine years, having done five rounds of elections at West Lindsey District Council in Lincolnshire before arriving in Worcester.

Will it be a relief when it’s all over?

“To a degree, yes it will be – but I’ve always said I’d like to do a General Election,” he said.

“I know they are high pressure but they’re quite fun as well, it’s what the country is all about.”

* Mr Sharkey’s last day in charge of Worcester City Council is on Thursday, May 21.

Interim arrangements have now been confirmed to split his duties between other senior bosses until a replacement is found.

The two remaining members of the council’s corporate management team, Lesley Meagher and Ruth Mullen, will be joined on an interim basis by David Blake, currently service manager for economic development and planning.