by Lucy Ashton
If you think the X-Factor is a stage for traumas and triumphs then you need to get out more – and attend your local election count.
While TV talent shows manufacture the drama, election counts are a real-life culmination of blood, sweat and tears.
The prize is having hundreds of thousands of people put their faith in you to control everything from their child’s education to the crematorium.
So there’s no wonder that in many years of attending election counts, I’ve seen everything from male candidates throwing punches to female candidates screaming at each other across the ballot boxes.
