What price democracy? Almost a tenner, since you ask

In November 2013, I was astonished to discover that the 2010 general election cost £113 million - just to administer.

As to the cost of Westminster by-elections, the answer lies buried in the less-than-sensationally titled Returning Officers’ Expenses, England & Wales Statement of Accounts 2013-14. This document records the costs of the 14 by-elections in England & Wales plus the Scottish by-election of Inverclyde. In summary, the document states:

The average cost of UK by-elections held since the 2010 UK parliamentary general election is £239,529; £135,666 [57%] of which relates to the conduct of the poll expenses, and £103,863 [43%] relates to Royal Mail costs. The expenses for the poll include the cost of polling stations, postal voting, poll cards and the count.

So, the answer is more than a quarter of a million pounds.

The Royal Mail costs relate to the delivery of candidate material (which is itself paid for and produced by the candidates themselves) to every elector in the constituency. So, for example, the Eastleigh by-election in February 2013 was contested by 14 candidates, 11 of whom sent literature via Royal Mail to every elector - at a cost of £126,000.

The table below sets out the cost of each by-election:

We can see that, in England & Wales, Leicester South was the least, and Croydon North the most, expensive by-election in this Parliament, while the only Scottish by-election since 2010 - Inverclyde - was the least expensive of all.

But in the table below I have calculated the cost of each vote cast in the individual by-elections by dividing the total cost of each contest by the total votes cast. I have also calculated an average cost per vote of all 15 by-elections listed.

So the average cost to the taxpayer of each vote cast in these 15 by-elections was £8.75.

Details of the Inverclyde by-election are from the UK and European Parliamentary Elections 2011-12 Account Returning Officers Expenses (Scotland Office)