The small container David Burt carried when he returned to his constituency polling station last night summed up just how busy the Progressive Labour Party leader was during the General Election yesterday.

The Premier had been out most of the day visiting other polling stations to offer support to party candidates and by the time he returned to the Berkeley Institute nerve centre for Pembroke West Central, the food inside the container had gone cold.

What was meant to be lunch did not get eaten until 7pm.

Mr Burt said: “I’m tired, didn’t get any sleep and was up late last night writing a Facebook post about a front-page Royal Gazette story that I was anticipating.

“I would have been a little more rested, but I’ll make it through. It comes with the job if you’re the leader of the PLP.”

He still greeted voters who wanted to have a quick word with him or to just say hello as he tried to eat.

But Mr Burt said he did not plan to stay for the count when the polls closed.

He added: “I’m not here for my count — eight o’clock, I’m out of here. I’ll go to headquarters and check in, then go home and say goodnight to my children.

“It was fun, my children went with me. I left home at 7.30am, was here at eight o’clock and there was a nice, big line. First thing in the morning is always busy.”

Mr Burt said: “I left here at 10.30am, went to visit my non-incumbent candidates and ended up in Constituency 36 with the Attorney-General [Kathy Lynn Simmons] — all the ones where I do not have sitting MPs.

“The children were fun but they started to get a little crazy around five o’clock, so we let them go.

“We said a nice prayer this morning to start the day; it brought some calm over our lives, as elections are very difficult for families.”

Mr Burt also checked messages on his phone between bites of food as the day turned into night.

He said: “I have a strong team that has worked very hard in this constituency and we don’t disappear after the election. We continue to work.

“I don’t know what will happen throughout the country — that’s up to the voters — but I’m confident the constituents in this constituency will return me to the House of Assembly because we have done the work.”