At 2200, the polls closed across Britain, which has witnessed the biggest set of votes since the 2019 general election. Throughout the day, voters picked representatives for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd as well as mayors and local councils, including Weymouth and Swanage, in England. Voters in England and Wales also voted for police and crime commissioners. The results are due in over the next few days - with the outcome of the Hartlepool by-election expected early tomorrow morning. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, elections in 2020 were postponed leading to a particularly large set of polls taking place this year. At sea, two Royal Navy ships prepared to return home after a protest by French fishermen over post-Brexit rights in Jersey's territorial waters ended. The UK government said "the situation is resolved for now" but "we remain on standby" to assist Jersey. French fishermen said their rights were unfairly restricted by licences issued under the Channel Island's new system. Jersey's External Relations Minister Ian Gorst said discussions with the French crews had been "positive". The UK agreed with Jersey's government that one of the Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels would return to its home port tonight, with the leaving tomorrow morning. Good economic news in that the UK economy is expected to enjoy its fastest growth in more than 70 years this year as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, according to the Bank of England. The economy is expected to expand by 7.25 per cent this year, with extra government spending helping to limit job losses. However, all that follows a contraction of 9.9 per cent in 2020, the biggest in 300 years. Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, said the recovery was "strong" but likened it to "more of a bounce back" than a boom.