For Want of A Debate...
- Thread starter stodge
- Start date
Perspectives...
(OOC: Thanks for the kind word, Meadow. Shade more teases before we get to the meat)
Friday May 7th 2010 - 12.45am
The Candidate looked across at the growing bundles with a sense of dread and unreality. This can't be happening, she thought. Her Agent looked equally perplexed - a look she hadn't seen often despite six years of marriage.
She had been talked into standing by Steve - how much she might live to regret it - after three glasses of wine at the Christmas Party. Before she had had time to think, the forms had been completed and the interviews carried out. She had been selected at a meeting in a draughty Church hall attended by about twenty people including four activists, three of whom had told her not only that they would be working in the winnable constituency twenty miles away but that she should as well.
Steve had reassured her - she was a paper candidate in an impossible seat. As the campaign started, Regional HQ had produced an A3 newspaper and they had a few thousand copies for her team of deliverers.
The Candidate knew full well she didn't have a team but she had a few good friends and some other volunteers and had recruited three other people along the way. They managed to deliver half the constituency over two weeks. She had even knocked on a few doors with Steve -the response had been polite but not really inspiring.
Then came the debate - the next day the phone hadn't stopped and neither had Steve's mobile. They had run the campaign out of their front room which soon became filled with hastily put-together leaflets and green-as-grass volunteers. They had worked all through that weekend, over the Bank Holiday, and into the week,
On the Monday, two of the activists had returned to help out and they had worked long into the evening preparing new leaflets.
The Candidate suddenly realised how tired she was after four days with little sleep. Steve smiled and touched her arm - he was being called over with the other Agents to resolve disputes over ballot papers. She looked across at a lady who was also looking at the bundles with one of the local Councillors standing next to her - Geoff somethingorother the Candidate struggled to recall his name.
They looked concerned - the Candidate stared at the bundles again. Perhaps she should start being concerned too. There was a pile of washing to be done and what she would tell her Boss on Monday morning if the worst happened - she had barely begun to think about that when Steve beckoned her over - was he smiling ?
(OOC: Thanks for the kind word, Meadow. Shade more teases before we get to the meat)
Friday May 7th 2010 - 12.45am
The Candidate looked across at the growing bundles with a sense of dread and unreality. This can't be happening, she thought. Her Agent looked equally perplexed - a look she hadn't seen often despite six years of marriage.
She had been talked into standing by Steve - how much she might live to regret it - after three glasses of wine at the Christmas Party. Before she had had time to think, the forms had been completed and the interviews carried out. She had been selected at a meeting in a draughty Church hall attended by about twenty people including four activists, three of whom had told her not only that they would be working in the winnable constituency twenty miles away but that she should as well.
Steve had reassured her - she was a paper candidate in an impossible seat. As the campaign started, Regional HQ had produced an A3 newspaper and they had a few thousand copies for her team of deliverers.
The Candidate knew full well she didn't have a team but she had a few good friends and some other volunteers and had recruited three other people along the way. They managed to deliver half the constituency over two weeks. She had even knocked on a few doors with Steve -the response had been polite but not really inspiring.
Then came the debate - the next day the phone hadn't stopped and neither had Steve's mobile. They had run the campaign out of their front room which soon became filled with hastily put-together leaflets and green-as-grass volunteers. They had worked all through that weekend, over the Bank Holiday, and into the week,
On the Monday, two of the activists had returned to help out and they had worked long into the evening preparing new leaflets.
The Candidate suddenly realised how tired she was after four days with little sleep. Steve smiled and touched her arm - he was being called over with the other Agents to resolve disputes over ballot papers. She looked across at a lady who was also looking at the bundles with one of the local Councillors standing next to her - Geoff somethingorother the Candidate struggled to recall his name.
They looked concerned - the Candidate stared at the bundles again. Perhaps she should start being concerned too. There was a pile of washing to be done and what she would tell her Boss on Monday morning if the worst happened - she had barely begun to think about that when Steve beckoned her over - was he smiling ?
Results...
Extract from "The Night Everything Changed - An Account of Election Night May 6-7 2010" by Mark Walsh - published November 2010
As the results started to come in, the revolution indicated by the exit poll didn't seem that evident to the majority of those watching on BBC, ITN or Sky News. The occasional flash ticker message of recounts in constituencies which had never needed them before might have passed unnoticed.
The early seats returned their Labour MPs though with Liberal Democrat candidates chasing them hard. Indeed, while the very early third places didn't look encouraging for those watching from CCHQ, better news came in with gains at Battersea and Basildon South from Labour suggesting the Conservatives could still do well despite the 31% exit poll.
At Cowley Street, the staff had cheered the 34% exit poll number to the rafters but gained seats were proving more elusive than stroing second places. Leeds for example, where the party had had hopes of picking up a second seat, had failed to deliver although Greg Mulholland had massively increased his majority.
Indeed, by 1.30am, the mood was brightest at Labour HQ. The exit poll rating of 26% had been met by a groan but the fear of a Liberal Democrat sweep of the northern heartlands looked to have been repulsed. True, the party had shipped some seats to the Tories but while the majority would go, the possibility of being largest party remained.
And yet straws in the wind kept suggesting something big was happening and just after 1.30am, the storm began to break. City of Durham was called for the Liberal Democrats as was Oldham East & Saddleworth while a recount was to be held at Pendle and Rochdale had been held comfortably by Paul Rowen.
By 2am, though for the television audience, surprises and shocks had been on the periphery, the parties themselves and the more informed journalists and the blogsphere were all sensing something massive developing. Rumours from seats as far apart as Edinburgh South, Guildford and Northampton North suggested the Liberal Democrat advance would yet yield dividends.
Extract from "The Night Everything Changed - An Account of Election Night May 6-7 2010" by Mark Walsh - published November 2010
As the results started to come in, the revolution indicated by the exit poll didn't seem that evident to the majority of those watching on BBC, ITN or Sky News. The occasional flash ticker message of recounts in constituencies which had never needed them before might have passed unnoticed.
The early seats returned their Labour MPs though with Liberal Democrat candidates chasing them hard. Indeed, while the very early third places didn't look encouraging for those watching from CCHQ, better news came in with gains at Battersea and Basildon South from Labour suggesting the Conservatives could still do well despite the 31% exit poll.
At Cowley Street, the staff had cheered the 34% exit poll number to the rafters but gained seats were proving more elusive than stroing second places. Leeds for example, where the party had had hopes of picking up a second seat, had failed to deliver although Greg Mulholland had massively increased his majority.
Indeed, by 1.30am, the mood was brightest at Labour HQ. The exit poll rating of 26% had been met by a groan but the fear of a Liberal Democrat sweep of the northern heartlands looked to have been repulsed. True, the party had shipped some seats to the Tories but while the majority would go, the possibility of being largest party remained.
And yet straws in the wind kept suggesting something big was happening and just after 1.30am, the storm began to break. City of Durham was called for the Liberal Democrats as was Oldham East & Saddleworth while a recount was to be held at Pendle and Rochdale had been held comfortably by Paul Rowen.
By 2am, though for the television audience, surprises and shocks had been on the periphery, the parties themselves and the more informed journalists and the blogsphere were all sensing something massive developing. Rumours from seats as far apart as Edinburgh South, Guildford and Northampton North suggested the Liberal Democrat advance would yet yield dividends.
Good stuff. On those sorts of numbers, there's a potential for a non-insubstantial number of seats to go Yellow. 34/31/26 is a interesting place to be at because the potential gains go way outside the list of target seats that was in place and through many of the starred (or as they were called this time - moving forward) seats. Some of the elected candidates would be, ahem, interesting.
As painful as it is to read about the scum of the British political system doing better than OTL in the 2010 election, this continues to be very well-written. I'm half expecting some massive twist that turns the whole thing into a Clegg-Griffin Coalition dystopia... but that's probably because the quality of writing in this is as good as some of the great TLs of this board (Gordon Banks, World of Laughter, Gumbo On The Campaign Trail etc).
Keep 'em coming, can't wait to see how the (seemingly inevitable now) Lib-Lab Coalition turns out. How did Ed Balls do? He was probably the strongest anti-Coalition with the Lib Dems voice in May 2010 and only held his seat by 1000. Have the Lib Dems split the vote enough for the Tories to edge him out and you might eliminate that obstacle.
Keep 'em coming, can't wait to see how the (seemingly inevitable now) Lib-Lab Coalition turns out. How did Ed Balls do? He was probably the strongest anti-Coalition with the Lib Dems voice in May 2010 and only held his seat by 1000. Have the Lib Dems split the vote enough for the Tories to edge him out and you might eliminate that obstacle.
Yes, the scum of the political system, i.e. the Labour party should hold some seats they would have otherwise lost to the Tories and therefore may be slightly better off.
The math should end up with either coalition being possible.
Yes, the scum of the political system, i.e. the Labour party should hold some seats they would have otherwise lost to the Tories and therefore may be slightly better off.
The math should end up with either coalition being possible.
Whoa, that's some top banter right there. You sure showed me! You should be on Mock The Week.
The maths, as I see it, indicates a Lib-Lab pact being much more likely - indeed, the OTL election would have come out this way if a stronger Lib Dems had got more seats off Labour and held a few more against the Tories. Don't get me wrong, I agree it might be plausible, but it'll be Cameron, not Brown, who has to propose a 'rainbow coalition' ITTL, and therefore a Lab-Lib Coalition is far more likely. I'm still holding onto my 'Brown resigns as he offered to Clegg IOTL, Miliband (D) and Clegg form coalition' theory for now. We'll see as more results come in.
I agree with your analysis apart from Miliband (D). If the coalition looks like it's going to hold up, surely the "electability" factor will be less important in TTL, thus resulting in David doing less well? Then again, we don't even know who'll be standing...
EDIT: Almost forgot: great writing, stodge! Looking forward to the next update.
Comments..
(OOC: First, thanks for the kind words. I write these updates when the rest of my life permits and, as I suspect is the case with all good TL writing, it comes best from the heart and what you know.
I don't want this thread to go the way of others and become a political battleground. The improved Lib Dem performance will cause Nick Clegg real problems in the days ahead)
Extract from blog Politichat.com 2.35-2.40am Friday May 7th 2010
Sky have just called Woking for the Libs - incredible
by yellowfan on Friday May 7th at 02:35am
I can't believe it - Guildfor and now Woking - when did Surrey go yellow ??
by roger234 on Friday May 7th at 02:36am
Labour hold both Blackpool seats and gain Blaenau Gwent according to Beeb. Looks like we will be largest party. Gordo stays as PM - bye bye Cammy.
by Redfan1 on Friday May 7th at 02:36am
I'm in Bristol - it's mad down here. The Lib Dems have won North_west and they are recounting both East and South - Primarolo in big trouble.
by Bristolwoman on Friday May 7th at 02:37am
Labour hold both Cardiff North and South - might lose Newport East to Libs. Tories smashed in Wales - good stuff.
by Welshlab on Friday May 7th at 02:37am
You Liebour numpties are celebrating too soon. Sky calling Dartford and Harlow as big Tory gains - Libs are doing well and piling up second places but the Conservatives are making the real gains in seats. Cameron will form a minority Government and get his majority in 6 months.
by Trueblue007 on Friday May 7th at 02:38am
ITN say recounts in Merthyr and Norfolk South. I've never seen anything like this - the world's gone mad. Will Clegg be PM tomorrow ?
by AdrianB on Friday May 7th at 02:38am
I've just seen a tweet that Labour have held all three seats in Nottingham - can anyone confirm ?
by JohnS on Friday May 7th at 02:38am
Nick Clegg at Hallam declaration on Sky NOW - he's won by 25,000 votes. Apparently Central has also gone Lib Dem. Also Shrewsbury. What a night - go Nick !!!
by yellowfan on Friday May 7th at 02:40am
(OOC: First, thanks for the kind words. I write these updates when the rest of my life permits and, as I suspect is the case with all good TL writing, it comes best from the heart and what you know.
I don't want this thread to go the way of others and become a political battleground. The improved Lib Dem performance will cause Nick Clegg real problems in the days ahead)
Extract from blog Politichat.com 2.35-2.40am Friday May 7th 2010
Sky have just called Woking for the Libs - incredible
by yellowfan on Friday May 7th at 02:35am
I can't believe it - Guildfor and now Woking - when did Surrey go yellow ??
by roger234 on Friday May 7th at 02:36am
Labour hold both Blackpool seats and gain Blaenau Gwent according to Beeb. Looks like we will be largest party. Gordo stays as PM - bye bye Cammy.
by Redfan1 on Friday May 7th at 02:36am
I'm in Bristol - it's mad down here. The Lib Dems have won North_west and they are recounting both East and South - Primarolo in big trouble.
by Bristolwoman on Friday May 7th at 02:37am
Labour hold both Cardiff North and South - might lose Newport East to Libs. Tories smashed in Wales - good stuff.
by Welshlab on Friday May 7th at 02:37am
You Liebour numpties are celebrating too soon. Sky calling Dartford and Harlow as big Tory gains - Libs are doing well and piling up second places but the Conservatives are making the real gains in seats. Cameron will form a minority Government and get his majority in 6 months.
by Trueblue007 on Friday May 7th at 02:38am
ITN say recounts in Merthyr and Norfolk South. I've never seen anything like this - the world's gone mad. Will Clegg be PM tomorrow ?
by AdrianB on Friday May 7th at 02:38am
I've just seen a tweet that Labour have held all three seats in Nottingham - can anyone confirm ?
by JohnS on Friday May 7th at 02:38am
Nick Clegg at Hallam declaration on Sky NOW - he's won by 25,000 votes. Apparently Central has also gone Lib Dem. Also Shrewsbury. What a night - go Nick !!!
by yellowfan on Friday May 7th at 02:40am
stodge
Now that's a story I saw occasionally when I was more active, not at MP level but in various local council elections. "What do you mean I might win. I'm just a paper candidate."
Sounds like we're more likely to end up with a Lib-lab pact than one with the Tories, which I would have preferred but as you say it will cause the party a lot of problems. Not least with the Tories and their paymasters claiming foul.
Steve
Now that's a story I saw occasionally when I was more active, not at MP level but in various local council elections. "What do you mean I might win. I'm just a paper candidate.
"Sounds like we're more likely to end up with a Lib-lab pact than one with the Tories, which I would have preferred but as you say it will cause the party a lot of problems. Not least with the Tories and their paymasters claiming foul.
Steve
I see your point, but David M was very much the heir presumptive to the Labour throne before the General (and, indeed, until September 2010) and as such would be the obvious candidate for a 'bloodless handover' - here's what I'm talking about:
1) Clegg negotiates with Brown, says Brown has to go. He does not stipulate any further, though he is known to have no problem with Miliband.
2) Brown, after a small fit, agrees and tells Labour it has 72 hours before he publicly announces his intention to resign as Labour leader.
3) While the Labour/Lib Dem teams hammer out a Coalition Agreement, David Miliband's leadership team and Miliband himself visit every MP and ensure their loyalty, in the interests of a quick changeover - 'we can't have poor Gordon staggering on for a three month leadership contest, it would let that fucker Clegg look like he was the real PM'.
4) Miliband informs Brown that he, like Brown did three years ago, has arranged for no other MP to have enough nominations to stand. This is all in the interests of 'party unity' and 'continuity of government', so even those who wanted the top job (the Balls household and Ed Miliband in particular) have accepted the need to get a new leader and PM in immediately - the backbiting can wait until later.
5) Gordon Brown resigns as leader of the Labour Party.
6) A day later, David Miliband is unanimously elected leader of the Labour Party as the contest goes no further than the nominating stage.
7) Another day later, Miliband having met with Clegg and finalised the agreement, Brown travels to the Palace and resigns, recommending Her Majesty call upon Mr Miliband of South Shields to form a government.
8) The Labour-Liberal Democrat Coalition government formally comes into being when David Miliband walks into Downing Street. Nick Clegg arrives an hour later and is met on the doorstep by the new PM, who is smiling from ear to ear.
...so that's the process by which I imagined it - short of a very stubborn Balls forcing a contest I don't see anyone other than David Miliband being the heir presumptive. Remember the key thing would be getting a new leader and PM immediately, not necessarily getting the right one.
Stodge - sorry if the above distracts from whatever is going to actually happen here, and I love the latest update. Plausible blogposts without being overly laden with 'lol', Chekhov's Usernames, and internetspeak.
In other words, 24 hours which would probably resemble the wonderful "Spinners and Losers" episode from The Thick Of It.
I suspect that David M would have to have quite a different negotiation team from the one that Labour did lose. So the agreement may not quite be finished.
Would Labour take a second coronation or would have leave bitterness for later - especially from Mr + Mrs Teddy Testicles (if the Tories are on 31, then Teddy is safe).
It would indeed! That episode is one of the finest pieces of televisual comedy of all time.
You have a point about the different teams - so fair enough, the matter might be delayed by a few days.
I think in the long run, Balls is likely to start murmuring about kicking out Miliband, calling a snap election and going to the country on a 'look how we've changed' message. Much like how Cameron is toying with a May 2011 snap election IOTL, to finish the Lib Dems once and for all and get a workable majority of his own. But yes, there would definitely be real bitterness - the clean break from factional briefing that the 2010 defeat permitted would simply not take place if the above were to happen, and we'd end up with another parliament's worth of the cabinet briefing against each other like some student debating society.
Hmm. I see your point and it's good reasoning, but I'm not sure it'd be in Labour's best interests. Two "unelected Prime Ministers" in a row, this one not even with a majority in the Commons...the Tories would bring that up at every opportunity, just like they did with Brown. And Labour spin doctors will know that, and want to avoid it. At least with a leadership election there is some semblance of competition, although Cameron could work in a "Labour and not the people are electing the Prime Minister!" angle, so it seems they are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
Super stuff! Though possibly a little to recent to avoid still-high passions completely...
I just had a couple of nitpicks which caught my eye:
I might be getting confused with my political jargon, or perhaps I am missing your point, but "District and Borough" sounds off to me... I think that Borough Councils are just District Councils (Borough is an honourific), but perhaps you meant "County and Borough"?
The UK GE exit poll tries to predict seat totals, not percentages, and I would have thought that would have been the more interesting number for candidates at this point. Perhaps 31% was the last YouGov survey from before the election?
I suspect, even in the midst of cleg-mania, that there would have been only relatively small actual increases to Lib Dem vote shares, as voters OTL seemed to revert to thier traditional parties when confronted with the ballot paper. So a couple of thousand extra votes at most in the majority of consultancies... perhaps a larger swing in a handful. So the first 10 or 15 or so on http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/liberal-democrat-target-seats/, but probably not all 50. Of course, higher Lib Dem numbers in places where they came third would have changed the outcome as well... Is that what happened in Cardiff North?
(and, just from a personal perspective, what happened in Warrington South?)
I just had a couple of nitpicks which caught my eye:
I might be getting confused with my political jargon, or perhaps I am missing your point, but "District and Borough" sounds off to me... I think that Borough Councils are just District Councils (Borough is an honourific), but perhaps you meant "County and Borough"?
The UK GE exit poll tries to predict seat totals, not percentages, and I would have thought that would have been the more interesting number for candidates at this point. Perhaps 31% was the last YouGov survey from before the election?
I suspect, even in the midst of cleg-mania, that there would have been only relatively small actual increases to Lib Dem vote shares, as voters OTL seemed to revert to thier traditional parties when confronted with the ballot paper. So a couple of thousand extra votes at most in the majority of consultancies... perhaps a larger swing in a handful. So the first 10 or 15 or so on http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/liberal-democrat-target-seats/, but probably not all 50. Of course, higher Lib Dem numbers in places where they came third would have changed the outcome as well... Is that what happened in Cardiff North?
(and, just from a personal perspective, what happened in Warrington South?)
Comments...
Before the next update, just a few comments. Most of the predictions on here are not where I'm going at all at present but we'll see...
On a couple of specifics, the terms "District" and "Borough" can be interchangeable within a County area. In the constituency, there are both District Councils and Borough Councils so it's quite possible. The term "Borough" tends to be used for Councils relating to towns such as Woking or Guildford while "District" is for a more geographical construct.
In Surrey we have Woking and Guildford BOROUGH Councils while there are Mole Valley and Tandridge DISTRICT Councils.
On the exit poll, I didn't want to give the seat numbers away too early so my excuse is that this election is so remarkable and unusual and bearing in mind the problems from 1992 that the news organisations didn't want to be too specific too early. They have all called it a Hung Parliament of course but no one knew at 10pm how the actual distribution of votes would translate into seats.
By 4am it's becoming a shade clearer....
Before the next update, just a few comments. Most of the predictions on here are not where I'm going at all at present but we'll see...
On a couple of specifics, the terms "District" and "Borough" can be interchangeable within a County area. In the constituency, there are both District Councils and Borough Councils so it's quite possible. The term "Borough" tends to be used for Councils relating to towns such as Woking or Guildford while "District" is for a more geographical construct.
In Surrey we have Woking and Guildford BOROUGH Councils while there are Mole Valley and Tandridge DISTRICT Councils.
On the exit poll, I didn't want to give the seat numbers away too early so my excuse is that this election is so remarkable and unusual and bearing in mind the problems from 1992 that the news organisations didn't want to be too specific too early. They have all called it a Hung Parliament of course but no one knew at 10pm how the actual distribution of votes would translate into seats.
By 4am it's becoming a shade clearer....
During OTL's 2010 election there was a short while when Nick Robinson began predicting that the exit poll was false and hat Cameron would in fact get a majority.
Vinigrettes of the Night...
Extract from "Fall of the Blue House - the Conservative Campaign of 2010" by Lee Pritchard - published London September 2010
By 4am some things were falling into place, most things were falling apart. David Cameron arrived at Party HQ just as we cheered the capture of Burton from Labour for the first time since 1997. However, other results were doing little to lighten the mood with Calder Valley and Derby North going to the Lib Dems as had Chippenham and the previously-marginal Dorset North.
Cameron spoke with Andy Coulson and went round the big operations room thanking everyone before disappearing with Coulson and a few other advisers into the adjoining office for a meeting. We could hear raised voices and the general sounds of tired men struggling to cope with bad news on little sleep.
A majority had long since disappeared and even the prospect of being largest party was far from certain. Yes, Labour were losing seats but too many were going to the Liberal Democrats who were also picking off seats from us especially in the south-west.
Another series of groans erupted as the new seat of Filton & Bradley Stoke was won by the Liberal Democrats as, incredibly, their seat total closed in on three figures. Labour were holding seats they should have lost because the Liberal Democrat vote was so strong and our failure to win those was being compounded not only by our failure to take our own marginal Lib Dem seats but we were losing key seats to the Liberals as well.
The meeting broke up after nearly an hour - David Cameron wore a thin smile as he emerged. He had the look of a man who knew his fate was no longer his to control. It was discovered later he had asked for and accepted Andy Coulson's resignation.
Extract From "Journeys with Nick - Travelling with Nick Clegg in the Election Campaign" by Helen Mills published London 2014
We left Sheffield at 2.30am and raced south through the night. Nick was constantly on the mobile and others were watching tv coverage on their Ipads. We reached London in a manic two hours and entered Cowley Street at 4.40am to rousing cheers from party workers and other volunteers.
Nick made a brief speech thanking everyone and acknowledging the night's successes before going to an office upstairs to consult with his advisers and senior Party officials. Tom Brake and Paul Burstow had arrived from their counts along with Chris Nicholson, who had wrested Streatham from Labour and Ed Davey, who had massively increased his majority in Kingston.
We cheered the departure of James Gray in Wiltshire North and rumours of a big gain in Bradford from Labour as well as the long-sought Calder Valley seat. The new Parliamentary party would be at least double the size of its predecessor.
Nick Clegg looked visibly exhausted when he emerged from the meeting, saying little or nothing. It was past 5am and he had decided to go home to Putney and get some sleep before the day overtook him. One of his advisers came over and spoke of a historic opportunity for change and the visible bankruptcy of the electoral system. We realised that would be the line for the morning which was fast approaching as the first streaks of dawn began to cross the eastern sky.
Extract from Sky News Morning Bulletin at 6am Friday May 7th 2010
Good Morning and welcome to Sky News and our ongoing coverage of the most remarkable General Election night in living memory.
Eight hours after the polls closed, we are no closer to knowing who will form the next Government. Gordon Brown is said to be due back in London this morning with aides claiming he is still the Prime Minister and intends to remain in office despite the heavy losses suffered by Labour overnight.
Conservative Party leader David Cameron returned to London from his Witney constituency in the early hours to hear a mixed bag of results from senior party officials. Gains from Labour have been balanced by losses to the Liberal Democrats in the south and west.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was celebrating his party's best performance at the polls since before the first World War. The Liberal Democrats topped the poll with 34% of the vote and are expected to have won around 125 seats.
Results are still coming in with a number of recounts either continuing or due to start later this morning. In the last few minutes, we have heard that the Liberal Democrats have taken Lewisham West & Penge from Labour and Wells from the Conservatives. Labour have held Waveney and Lewisham East. We are also hearing there is a recount in Horsham where Francis Maude is said to be in deep trouble against the Liberal Democrats. The result is also said to be "too close to call" in both Milton Keynes seats.
The projected seat totals with nearly one hundred seats still to declare suggest Labour, although coming third in terms of the popular vote, will be the largest party with 252 seats, the Conservatives will have 240 and the Liberal Democrats 125 though there are still many seats left to declare.
First to our reporter with the Labour campaign....
Extract from "Fall of the Blue House - the Conservative Campaign of 2010" by Lee Pritchard - published London September 2010
By 4am some things were falling into place, most things were falling apart. David Cameron arrived at Party HQ just as we cheered the capture of Burton from Labour for the first time since 1997. However, other results were doing little to lighten the mood with Calder Valley and Derby North going to the Lib Dems as had Chippenham and the previously-marginal Dorset North.
Cameron spoke with Andy Coulson and went round the big operations room thanking everyone before disappearing with Coulson and a few other advisers into the adjoining office for a meeting. We could hear raised voices and the general sounds of tired men struggling to cope with bad news on little sleep.
A majority had long since disappeared and even the prospect of being largest party was far from certain. Yes, Labour were losing seats but too many were going to the Liberal Democrats who were also picking off seats from us especially in the south-west.
Another series of groans erupted as the new seat of Filton & Bradley Stoke was won by the Liberal Democrats as, incredibly, their seat total closed in on three figures. Labour were holding seats they should have lost because the Liberal Democrat vote was so strong and our failure to win those was being compounded not only by our failure to take our own marginal Lib Dem seats but we were losing key seats to the Liberals as well.
The meeting broke up after nearly an hour - David Cameron wore a thin smile as he emerged. He had the look of a man who knew his fate was no longer his to control. It was discovered later he had asked for and accepted Andy Coulson's resignation.
Extract From "Journeys with Nick - Travelling with Nick Clegg in the Election Campaign" by Helen Mills published London 2014
We left Sheffield at 2.30am and raced south through the night. Nick was constantly on the mobile and others were watching tv coverage on their Ipads. We reached London in a manic two hours and entered Cowley Street at 4.40am to rousing cheers from party workers and other volunteers.
Nick made a brief speech thanking everyone and acknowledging the night's successes before going to an office upstairs to consult with his advisers and senior Party officials. Tom Brake and Paul Burstow had arrived from their counts along with Chris Nicholson, who had wrested Streatham from Labour and Ed Davey, who had massively increased his majority in Kingston.
We cheered the departure of James Gray in Wiltshire North and rumours of a big gain in Bradford from Labour as well as the long-sought Calder Valley seat. The new Parliamentary party would be at least double the size of its predecessor.
Nick Clegg looked visibly exhausted when he emerged from the meeting, saying little or nothing. It was past 5am and he had decided to go home to Putney and get some sleep before the day overtook him. One of his advisers came over and spoke of a historic opportunity for change and the visible bankruptcy of the electoral system. We realised that would be the line for the morning which was fast approaching as the first streaks of dawn began to cross the eastern sky.
Extract from Sky News Morning Bulletin at 6am Friday May 7th 2010
Good Morning and welcome to Sky News and our ongoing coverage of the most remarkable General Election night in living memory.
Eight hours after the polls closed, we are no closer to knowing who will form the next Government. Gordon Brown is said to be due back in London this morning with aides claiming he is still the Prime Minister and intends to remain in office despite the heavy losses suffered by Labour overnight.
Conservative Party leader David Cameron returned to London from his Witney constituency in the early hours to hear a mixed bag of results from senior party officials. Gains from Labour have been balanced by losses to the Liberal Democrats in the south and west.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was celebrating his party's best performance at the polls since before the first World War. The Liberal Democrats topped the poll with 34% of the vote and are expected to have won around 125 seats.
Results are still coming in with a number of recounts either continuing or due to start later this morning. In the last few minutes, we have heard that the Liberal Democrats have taken Lewisham West & Penge from Labour and Wells from the Conservatives. Labour have held Waveney and Lewisham East. We are also hearing there is a recount in Horsham where Francis Maude is said to be in deep trouble against the Liberal Democrats. The result is also said to be "too close to call" in both Milton Keynes seats.
The projected seat totals with nearly one hundred seats still to declare suggest Labour, although coming third in terms of the popular vote, will be the largest party with 252 seats, the Conservatives will have 240 and the Liberal Democrats 125 though there are still many seats left to declare.
First to our reporter with the Labour campaign....
They topped the poll!
I'm guessing there will HAVE to be some kind of electoral reform, since Clegg can credibly claim he "won" the election...
I'm guessing there will HAVE to be some kind of electoral reform, since Clegg can credibly claim he "won" the election...