Been thinking about this as a timeline, but it's not fully baked yet, so here I am:
"It's ten o'clock, and here it is. Our exit poll is saying there will be another hung parliament and the Conservatives will again be the largest party - but only just.
Here are the figures: the Conservatives on 273, down 34 from the last election. Ed Miliband and Labour are on 271, they've gained 13. The other parties - look at the Scottish National Party, 56 for Nicola Sturgeon. Nick Clegg for the Liberal Democrats are on 25, that's down 32. We're saying UKIP will come away with only two seats.
Remember, our 2010 poll was absolutely on the nail in accuracy. We're in for an interesting few weeks, aren't we? What kind of government might we expect with these figures?"
- David Dimbleby, BBC Election 2015 live coverage, 7 May 2015
So the pre-election opinion polling was right, and after all the returns have been counted, these are indeed the final numbers, at least for the parties listed.
The actual OTL election result, with a Conservative majority, was stunning yet also robbed us of what would have been an utterly fascinating turn of events in the days and weeks that followed the election.
The Conservatives were planning an all-out media offensive to declare themselves the winners and the only possible government with any legitimacy - but the numbers don't add up for them.
Labour was going to declare victory and prepare for government, but coming in second doesn't help, and neither does Miliband having repeatedly boxed himself in by rejecting any deals or arrangements with the SNP, whose votes he needs to pass a Queen's Speech.
Sturgeon had said she wouldn't help the Tories stay in power, but she herself now holds the balance of power.
So. What is the answer to David Dimbleby's question? Who ultimately forms a government, and what is its fate?