Exit polls are in

[d000hg]

Labour hold Sedgefield (Tony's old seat) but it swings 12% (!) to Tory.

[d000hg]

Gits. Cutaway from Durham midway to Brown's seat.

[d000hg]

who's the dude with the sunglasses behind Brown?

[AtW]

who's the dude with the sunglasses behind Brown?

Secret Service shirley?

[cojak]

Secret Service shirley?

Not unless they all look like a mix of the Blues Brothers and Men in Black...

[d000hg]

Secret Service shirley?

With some weird Black Power raised fist the whole time?

[Gonzo]

who's the dude with the sunglasses behind Brown?

With some weird Black Power raised fist the whole time?

That was Derek Jackson of the Land is power party.

You not heard of them?

[NickFitz]

325's a majority. Only 649 seats up for grabs tonight.

325 isn't a majority. With one constituency not holding its election until May 27th, 325 is still a hung Parliament - just one that won't be decided for three more weeks, when there may be a majority with 326, or still a hung Parliament if it remains at 325. If it pans out that way (which is extremely unlikely) then no new Prime Minister can be appointed and asked to form a Government before that date, meaning the current one continues in the role. The majority required to be invited to form a Government after a General Election has to be a majority per se, not a majority until a few weeks from now when it may stop being one.

Her Majesty has bridges to open; she can't be expected to swear in a new Prime Minister every few weeks

[Gonzo]

325 isn't a majority. With one constituency not holding its election until May 27th, 325 is still a hung Parliament - just one that won't be decided for three more weeks, when there may be a majority with 326, or still a hung Parliament if it remains at 325. If it pans out that way (which is extremely unlikely) then no new Prime Minister can be appointed and asked to form a Government before that date, meaning the current one continues in the role. The majority required to be invited to form a Government after a General Election has to be a majority per se, not a majority until a few weeks from now when it may stop being one.

Her Majesty has bridges to open; she can't be expected to swear in a new Prime Minister every few weeks

Don't forget that the maths is further complicated by the number of Sinn Féin MPs elected in Northern Ireland.

Since they can't vote because they won't swear allegiance to the Queen, and I can't see them changing their policy on that, the number of seats to get a majority will be less than 326.

The question really is at what point will Gordon resign? If he will at all. The Queen cannot take charge, she can only respond to what the Prime Minister does.

[NickFitz]

Don't forget that the maths is further complicated by the number of Sinn Féin MPs elected in Northern Ireland.

Since they can't vote because they won't swear allegiance to the Queen, and I can't see them changing their policy on that, the number of seats to get a majority will be less than 326.

The question really is at what point will Gordon resign? If he will at all. The Queen cannot take charge, she can only respond to what the Prime Minister does.

Good point. Of course, the real interest in a close-run election arises from the fact that there aren't actual rules that can be enforced - it's all to do with custom and practice (sp?) meaning that the whole thing can descend into an unholy mess without anybody even trying

I love seeing a system fall apart at the seams