Maybe, but in a safe seat a swing like that is useless. I wonder just how many voters there are who don't bother knowing that it will be <whoever> anyway so can stay at home

With all the expenses stuff and now this it looks rather like the third world.

I suppose that's true, but if the swing is across the board, then hung parliament may be the case.

Either way, I'm quite interested. This is my first UK election, since I'm an American. I need to know the results for my final tomorrow.

hung parliment? what will the parties do? come to a compromise??

Also how can Labour lose? didn't they wait until the economic recovery was well under way and then start off like 'we're back on the road to recovery thanks to Labour, we know what we're doing, so let us get on with it!'

At least that's the impression i got, didn't see the debates...

The BBC exit poll showed that Labour loses almost 100 seats, but Conservatives are about 20ish seats short of a majority. Three results have been revealed, all in traditional Labour strongholds, and the Tory swing was in excess of the BBC poll.

@The Ravenking - if it's a hung parliament then you won't know the result tomorrow.

Well, I know. We just have to make an educated guess about what kind of coalition will emerge and who will be PM.

The difference is that in the third world political curruption leads to a few politicians become extremely wealthy and thousands of people living in complete poverty and awful conditions. UK currption has led to a slightly more pleasent home for a few ducks and lots of strongly worded letters to newspaper editors.

I have very little sympathy for people who were turned away at ten. If you'r going to leave it until the last minute that's your own lookout. They've had all day from 7am til 10pm, and they could easily have opted for a postal vote.

@Orathaic - Labour can lose because a) the electorate always gets increasingly fed up with the party in power, b) Tony Bliar got us involved in some dodgy wars and c) Gordon Brown comes across very badly.

@Octavious: they just had some stupid woman in Sheffield complaining that she was denied a chance to vote. It turned out that she arrived at 7pm - thought the queue was too long - came back at 8pm - thought the queue was too long - came back at 9:15 and didn't get in. Serves her right.

Even Labour's ace in the hole from the last election--the economy--is no there this time. And Brown is most certainly completely rejected. Even if Labour is successful, he wont be PM.

Yup, he's gone. I always thought he was unelectable and I suspect that Tango Tony thought the same. Shame in a way because I think his heart is in the right place but the great unwashed don't see it.

Well, he wasn't particularly fantastic during the debates or the campaign. That bigoted woman comment was just stupid.

My point is that he is unable to communicate his passion/intent in a way that is understood by most people; I blame him as much as/more than them.

The bigot comment was stupid but I suspect the other guys said similar things, the difference is that they were not on mic. Interestingly when TB was campaigning the mic he wore belonged to the party and they controlled the feed to the news crews, for some reason GB was wired directly to Sky. Careless.

Lib Dems will be the kingmakers, no?

I don't think the Lib Dems will do much, actually. So far they've done little at the polls.

They tried to, but it hasn't worked.
Also brown called an old lady a bigot - without turning his mic off. Not good!

"Even if Labour is successful, he wont be PM. "
You kidding right? The thoughts over here are that even if/when Labour don't take it he could remain in power as part of a lib-lab alliance.

re Thuc - I think so, although it depends how close the Tories are. They're likely to get support from Unionists, but just how many this will add? who knows...

The voters rejected Brown fairly handily. I can't see a government led by him lasting long. He has little legitimacy. A Lib-Lab alliance with Gordon Brown heading it might fall to a Con-UDP alliance.

any americans familiar with their two-party system have any idea what the difference in the UK is?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/

apart from the regional parties (Scottish, Welsh and northern Irish) there are still three 'main' parties, and i don't even know which is furthest left/right on economic issues...

I mean if you ignore the (DUP, Sinn Fein, Alliance, SDLP) , SNP, Plaid Cymru, you still have the BNP, UKIP, Greens, Respect-Unity as minor parties, and the three 'main' parties...

Nick Who said he could work with Labour but not with Gloomy Gordon as PM. Harriet Harmon graciously offered herself instead. Think I would rather see Airbrush Dave at the helm.

Wait ... I can't vote ... Tango Tony took my vote away ... I can't be blamed for any of this. Hurrah!

@ravenking, do you mean DUP not UDP? i'm not sure...

I had lunch today with an Italian, a Pole and a Dutchman - i.e. all from countries with some flavour of PR - who spoke enviously of the clarity that the "first past the post" system brings. We shall see.

Both the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Democratic Party are to be found in Northern Ireland.

Wonder if a Tory alliance with the Ulsters could push the ulsters to ask too much in North Ireland, igniting a push back by republicans and eventually a return to conflict?
just a thought

I expect it would have the opposite effect. I dare say the Ulsters would use their influence to protect NI from the harsher aspects of the savage cuts we're about to see. Avoiding the worst of the cuts will go a long way to keep republicans happy, especially with the trouble the Republic is having with their economy.

A "Hung Parliament" isn't that a porn film?

Dude laughed out loud when I heard about the bigot thing..