An astonishing night. As predicted there was no such thing as a national swing. Seats the Tories should have won, they didn't and others no one predicted they would win, they did. What no one predicted was the disastrous night the LibDems have experienced. Not only will they end up with fewer seats but their vote share may even be less than in 2005.
As a Conservative, there are many good things to take out of tonight. They gained more seats than at any election since 1931. But there were many more they should have taken and didn't. What on earth happened in Edgbaston, for instance?
The LibDem performance was all over the place. They lost many more seats to the Conservatives than anyone thought, but still managed to gain several seats too - Wells, Eastbourne and Solihull being three. They also won several Labour seats like Redcar and Norwich South. They have also lost a lot of seats in the South West to the Conservatives. Bizarre. I just hope they don't end up on 59 seats, as the exit poll predicted, otherwise I might have a rather unpleasant duty to perform (see post below).
Congratulations to Caroline Lucas for making a breakthrough for the Greens. I'm sorry for Charlotte Vere, who would have made a brilliant MP. I half considered applying for this seat when it came up again, but I'm afraid I could see the writing on the wall and didn't think I could turn it round.
So where does this leave us? The constitution gives Gordon Brown the right to try to form a government. It is unlikely he would be able to do so, even in a formal coalition with the LibDems, as they still wouldn't have a majority. But let's face it, as David Blunkett has admitted, Brown has lost the election. He hasn't got a mandate.
Can Cameron form a government with 310 seats? I'd day yes. And he can do it without begging the LibDems for support. However, he may think that we need a stable long term government and that it would be a good idea to form a coalition. If I were him, I would seriously think about that. It could be argued to be in the national interest.
One other thing before I have to get some sleep. The conduct of this election has been the most unprofessional ever. If the chairwoman of the Electoral Commission had anything about her she would resign, as would the chairman of the Association of Returning Officers. They have failed the country and need to be held to account for it.
I've seen many friends elected tonight and I congratulate them all warmly. Several other friends didn't quite make it. There's one man I want to pay tribute to tonight, and that is to my friend Simon Jones, who pushed Jon Cruddas very close in Dagenham & Rainham. He will be gutted tonight as his campaign deserved a win.
I had a great time presenting LBC's election night coverage and I hope those of you who tuned in liked it too. I'll write a bit more about it later but the LBC listeners certainly seemed to like it. Perhaps the highlight was upsetting Esther Rantzen by congratulating her on ability to get a Labour MP elected. She was very upset when I asked her if her entire campaign wasn't just one giant ego trip. She then had the cheek to accuse me of having an ego by asking an elderly lady such a question. As if.
