The Results Thread

[Beet]

Howard denied a majority - no surprise.

[angus]

ah, so there's an enfield north too.  neato.

bbc on-line is calling it 76 seats now.  seems to be bouncing around 80.

[angus]

wow, I had a little result flash up for a bit "hertford Con Hold" then went away.  weird.  you get that too?

[J. J.]

Labor is well on the way to becoming the "Centre Party."

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Tories gain Braintree. LD's gain Taunton. LD's gain Bristol West.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Lab hold Redditch. Tory gain Welwyn Hatfield.

[angus]

jj, that'd be the spin I'd be selling in the US.  But it was playing more as Tory gains small on BBC when I was watching.  It'll be interesting to watch the world roundup shows over the next few days to see how these results are spun in various parts.   Watch the NYT, since US talking heads will take their cues from tomorrow morning's edition. 

[J. J.]

Tories gain Braintree. LD's gain Taunton. LD's gain Bristol West.

Tauton was a gain from the Tories.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Tories gain Hornchurch (much, much closer than expected; Cryer nearly hung on). Tories gain Dumfriesshire, etc, etc and etcdale.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Labour is getting their asses kicked. Now down 29 seats, losing

17 to Conservatives
9 to Liberal Democrats
2 to SNP
1 to IND

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Clarke holds Norwich South. Tories hold New Forest East. Recount in Wellingborough

[Sam Spade]

First Torie representation in Scotland and Wales since 1997.

[J. J.]

jj, that'd be the spin I'd be selling in the US.  But it was playing more as Tory gains small on BBC when I was watching.  It'll be interesting to watch the world roundup shows over the next few days to see how these results are spun in various parts.   Watch the NYT, since US talking heads will take their cues from tomorrow morning's edition. 

It's not spin; they are losing to the LD's on the war.  A war protest candidate got 10,000 votes in Birmingham, IIRC.

Tories hold Litchfield, which the held since the Civil War.  :-)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Lab hold Erewash. Kilroy-Silk loses his deposit! Hahahaha!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Damn he just held it: 6%

[M]

Whose the Erewash guy with the ridiculous hat and lollipop and badges?

It was a brilliant idea of BBC to have the Monty Python crew and Rex  Harrison announce the results.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Loss number 30 for Labour, 20th net gain for Conservatives: Scarborough & Whitby

[angus]

of course it's spin.  I can say "Tory gain seats in 72 point, and LD gain also below in 36"  or I can have a layout with a Blair with his smiling face and say "Bush's Closest European Ally Victor" in 108 point.  Or I can say I can say "Labour [sic] Squeezed from Left and Right"  and that's not even counting what the other Blair, Jayson, might write.  Dude, there are about as many ways to spin this as you have fingers and toes put together.

[Jake]

Whose the Erewash guy with the ridiculous hat and lollipop and badges?

Monster Raving Loony Party

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Lab hold Finchley & Golders Green. Labour hold Sittingbourne & Sheppy (Wyatt is a nice guy )

[M]

of course it's spin.  I can say "Tory gain seats in 72 point, and LD gain also below in 36"  or I can have a layout with a Blair with his smiling face and say "Bush's Closest European Ally Victor" in 108 point.  Or I can say I can say "Labour [sic] Squeezed from Left and Right"  and that's not even counting what the other Blair, Jayson, might write.  Dude, there are about as many ways to spin this as you have fingers and toes put together.

46 ways? Astonishing.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Why is this such a bad result for Labour?  The 1992 election was hailed as a big win for Conservatives, and they had their majority cut much closer than Blair is going to get.  Blair is going to have a biggest majority than Thatcher even in 1987.  Are we really so cynical that every election is just about beating expectations? 

The Labor majority was unsustainably high in 1997 and 2001...they won all sorts of seats that they had no business ever winning.  This election is like the US House elections in 1996 and 1998...the Democrats gain seats they shouldn't have lost in the first place, but the real story is the Republicans digging into long-term control.

[M]

I tend to agree- this is pretty good for Blair. But also for Howard, and Kennedy. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

LD hold Brecon & Radnor. And easily. Tactical voting by the sound of it.

Latest BBC PV estimates: Lab 36/Con 33/LD 23

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Recount in Westmorland. Labour hold Calder Valley.