I went to bed at 5.30am thinking “Well, I’ll wake up and know the result”. It’s now Friday lunchtime, and we’re none the wiser. Who won Scotland? Labour and SNP are on a knife-edge with 100,000 supposedly spoiled ballots. An incredible drama is unfolding, a Scottish version of the “hanging chad” nonsense that bedevilled George W Bush’s election in 2000. Whatever happened last night, there was no Labour bloodbath. Its results were bad, but not calamitous. The Tories had a few respectable gains, but as far as I can see those four cities – Gateshead, Manchester, Liverpool and Knowsley – remain Tory-free zones. Ming Campbell is trying his best not to look shell-shocked. Truth is, the Tory “love bomb” deployed on LibDem voters actually detonated. The Tories were out for LibDem votes, and got plenty. I agree with Matt: it’s a respectable result. They expect to win over 600, my yardstick for success. But with Cameron, we’ve come to expect a sensational result. And that was emphatically absent.
Fraser Nelson
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