Overall, we know about as much about what’s going on as when as we did when I woke up eight hours ago.
Things we do know: the Lib Dems got screwed, probably by the sustained 2-week barrage of media lies about them.
Troll-like ex-home secretary Charles Clarke lost his seat, which is delightful.
Pro-science campaigner and all-round good egg Evan Harris lost his seat, which is a terrible shame (bad work, Oxford people).
And although the Tories have cleaned up in the Home Counties and the Midlands, Labour have mostly held London.
The Tories are trying to subvert the constitutional convention that the sitting PM has the first right to try and form a parliament. This makes them scumbags, and the complete and utter opposite of anything that might be described as ‘conservative’.
Finally, the appalling Hazel Blears kept her seat in Salford (where they weigh the Labour vote) albeit with a 10% swing to the Lib Dems, so I don’t have to drink a bottle of Scotch and streak through Sydney. Which is probably just as well.
(more, less coherent analysis at Johnb78).
Update: excellently, we have our first Green MP, Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavillion. Revoltingly, Zac Goldsmith has won Richmond Park. If your feelings towards Zac Goldsmith include anything other than disgust and hatred, there is something wrong with you.
I `m all for more English Lit Graduates thrusting their half baked semi digested gloop of slogans about the Economy on us . I do it why shouldn`t she ? ,
"the Lib Dems got screwed, probably by the sustained 2-week barrage of media lies about them."
That's nice and easy then – simply blame the media. I'm not going to suggest it had no effect at all, but the LibDem surge ('Cleggmania') during the campaign was hardly built on rock solid ground. One could even suggest that many voters, initially attracted to the LibDems by more superficial factors, actually then went and looked at their policies (e.g. pro-Europe, immigration amnesty etc) and decided that they weren't really in line with their own views. Plus it takes quite a bit for people to have a punt on something novel.
The Tories are trying to subvert the constitutional convention that the sitting PM has the first right to try and form a parliament.
Except they're not doing that. Cameron hasn't been knowcking on the door demanding Brown get out. I rather suspect he welcomes the breathing space.